Synopsis:
After the only girl he ever loved told him he would never be enough, Rowdy St. James knocked the Texas dust off his boots and decided he was going to do everything in his power to live up to his nickname. Life was all about a good time, good friends and never taking much too seriously. Rowdy learned his lesson early on, when you care that much about anything it can destroy you, and he never wants to risk feeling like that again. Only now he has a new coworker, a ghost from the past who’s making him question every lesson he ever learned.
Salem Cruz grew up in a house with too many rules, too many regulations, and no fun allowed. That never worked for her so she left it all behind as soon as she could, but she never forgot the sweet, blue-eyed boy next door who’d been in love with her little sister. Fate and good intentions from an old friend have placed her right in Rowdy’s path and she’s determined to show him he picked the wrong sister all those years ago. A mission that is going along perfectly until the one person that ties them together shows up and could very well tear them back.
Review:
Another GREAT book by Crownover. I read it all in one sitting, as I usually do with anything that she writes. While this can be read as a standalone, it’s best that you’ve read the previous four books to get the best understanding and emotionally experience that this book is sure to bring you.
ROWDY follows one of out favorite tattooed men and his journey to love, family and healing. Right away, I just want to mention that this is actually one of the reasons what I continue to read Crownover’s books. While the men are very attractive and tattoos/piercings are very appealing to me, I definitely have a greater appreciation for the realness of the stories and the vulnerability that each character brings to the page.
Rowdy’s journey to healing is not an easy one, but it’s one that is worthwhile and as a reader, you are rewarded greatly while reading. Salem, Rowdy’s love interest, is definitely a likable character from the moment you meet her. And I knew that she would fit in with the rest of the Marked Men’s girls (i.e. Shaw, Adyen, Cora, and Saint) extremely well.
While I’m not going to talk about the plot at all, because I actually went into this book not knowing much about what would happen, other than Rowdy would experience a romance with Salem, I am going to say that the tender moments and the internal moments with Rowdy were my favorite parts of the book. The sexy times are always good, but because I know what Jay can do with those, I was interested to see something different. Something more than just nicely written sex scenes. And I think I got that.
Rule and Rome are still my number one and two men in this series, but Rowdy is definitely number three. The emotional turmoil that I went through with him, was something personal for me. I connected with him a great deal and I also connected with Salem and her determination to help, heal and love Rowdy.
Throughout this book, you know that Rowdy is the focus. The story really is about him and his experiences, but you also get a lot of subplots, too. Rule, Jet, Rome AND Asa. Some of which you will swoon over, some which will pull at the heartstrings, and some will make you a bit angry. It’s all about the experience. Salem’s storyline was definitely one that, while I didn’t see it coming, I appreciated it all the same. She actually had some healing and growth to go through as well. So, this book actually takes you through the theme of healing and growth through more than one perspective.
The supporting characters, from our Marked Men to their women to other surprise individuals, played very crucial roles in the progression of the story as well as in the development of both Salem and Rowdy’s characters.
This is definitely a character driven book, as all of Jay’s books tend to be. Because of that fact, the expectation for great characters is VERY high and Jay delivers once again. There’s not much I can say other than this is another well done piece of work. Jay is not the most elegant writer, which is not a bad thing. Even the most elegant writers aren’t great storytellers. Jay is a fantastic teller of a story. She uses her characters to grip the reader, make them care, and then fall in love. That’s what happened to me when I read this book. I fell in love.
It was an awesome read. Highly recommend.
Rating: ★★★★ 1/2
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About Jay Crownover
Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men series. She also introduced the dark and sexy world of The Point in a new series this last summer starting with BETTER WHEN HE’s BAD. Like her characters, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she’ll settle for writing stories with interesting characters that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.
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