Marked Men #3
Jay Crownover
Contemporary New Adult
384 pages
William Morrow Paperbacks
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review
THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Cora Lewis is a whole lot of fun, and she knows how to keep her tattooed bad boy friends in line. But all that flash and sass hide the fact that she’s never gotten over the way her first love broke her heart. Now she has a plan to make sure that never happens again: She’s only going to fall in love with someone perfect.
Rome Archer is as far from perfect as a man can be. He’s stubborn and rigid, he’s bossy and has come back from his final tour of duty fundamentally broken. Rome’s used to filling a role: big brother, doting son, super soldier; and now none of these fit anymore. Now he’s just a man trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life while keeping the demons of war and loss at bay. He would have been glad to suffer it alone, until Cora comes sweeping into his life and becomes the only color on his bleak horizon.
Perfect isn’t in the cards for these two, but imperfect might just last forever . . .
MY THOUGHTS
Rome is perhaps the most highly anticipated installment of the Marked Men series to date, his status as a military veteran struggling to claw his way free from the phantoms of blood, sand, and death that weigh him down causing an instant connection to form, protective instincts flaring and the desire to see happiness find its way to him at an all-time high. There is of course some wariness as well given the fact that huge drama and dark, broken characters tend to be staples of the new adult genre, but Ms. Crownover has a talent for ensuring her books pack an emotional punch without yanking our hearts from our chests and crushing them beneath the heel of her boot. We're invested in the outcome of Rome and Cora's relationship without dreading the turn of every page–wondering if what's awaiting us next is the moment we'll be made to bleed–and we're beyond grateful for the strong focus on communication in all her stories.
Cora is a young woman we certainly like well enough in the beginning, though her determination to hold out for a non-existent “Mr. Perfect” thanks to a painful romantic history is cause for some concern as we look ahead to what it could mean for her relationship with Rome. If she were paired with any guy other than Rome in this story, her lingering hurt after being cheated on by a man she thought was her endgame would create in us no shortage of sympathy, but in the first third of this book her heartbreak, while neither easily dismissed nor negligible by any means, just doesn't quite stand up against the pain and darkness Rome faces on a daily basis courtesy of his time in the military. As a result we find ourselves more firmly attached to Rome from the onset, a little unsure of Cora since the reasons behind her hesitancy to start something with Rome seem to carry less weight when pitted against all that Rome is dealing with, but luckily it doesn't take too long before Cora wins us over.
After spending just a little time with Rome, Cora quickly comes to see how impractical her campaign to wait for the perfect man–a man with no assembly and no effort required to fit snugly into her life–truly is, and the moment she decides to own up to her misguided way of thinking and take a chance on Rome we can't help but root for her. She's the type of person who's always upfront, not one to mince words or play games, and just as she often gets Rome to admit when he's made a mistake or taken a misstep, she's quick to admit her own missteps as they slowly start down the path of a serious relationship. When her past and the fear it tattooed across her heart and mind rear up on occasion and threaten to make a hypocrite out of her after everything she's said to Rome about needing someone who's as invested in a shared future as she is, there's only the briefest of moments for us to get frustrated before she recognizes the damage she's caused and sets out to do everything she can to fix it. The two of them have significant baggage that trips them up now and again as they try to move forward, but luckily for us both of them are fighters at their cores, willing and able to do battle for what they want with very little collateral damage.
Overall, Rome is another strong addition to the Marked Men series, Rome and Cora a beautifully flawed pair who make us both laugh and cry, and leave us with hearts light and happy as we turn our eyes to Nash in eager anticipation.
Rating: 4/5
Buy Rome:
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JAY CROWNOVER
I’m supposed to share interesting details about myself so that my readers get to know me so here we go in no particular order: I’m an natural redhead even though I haven’t seen my real hair color in years, I’m a big fan of tattoos and have a half sleeve on either arm and various other pieces all over the place, I’ve been in the bar industry since I was in college and it has always offered interesting insight into how men and women interact with each other, I have 3 dogs that are all crazy, I live in Colorado and love the snow, I love music and in all reality wish I could be a rock star not a writer or a bartender but I have zero talent so there is that.
I love to write, love to read and all I’m interested in is a good story with interesting characters that make the reader feel something.
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TOUR + GIVEAWAY
The fabulous team at Literati Author Services has put together an amazing tour for Rome, so be sure and check out the full list of participating blogs so you don't miss out on all the Rome and Cora fun. There's also an epic tour-wide giveaway including prizes like an iPod, Amazon gift cards and of course, the Marked Men books. Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter!
A Rafflecopter Giveaway
