I LOVE this series and I am so excited to be a part of the Rome tour and share my review and an amazing tour giveaway.
Rome
(Marked
Men #3)
Author:
Jay Crownover
Publisher:
William Morrow
Publication
Date: January 7, 2014
Genre:
New Adult/Contemporary
Event
Organized by: Literati Author Services, Inc.
Source:
eARC from Publisher via Edelweiss
~Synopsis~
Sometimes
the wrong choice can be just right . . .
Fun and fearless, Cora Lewis knows how to keep her tattooed "bad boy" friends at the Marked in line. But beneath all that flash and sass is a broken heart. Cora won't let herself get burned again. She's waiting to fall in love with the perfect man—a baggage-free, drama-free guy ready for commitment. Then she meets Rome Archer.
Rome Archer is as far from perfect as a man can be. He's stubborn, rigid, and bossy. And he's returned from his final tour of duty more than a little broken. Rome's used to filling many roles: big brother, doting son, supersoldier—but none of those fit anymore. Now he's just a man trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life while keeping the dark demons of war and loss at bay. He would have been glad to suffer through it alone, until Cora comes sweeping into his life and becomes a blinding flash of color in a sea of gray.Perfect may not be in the cards, but perfectly imperfect could just last forever . .
Fun and fearless, Cora Lewis knows how to keep her tattooed "bad boy" friends at the Marked in line. But beneath all that flash and sass is a broken heart. Cora won't let herself get burned again. She's waiting to fall in love with the perfect man—a baggage-free, drama-free guy ready for commitment. Then she meets Rome Archer.
Rome Archer is as far from perfect as a man can be. He's stubborn, rigid, and bossy. And he's returned from his final tour of duty more than a little broken. Rome's used to filling many roles: big brother, doting son, supersoldier—but none of those fit anymore. Now he's just a man trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life while keeping the dark demons of war and loss at bay. He would have been glad to suffer through it alone, until Cora comes sweeping into his life and becomes a blinding flash of color in a sea of gray.Perfect may not be in the cards, but perfectly imperfect could just last forever . .
~Review~
Freaking
Rome Archer. I have to tell you, I absolutely love these Marked Men. I wish I
was the woman lucky enough to have one of these guys fall in love with me. They
can be a bit rough around the edges but they are fiercely protective of their
women and they love hard. Rome is no exception and while I might love his
brother, Rule, just a little more, I'm still totally HOT for this guy.
Rome is a
soldier and that is all he's known or been for the past 10 years. His military
career is over due to injury and he feels lost and out of place. He doesn't
know who he is now or what to do with the rest of his life. On top of that,
he's still reeling from the fallout with his family regarding his deceased
brother, Remy, and the secrets he kept before he died. He's turned to alcohol
to drown his sorrows and it's definitely been bringing the worst out in him. He
was always close with Rule and Shaw but he's pushing buttons and he and Rule
are on the outs for the first time in his life. However, there's one person not
putting up with Rome's crap and not afraid to tell him off and that's Cora.
Cora is a
really awesome chick and I've liked her since she was first introduced in Rule.
She is totally bad ass, with awesome tattoos and a totally kick ass attitude.
Despite what people may think from her appearance, she is smart and tough and
loyal. She has been really hurt in the past and that has definitely played a
huge role in her love life. She's holding out for Mr. Perfect and won't settle
for anything less. Her ex obliterated her and she never wants to experience
that kind of heart break again. She is instantly attracted and intrigued by
Rome but he is far from her idea of perfect. The more she gets to know him the
more she realizes he may not be her idea of perfect but he may be just perfect
for her.
When I first
read Rule, one of my pet peeves was that it was too predictable. However, as I
read this series, I've come to realize that is how Jay writes. These aren't
meant to be mysteries or to shock and awe you. This series is all about the
couples and the experiences they share together. The plot is there and yeah
it's interesting and a bit intriguing but it's really secondary to the
relationship that develops between Rome and Cora. It doesn't matter if you can
see what's coming a mile away in the plot because what's really going to
surprise you is reaction that the characters have to each other when their
thrown into these situations. Both Rome and Cora have a lot of baggage and
neither of them expected to fall for one another the way they did. Cora is
definitely not Rome's normal type but he can help but want to get to know her
and he is drawn to her because she is different than any woman he has ever known.
They
definitely have chemistry and the sexy times between them was intense and
extremely hot. I liked how open and honest Rome is with Cora and how vulnerable
he lets himself be. She doesn't quite reciprocate and she has a much harder
time fully letting him into her heart. I know she loved him and she was pretty
good at trying to show it but sometimes you just need to hear the words and
Cora struggled with that. However, sometimes it takes a scary situation to show
you how you feel and Cora voiced her feelings for Rome when it really counted.
Cora and Rome go through a lot of things in this book and their lives are
definitely changed by the experiences. They both learn a lot about themselves
and I think they have each other to thank for that.
While we get
more of Rule, Shaw, Ayden and Jet, which is of course a treat, I loved the
addition of Bryant and Asa. I also loved that Nash's story started to develop
out of this book as well. We get some insight into what will be thrown his way
and I am super excited for his story. Bryant is the owner of a bar Rome
stumbles into and as a former Vet himself, he takes Rome under his wing. I
really liked Bryant and I think he definitely plays a huge role in Rome's
recovery. We also get to see a lot more of Asa and I really like him too. He
messed up but it's obvious that he wants to be a better person and it is hard
on him when Ayden doesn't see that he's trying to change. He's getting his own
story one of these days and I look forward to it as well.
Seriously, I
can't say enough about how much I really love this series and the addition of
Rome and Cora to the story. I love the way each book is the love story of two
of the characters but they all flow together and they flow together really
well. I am also hugely impressed with how well Jay's writing has progressed
too. She is definitely a talented writer and her writing and plot development
gets better with each book. I simply can't wait for more!
~IPOD Picks~
“It
Is What It Is” by Lifehouse
“Better
in Time” by Leona Lewis
“Never
Gonna Be Alone” by Nickelback
Purchase Links:
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon
CA | Barnes and Noble | iTunes | Indie Bound
About the Author
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I have been seeing this book all over the place lately and damn it really makes me want to start this series. I honestly never gave it much thought before, but you obviously seem to adore it and a rec from you has yet to disappoint. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI had to skim over your review for now because I have to read these. This is the second 5 star review of utmost trusted bloggers and this means I need to start the series. I have to get through these others!
ReplyDeleteI love this series! I definitely recommend it, especially for those that love NA. It is a little different and I love the guys1
ReplyDeleteYou definitely need to start it. I can't wait for you to meet Rule! He is probably my favorite so far! In fact, I want to re-read his book soon :-)
ReplyDelete