Review: Rome (Marked Men #3) by Jay Crownover

Title: Rome

Author: Jay Crownover

My rating: 5 hearts

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Pub. date: July 3rd 2014

Publisher: Harper Collins

Synopsis: 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 . . .

This is my favourite yet. I love this series beyond words, but there was something about Rome that just stood out. The story just touched me more than the other books have, and the characters were just awesome. There was also improvement in the writing, which is ultimately why I chose to raise my rating.

   Cora is such an awesome character!

   She moved around a lot when she was a kid, because her father was in the navy, and her mother out of the picture, until she fell in love and moved in with him. Then he cheated on her, and that has given her several trust issues when it comes to love, and she’s holding out for the perfect guy. Cora is fiercely protective of the people she loves, and is always ready to drop everything to help out a friend. She loves her friends and family fiercely, like she does everything else, except when it comes to romantic love. She’s terrified of giving away her heart after the way Jimmie treated her. She’s sarcastic and not afraid to stand up for herself or the people she loves.

   Rome is far from perfect.

   He’s really protective of the people he loves, and has spent most of his life protecting people. When they grew up, he always protected his brothers, Rule and Remy, and Shaw. Then he started protecting people by being in the army. When he gets home, though, he doesn’t really know what to do. He’s lost, and struggles with getting his life back on track, though he doesn’t know what track. As we learned in Rule, the Archer family has a lot of issues, which is another thing Rome struggles with.

   Rome and Cora are just perfect for each other.

   They’re just what the other one needs, despite all their issues, despite being imperfect. But they make each other happy, and they love each other, and that’s what matters. Cora refuses to give up on Rome when he freaks out because of his past, and Rome refuses to give up on Cora when she’s scared of giving it all to him. Their story just really got to me in a way the other books didn’t.

   The writing is better!

   I was so happy when the writing got better. I already knew from Rule and Jet that Crownover has talent, that she captures the emotions in a way that just stays with you, even after you finish reading, and now that the periods and commas are there, I’m ready to shove this book on anyone. Even if they don’t really like Romance.

   With flawed, relatable, dynamic characters, romance that makes you swoon, and a love-story that is capable of changing any girls dream of “the perfect guy” to “the imperfect guy”, Rome is a touching story of love surviving, even when it’s hard.

Jay Crownover is the International and multiple New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men Series, The Saints of Denver Series, and The Point and Breaking Point Series. Her books can be found translated in many different languages all around the world. She is a tattooed, crazy haired Colorado native who lives at the base of the Rockies with her awesome dogs. This is where she can frequently be found enjoying a cold beer and Taco Tuesdays. Jay is a self-declared music snob and outspoken book lover who is always looking for her next adventure, between the pages and on the road.
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