Series: Marked Men (Page 1 of 2)

Synopsis:

After the only girl he ever loved told him that he would never be enough, Rowdy St. James knocked the Texas dust off his boots and set out to live up to his nickname. A good ol’ boy looking for good times and good friends, Rowdy refuses to take anything too seriously, especially when it comes to the opposite sex. Burned by love once, he isn’t going to let himself trust a woman again. But that’s before his new co-worker arrives, a ghost from the past who’s suddenly making him question every lesson he ever learned.

Salem Cruz grew up in a house with too many rules and too little fun—a world of unhappiness she couldn’t wait to forget. But one nice thing from childhood has stayed with her; the memory of the sweet, blue-eyed boy next door who’d been head over heels in love with her little sister.

Now, fate and an old friend have brought her and Rowdy together, and Salem is determined to show him that once upon a time he picked the wrong sister. A mission that is working perfectly—until the one person that ties them together appears, threatening to tear them apart for good.

Review:

Rowdy was not really a dominant character in the previous Marked Men’s books, in my eyes.  He appeared here and there, but I never really had a good grasp on him and his whole story.  Luckily we got to dive right into his history, and it wasn’t long before I knew him just as well as the others.  But his story has a different element, which made it even more enjoyable.  Two more stories become intertwined with his, and it made for a great addition.  I don’t want to give them away, and they aren’t related to the other Marked Men characters, but be prepared to have fun as you watch all of the drama, feelings and events unfold!

Rowdy and I had ties that bound us together, it was just proving more difficult than I thought to unwind them and tie them back up into a pretty bow. – Salem

Just like all of the other Marked Men, Rowdy had a tough past.  His mother was murdered, which forced him into the foster system.  He eventually ended up with a family that lived next door to the Cruz sisters.  They helped him find his way in life and gave him memories he could smile about.  BUT they both ended up breaking him in the end.  And now one of them is forcing her way back into his life.  Salem has accepted a job at the new studio.  She was not the sister that Rowdy dated, but she’s back to show him that he made the wrong choice.  That it should have been her all along!

You were everything to me and then you were gone and I was lost all over again. – Rowdy

Rowdy has made a great life and “family” for himself.  But now with Salem back in town, all of his old fears are materializing.  He always felt as though he was never good enough for anyone to stick around.  His mother ‘left’ him when she was murdered, Salem left him to escape her overprotective father when she turned 18, and Salem’s sister, Poppy, left him too.  If he lets Salem back into his life, what’s not to say that she will leave him again?  And while he’s come a long way, underneath it all he is still a broken little boy.  He wouldn’t be able to handle being abandoned again.

I saw his eyes widen, watched them fill with recognition and trepidation. I couldn’t help but smile. Even though he looked less than thrilled to see me, everything about seeing him made me happy, and I knew, just knew I had made the right choice. – Salem

It’s impossible not to like Salem.  She was sassy, strong and knew what she wanted in life, and that was Rowdy!  But she’s insecure at the same time.  Not only about the relationship that Rowdy had with her sister, but anytime life got too hard, she would pick up and run.  Unfortunately, her mind ends up becoming her own worst enemy wondering if she could even compete with the past and her sister.  But you know what?  I got it!  It made sense.  I think that’s one of the things I loved the most about Rowdy and Salem’s story.  They were so easy to understand.  Their thoughts and actions were not only relatable but completely believable.  And it made me love them that much more!

Salem and Rowdy’s journey was sweet!  Watching them push each other out of their comfort zones was hot.  And when they would re-live their history, their memories and stories were adorable.  And through it all, all of the other Marked Men and the women we love are constantly thrown into the mix.  Shaw’s news, while not surprising, had me elated, I loved watching Cora grill Salem, and seeing a huge event occur between Ayden and Asa was the icing on the cake. I can’t wait to see how all of their lives will be tied up in hopefully a pretty bow in Asa’s story, since it is the last in the series.

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #) ***Each book can be read as a standalone, but best enjoyed in order.***
Rule #1 Reviews: Jen	Jet #2 Reviews: Jen	Rome #3 Reviews: Jen
Nash #4 Reviews: Jen	Rowdy #5 Reviews: Jen	Asa #6 Reviews: Jen

Synopsis:

Saint Ford has worked hard to achieve her childhood dream of becoming of nurse. Focused on her work and devoted to her patients, there’s no room for love. She doesn’t need a guy making waves in her calm, serene life—especially when he’s the unforgettable hottie who nearly destroyed her in high school. Dark, brooding Nash Donovan might not remember her or the terrible pain he caused. But he turned her world upside down . . . and now he’s trying to do it again.

Saint has no idea that Nash isn’t the cocky player he once was. Uncovering a devastating family secret has rocked his world, and now he’s struggling to figure out his future. He can’t be distracted by the pretty nurse he seems to meet everywhere. Still, he can’t ignore the sparks that fly between them—or how she seems so desperate to get away from him. But the funny, sweet, and drop-dead gorgeous Saint is far too amazing to give up on—especially since she’s the only thing in his life that seems to make sense.

When Nash discovers the truth about their past, he realizes he may have lost her heart before he could even fight for it. Now, Saint has to decide: is Nash worth risking herself for all over again?

Review:

It’ so easy to take pleasure in each of the Marked Men’s stories!  They are fun and always have some grit to them.  I don’t realize how attached I’ve become to the characters until their world falls apart beneath their feet.  Here I am flipping through the pages, enjoying how the storyline is proceeding, and then BAM something happens that is so deep, so emotional, that it’s impossible not to cry or feel ripped apart.  I do wish that I felt those stronger emotions throughout the rest of the book.  But that doesn’t take away from the fact that I was so excited to read Nash’s story.  But wow, I struggled connecting with Saint.  She was just…well keep reading and you’ll see why she wasn’t my favorite.

She was beautiful, breathtaking, and she absolutely despised me. – Nash

Nash just learned that the man who truly loved and helped raise him has cancer, and it’s terminal.  While dealing with Phil’s prognosis and his evil mother drama (she’s the devil btw, seriously) he is struggling to emotionally stay afloat.  But through it all, Saint Ford keeps appearing in his life.  Saint is not only a nurse at the hospital, but she went to high school with Nash.  She was shy, chubby and had a huge crush on him.  After having her heart and confidence ripped to shreds by Nash, can she really let him back in when he so desperately needs her?

“What’s right for me isn’t what’s right for you because I’m an actual human being with feelings and emotions, and you, Mom . . . you’re a goddamn monster.” – Nash

I’ve always loved Nash.  Out of that crazy, dramatic group of friends, Nash was the good guy!  He was the sexy, mellow, level-headed one.  And being inside his head made me fall for him even harder.  While I prefer bad boys, Nash and his tortured soul kept sucking me in!  He was sexy, broken, hurt and jaded from his past because of his evil mother.  But that didn’t affect what a beautiful person he became.  Because Nash is patient, kind, loving, loyal and he MADE this book for me!

“I don’t know that you would like me once you got to know me, and the Nash I thought I knew . . .” She looked so lost all I wanted to do was give her a hug. “I hated him, but you . . . this Nash . . . all I do is want him.” – Saint

Saint isn’t the typical type of girl that I can connect with.  She’s shy, quiet and struggles speaking her mind at times.  And while I tried my hardest to give her a chance, she definitely tried my patience!  I have a lot of leeway and understanding when it comes to characters having their hang ups and issues.  We all make mistakes, I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff over the years, and I know that I can be more forgiving than I probably should be with characters.  But this girl just drove me insane at times!  She would flip like a light switch and I just wanted to smack some sense into her.  Especially during the couch part……that was just, wow….shocking, frustrating, maddening and CRAZY!!!  Who in the world does that, really?!?!  I’m still in shock!  But of course there is a but!  She questioned her own sanity, and I was so thankful that she wasn’t clueless to her actions.  I liked how she made me laugh, how she cared for Nash and tried to have his best interests at heart. Unfortunately the positives did not outweigh her negatives.

“Why are you so certain I’m going to hurt you? That I’m going to fuck up and disappoint you?”
She gave me a lopsided smile and she worked her hands under the collar of my shirt so she could stroke the base of my neck.
“Because it’s bound to happen, but I really want to enjoy what we have before then.” – Saint

Nash’s story was adorable and frustrating.  While I wish he would have had a different love interest, I still enjoyed his story.  It was fun to watch another one of the guys find their way and sort out their past.  I love this group of Marked Men.  I love how these stories always involve their deep friendships!  That we get to watch them help one other throughout each book!  And that I get to continue to see Rule from time to time, gah I love him!!  Now I’m off to read Rowdy’s story but I have to say that I LOVED the scenes that involved either Asa and Royal.  They haven’t met yet, but they are both so intoxicating that I can’t wait for their story!!

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #) ***Each book can be read as a standalone, but best enjoyed in order.***
Rule #1 Reviews: Jen	Jet #2 Reviews: Jen	Rome #3 Reviews: Jen
Nash #4 Reviews: Jen	Rowdy #5 Reviews: Jen	Asa #6 Reviews: Jen

Synopsis:

With his tight leather pants and a sharp edge that makes him dangerous, Jet Keller is every girl’s rock and roll fantasy. But Ayden Cross is done walking on the wild side with bad boys. She doesn’t want to give in to the heat she sees in Jet’s dark, haunted eyes. She’s afraid of getting burned from the sparks of their spontaneous combustion, even as his touch sets her on fire.

Jet can’t resist the Southern Belle with mile-long legs in cowboy boots who defies his every expectation. Yet the closer he feels to Ayden, the less he seems to know her. While he’s tempted to get under her skin and undo her in every way, he knows firsthand what happens to two people with very different ideas about relationships.

Will the blaze burn into an enduring love. . . or will it consume their dreams and turn them to ashes?

Review:

Ayden – We were two people forever marked by those around us, and it hurt to know it was enough to keep us apart.

Jet was a sweet love story that made me smile as I closed the book.  The slow build of their relationship, their banter that had me laughing out loud, and the drama that came crashing down on them made me care for both of them.  Shockingly, I had to wipe the tears from my eyes from time to time and that just made me fall for Ayden and Jet’s story that much more.  I am so glad that I continued on with this series!

Ayden – When I looked at him I had a hard time remembering the rejection and what I should be doing and instead let his wicked grin ruin all of my self-control.

Thankfully we get to start back at THAT night. The night where Ayden throws herself at Jet and Jet of course turns her down. Finally we get to understand what was going on in Ayden’s head. We get to see why she became so withdrawn and why the whole experience shook her to her core. And of course it gave us insight into her infatuation with the hard-core rocker. I loved that the book started at that scene! Then we fast-forward one year later where Jet is now living with Ayden and Cora.  We get to feel the sexual tension and watch what makes them tick, explode and run.

Ayden – Jet was going to undo me in every way he could, and I just didn’t know if I was going to be able to stop him.

Jet – I thought she was going to look remorseful or ashamed; I wasn’t prepared for her to be mad. Those whiskey eyes lit with a fire I had never seen in her and before I could react, she slapped me across the face hard enough to make my back teeth rattle and my face flame.

Jet has so much more going on than one would ever think. The outside that he shows the world doesn’t even hint on how potent and intense he is on the inside. When he starts pulling back the layers and allowing you into the core of himself, wow, you almost need to step back by the intensity of it all. He is filled with so much rage, so much talent and so much passion that it’s a lot to take in. His accumulation into this person is partly because because an aspect of his life is so depressing, so unfair and the weight of it is crushing him into the ground. Jet is one very conflicted, complicated person and for me I never really knew what he was going to do next.

Ayden – Who I was and who I wanted to be were being torn into separate parts, and the me that was left was vulnerable and raw, I had no idea how to stitch it all back together again, or even if I wanted to.

Jet – None of us is shooting sunshine out of our asses, girl, so I don’t know why you think you should suffer alone.

Oh Ayden, I just loved that girl, huge mess and all! She made me smile, laugh and her “I’m not going to be some defenseless little girl” attitude made me love her even more. Ironically, Ayden reminded me of the opposite of what Shaw was trying to mold herself into in Rule. Where Shaw was portraying to the world what she thought others wanted her to be, Ayden was portraying to the world the exact opposite of what others wanted and expected her to be.  Coming from a shady past that constantly haunted her and in her desperate need to have that past fade away forever, she created the current Ayden.  But they say you can’t always outrun your past, and unfortunately Ayden is no exception to that rule.

Ayden – It would take torture to get me to admit it, but my main goal in life was to see how far down that damn angel tattoo went, and to trace the entire thing with my tongue.

Together they are nothing short of endearing and I liked watching Jet and Ayden interact. They are both two broken souls that are just trying to figure out how to put all of their pieces back together.  It was funny, sad and frustrating but I thoroughly enjoyed their story and I will definitely be continuing on with the series.

P.S. The song used on Page 93 was so WRONG and HYSTERICAL. I couldn’t stop laughing, shaking my head and shouting no, no, no!

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #) ***Each book can be read as a standalone, but best enjoyed in order.***
Rule #1 Reviews: Jen	Jet #2 Reviews: Jen	Rome #3 Reviews: Jen
Nash #4 Reviews: Jen	Rowdy #5 Reviews: Jen	Asa #6 Reviews: Jen