BOOK REVIEW ~ ROME BY JAY CROWNOVER

Title: Rome ( Marked Men, Book Three)
Author: Jay Crownover
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Expected Release Date: January 7, 2014
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary
eBook format, 384 pages

ARC provided by Edelweiss






Book Blurb

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, super-soldier—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...

Book Review 

I fell in love with Crownover's writing style with her first book, Rule. It wasn't fresh, but there was something about it that called out to me. Maybe it was the fact that her heroes and heroines aren't perfect. They don't fit the cookie cutter mold. 

Or it could be just the sexy tatts. 

Whatever it is, I love this series. And Rome's story is just a tad bit different to help set it apart from Rule and Jet's. 

Rome has returned home from the Army and is adrift. No longer needed as the big brother protector, no longer a soldier, and estranged from his family, Rome has some serious issues to confront. He struggles to fight the need to drink his pain away as nightmares continue to plague him about the war in Afghanistan. 

Cora Lewis is a pixie look-alike with a spitfire attitude. She is used to having the last word and loyal to the men who work at Marked and the women who love them. When Rome comes home spewing anger and discontent, Cora gets in his face and lets him know "Captain No-Fun" isn't welcome. Then proceeds to dumb a beer on his head. 

Cora, of course, has her own issues. She hasn't had much of a a stable family life and when her fiance up and cheats on her, she is not only wounded--but crushed. She is now searching for the unattainable--Mr. Perfect--to spend the rest of her life with. The man who will give her everything and is "all the way in". 


But when Rome receives a call from a buddy soldier, he falls to the pressure of the drink and Cora comes to his rescue. These two polar opposites find solace in each other's arms. But something that was supposed to be just one night ends up becoming something more permanent. 

There are a few predictable moments, some unneeded (and long winded) narratives that distract from the pacing of the story, but the chemistry between the characters make me want to continue to read. However, Crownover does an excellent job enticing the reader with the Archer family dynamics. Rule and Rome still have not come to terms with the fact that Remy kept his homosexuality a secret. Rome, especially, is feeling a lack of closure he sees no way to resolve. Cora is the one who figures out how to help the man she is beginning to see could be her Mr. Perfect--flaws and all. 

There are other relationships that keep you hooked--the one between Rome and the aging barkeep, Brite was a huge bonus. Brite, a retired Marine, takes Rome under his wing as he helps him find his purpose. 

Then there was Asa, a friend of Rome's who has a questionable past that leads to conflict between Asa and Ayden. 

Despite the rare moment when I wanted to scream at Cora to get over her past before Rome leaves her butt, I am looking forward to reading Nash and Saint's story next.