Book Review: Rome by Jay Crownover

Rome
Marked Men #3
Author: Jay Crownover
Reading Level: Adult Fiction
Genre: Contempary Romance
Released: January 7, 2014
Review Source: William Morrow/HarperCollins

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 . . .

Reading anything other than Young Adult Fiction is a rare occasion. However, when I do, I simply love it.  When I can read a book, and yearn for every little free moment that I can get until I finish it. Rome, did this for me. This is book 3 of the Marked Men series written by Jay Crownover. Also, do I rarely read a book and start with anything less than book number 1. This was an exception and boy was it a great exception. Rome is the main character and has returned from serving his country. He is broken, he is hurt, he comes with many outer and inner scars and he isn’t ready to allow anyone in. He has allowed himself to be torn from his family, torn from his friends and has allowed the past to get in the way of his future. Little does he know that spunky, bright, cheerful with a whole lot of talk, Cora is about to change his world, or so we hope so. The series is centered around a tattoo company that is well known for their craft. Cora is the office manager, close friend to all the staff and struggling to stay afloat from a previous relationship gone bad.

Jay Crownover, crafts a story with an original plot, something I always admire in authors that I first come across. Her descriptions of her characters, leave nothing really left to the imagination. As she does a wonderful job providing her readers with a clear view of who they are inside and out. At first glance, the cover of the book, took me a little bit by surprise. He looked somewhat like one of my favorite actors, Wentworth Miller and to me did not really fit the picture that Jay Crownover painted for her readers, of the character Rome. But that’s ok. It doesn’t matter about the cover, because the inside was filled with challenges, surprises, hurt, and love. All bundled together for a very great read.