New York Times bestselling author Jay Crownover brings heat and heart to Liliana Hart’s MacKenzie family with AVENGED… Girl meets boy… On the worst night of her life when she’s decided to take a drastic step that there is no going back from. Girl is used to sitting by, letting fate deal cruel hand after cruel hand to good people with soft hearts and she’s had enough. Girl thinks it’s time to fight back against fate and against men who aren’t careful with all the precious things a woman in love has to give him. Fate shows girl who’s boss and turns her world and plans upside down without breaking a sweat. Boy meets girl… On the best night of his life when he’s decided that he’s going to make moves to be the man he was always meant to be instead of the man he was trained and conditioned to be. Boy is used to a solitary life, quiet in the woods and knowing the only thing that might be looking for him is trouble and trouble is no longer his stock in trade. Boy thinks it’s time to show trouble who’s boss, even if this trouble has big blue eyes and a body made to make men stupid. Trouble only gets the upper hand if the boy falls prey to its temptation. Trouble turns the boy’s quiet, serene life sideways without any effort. Trouble is fun and fate has a wicked sense of humor when it comes to this boy meeting this girl.

Don't be fooled. Don't make excuses for me. I am not a good man. I've seen things no one should, done things no one should talk about. Honor and conscience have no place in my life. But I've fought and I've survived. I've had to. The first time I saw her dancing on that seedy stage in that second rate club, I felt my heart pulse for the first time. Keelyn Foster was too young, too vibrant for this place, and I knew in an instant that I would make her mine. But first I had to climb my way to the top. I had to have something more to offer her. I'm here now, money is no object and I have no equal. Except for her. She's disappeared. But don't worry, I will find her and claim her. She will be mine. Like I said, don't be fooled. I am not the devil in disguise… I'm the one front and center.

Looks can be deceiving. I knew that most people took one look at the ink and the impossibly big and strong body it covered and decided I was a brawler…a bruiser…a beast. However, I was hardwired to be a thinker, not a fighter—my mind being my greatest weapon and my biggest weakness. I should have chosen to use my brain and talents to be one of the good guys, a hero, a man with dignity and worth. I turned my back on dignity and sold my soul to the highest bidder, deciding to dance with the devil, instead. I couldn’t figure out how to help myself, so there was zero chance I knew how to save someone else. That someone else was Noe Lee. She was the unkempt, unruly thief who was just as smart as I was and twice as street savvy. She was annoyingly adorable beneath the dirt and grime and she was in trouble. In way over her head, I told myself it wasn’t my job to keep her from drowning. In the Point, it was sink or swim and I wasn’t the designated lifeguard on duty. I had shut the door in her face, but now she’s gone…vanished…disappeared without a trace. It took less than a second for me to realize that I wanted her back. When a woman comes along that melts all the frozen, hard things you’re made of, you’ll do anything you have to, to bring her home. What you see is not always what you get…and with a man like me there is more than anyone ever bargained for.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who called a corrupt kingdom home sweet home. Protected and sheltered from the worst the world had to offer, she fell in love with the crumbling city that burned and blazed around her. Every dirty corner, every scary shadow, found a place within her heart. So did a man who was violent and dangerous, just like the streets she claimed as her own. He was all business and brutality, except when it came to her. With her, he was calm, caring, and heartbreakingly patient. He warned her over and over that he wasn't the man for her, but she refused to listen. She never expected either the streets or their enforcer to hurt her, since she'd given her heart so completely to both. She should have known the streets in the Point were always going to be savage, and so was the man committed to keeping control of them in the hands of criminals and bloody kingpins. Blindsided by a betrayal which cut so deeply she was sure the wounds would never heal, the princess fled the home she loved and the man who broke her heart. Throwing away her rusted, twisted crown was supposed to help her forget. All it did was make her long for everything she left behind. She told herself she would never go back, but in this tormented kingdom, family is everything. Eventually, she has no choice but to return. While she was gone, the people who loved her worked hard to make the city safe, and the man who destroyed her sank deeper into the darkness. Going back shouldn't feel like surrender... but it does. As this pretty princess hovers on the edge of the unknown, the past attacks with a vengeance. It's a good reminder that puppy love eventually grows up and turns into something with sharp teeth and one hell of a bite. She never asked for the keys to the kingdom. She'd much rather go out and build her own.