Rome (Marked Men #3) - Review

Rome (Marked Men #3)

By: Jay Crownover

Published: January 7, 2014 by William Morrow Paperbacks

387 pages

Source: Personal Kindle Library

(Goodreads /Amazon)

Summary:

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 . . .

MY REVIEW:
Rome is almost tame compared to his brother Rule and rockstar friend Jet. He has been in the United States Army for nearly 10 years. He's a big beast of a man, without the tattoos and piercings that his brother and friends are so fond of. So it only stands to reason that we need someone "marked" for him to become involved with. Enter Cora. She works with the guys at the tattoo shop, is best friends with Shaw and Ayden (girls from books one and two) and fits the bill of a punk rock Tinker Bell. She's small and petite, pretty, with her share of piercings and tattoos, and a heart of gold, loyal to her core for her friends. The two of them together are an interesting match.

Rome has just returned home, being discharged from the military because of his injuries. Though healed physically he carries a load of mental struggles from his time at war. The only thing that helps him sleep at night without nightmares is a lot of alcohol. Add to that the stress he has with his parents over the grudge he is keeping against them and Shaw regarding his brother Remy's secret. The dude is just a walking cloud of anger and frustration. One drunken night changes everything when Cora comes to his rescue and starts a relationship neither of them expected.

Cora is searching for Mr. Perfect after having her heart broken by the only man she had ever loved. What she fails to realize is that no one is perfect. Least of all Rome Archer. But she can't deny her strong attraction to him, his bright blue eyes and his strong muscled body. He definitely oozes masculinity. As with all new adult contemporary stories, the major conflict comes about 75% of the way through. Predictable yet it comes with a twist.

Favorite Quotes:
"Relationships are not tailor-made and people are flawed. You have to work around that and love the other person anyway. Our flaws are what make us unique..."

"I can't be perfect for you, but I can be someone you rely on, someone you want to keep around even though it isn't always going to be easy."

He was simply the best of all the imperfect things I could ever have asked for.

"...love didn't do any good if you held on to it in a death grip. It only had purpose, had power, when you had the courage to hand it over to someone else for safekeeping."
Final  Rating - 4 stars