Title: Rome (Marked Men #3)Author: Jay Crownover
Published: January 7th 2014
Publisher: William Morrow and imprint of HarperCollins Publishing
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*An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review*
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...
I remember
reading Jay’s debut Rule when it first came out as a self-published book. While
the content was good, the editing was the worst I have ever seen. I tried to
look past it though and since I knew that Jay is a great contemporary author, I
was more than certain that with a well-established team behind her, she could
bring it big time. I was right!
"Love isn't perfect. It's hard work and sometimes it's more effort to be in love than it is to just run away. If you keep looking for perfect, the real thing is going to pass right by you." (taken from an ARC and could be changed in the actual book)
You don’t
always have to be marked with tattoos and ink to be marked you know. Rome had
marks on his body—scars from the war—as well as a scarred mind from all the
horrible things he had to endure during his time in the army. Since I had
already met him in the first installment, I knew something of his behavior. In
addition to seeing him through Rule and Shaw’s eyes, we got the exclusive in
being inside his head and I could see the sweet, honorable, thoughtful and
caring guy in him that everyone was going on and on about.
Cora was
such a fun character. I didn’t really remember her from Rule, probably since I
read the first book such a long time ago, but she’s a fire cracker with a good,
humble heart. She is a feisty one at that. While I was surprised and honestly a
bit repelled by the fact that she poured beer on Rome when he was having a down
moment, she redeemed herself quite nicely. I wouldn’t mind having a friend like
her.
I liked how
even though it started off as somewhat like a story based on the NYT bestseller
formula, it didn’t suffer from it—especially as it got towards the end of it. I
was waiting for the huge break up and for the characters to be stubborn and not
talk for a few weeks/months etc., but it wasn’t like that. Yeah, they had their
issues to work out, but it was all good and more like a small obstacle on their
way towards happiness.
I love how
we got to know Nash more and I’m so excited for his story. I had a feeling
about his story, but we get conformation in the epilogue and it couldn’t have
been a more perfect set up, especially with the cute nurse ;) Also, music is very important to Jay as a writer, as I have come to understand. Since I'm a big fan of everything music, I can't complain on the playlists for every book. Since she loves her music, I'll share mine. I think Hero of War by Rise Against describes Rome (and the people around him) perfectly.
This series
is not to be missed! Intense, fun, emotional and sexy—this is every woman’s
fantasy right here. I hope you guys give these books a try and enjoy them as
much as I have. They’re perfect for a cold day to warm you up next to the
fireplace or for a rainy day to cheer you guys up. I’m everexcited for Nash's story and I’m sure it’ll be just as good as the previous books have been. Read
on, lovelies!
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Meet the author
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.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Thank you to Literati Author Services, Inc., William Morrow Books and Jay Crownover for a review copy.
I just read this one last week. I am not a fan of *spoilers* pregnancies or babies/kids in books. I've even DNF several books once any of these show up but this one worked for me. I read the pre-edited Rule too and the story made is easier to overlook all those missing commas :)
ReplyDeleteRule is still my favorite but I'm excited for Nash!
Happy New Year!
Agreed! If it wasn't for the great story, I would have put Rule down. I didn't have a problem with what you mentioned in Rome, it fit in quite nicely. I usually prefer these themes in the epilogue though:) Hah! I love Rule and Rome both, but yes, if I had to pick, I'd go with Rule book wise. I'm SOOOO pumped for Nash. That book is high on my tbr. You too, gorgeous! :)
DeleteI read Rule when it was available on EW and I really didn't enjoy it. I hated Rule and his love interest. Both of them acted pretty dumb. I know a lot of people enjoy these books though, so maybe, I should just give this one a try. Cora seems like an interesting one and I like that she's feisty. You need to let me know more about her pouring beer on him! I need to know the story! :P
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed this one, Siiri!
Fab review!
Hmmm.. I wonder what you'd think of this one since it tackles different kind of issues than Rule did and I agree that Rule and Shaw didn't make the best decisions in history lol. Cora is a firecracker with a good heart and I think you'd like her :) Thanks, hon!
Delete"I was waiting for the huge break up and for the characters to be stubborn and not talk for a few weeks/months etc., but it wasn’t like that. Yeah, they had their issues to work out, but it was all good and more like a small obstacle on their way towards happiness. "
ReplyDeleteYES SIIRI! That's how I feel about so many NA books, I'm just waiting (and dreading) that moment where it all falls about and the big miscommunication happens, but that just wasn't what happened here. They both communicated so well after the initial small bumps in the road, and I just couldn't have been happier with the two of them. I also was a little worried that my undying love for Rome, established in Rule, was going to overshadow Cora and I just wouldn't get attached to her as a result, but she grew on me throughout and in the end I loved her as much as I did Rome. So glad you loved this too!
AGREED, Jenny! I think that they were quite mature about this and even though it was clearly unexpected, I think they can make this situation work in a great way. I came to respect Cora, especially when he punched that a-hole, haha. Can't wait to read your thoughts:)
DeleteHaha, while it wasn't out of character for this spicy girl, I was kind of put off by it. What do you mean you poor beer on someone? *eyeroll* Oh, yay! I think you'd like that aspect of the story a lot, if that's the case. I hope you enjoy, Aman :) x
ReplyDeleteCora sounds fun and I like an intense book!
ReplyDeleteShe was fun indeed:)
DeleteIt's great that you gave the author another chance and ended up really enjoying this book. I definitely understand what you're saying about reading a book and the editing isn't all that great on some of them. I've had one of those. But anyways, great review :) It sounds like a pretty good book!
ReplyDeleteJanina @ Synchronized Reading
Ha, it was really frustrating to read a book with so much potential and having to read sentences over and over again because sometimes you just couldn't understand what the author was trying to say. I did love both of these books though:)
Delete"You don’t always have to be marked with tattoos and ink to be marked you know. " <--- Perfect, Siiri. Absolutely.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't aware they you're a fan of this series! I love that though it seems formulaic, Jay creates dynamic characters with stories I love. Cannot wait for Nash's book!
Great review!
Heh, yes, a fan here *waves* :) I sooooo cannot wait for Nash's book, it's going to be good :)
DeleteSo thrilled you loved this too, Siiri! I love that these two couldn't have seemed more different on the outside but were so perfect for each other on the inside! I fell head over heels in love with Rule, but I read the book after more editing took place so no unnecessary distractions. Wonderful review, Siiri! :)
ReplyDeleteYou're lucky you read the more edited version, haha. It was painful to read the first outlet :D Though the content was enjoyable. Thanks, hon!
DeleteThis series and book has only come to my attention today and I love these sort of books. It reminds me of Losing It series by Cora Carmack. What I love about this one is that there isn't a huge break up, three quarters of the way through and its only small obstacles like you said. Which is surprising, almost anything I read like this will have a break up or they runaway or something. I'm really looking forward to reading this series. Happy New Year Siiri!! :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you give it a try. In a lot of ways, it's similar to Cora Carmack, though I do believe it tackles some more issue-topics so to speak. Cora Carmack's is more fun, in my humble opinion. Haha! Yes! Same. They just can't be happy without a huge break up :D You too, Emma :)
DeleteWhat a lovely review, Siiri! You make me want to read ROME even more than I did before. It's really fun to see authors that you can tell are good storytellers, but just need a little editing help, get that support. I really like what you said about Rome's scars being different from tattoos but no less visible and impacting. I also love the idea of him with Cora. She's a spitfire for sure. When I read RULE, I also thought that it seemed like a typical New Adult setup, but Jay was able to tell her story in a way that was unique and set it a part. It sounds like this one is similar to that. I also really like to hear that there isn't any long drawn out breaks or angst periods.
ReplyDelete