Jay pulled no punches when writing this book, this go around she changed up the formula a little and really changed the way I looked at all the Marked Men. In a lot of these books the woman is the seriously strong one who makes the man change for their love, but this go around??? It was a great change, one I hadn't been expecting because I make it a point not to read the synopsis's on these books. I like going in and having the story unfold for me like it is for the characters. Normally I don't read the beginning stuff before the book,but I'm so glad I did in the instance. Jay picked some wonderful quotes to share and of course shared quite a bit about herself that made me really love the story even more * and add her to one now favorite list of authors and must buy lists*.
Once again we're back in the world of Denver where the smoking hot Marked Men are working hard at making their lives the best they can be. Our favorite background character Nash got the world's harshest surprise in Rome and is struggling to keep his head above water with the double news he got and a run in with his past. I mean at the end of Rome, she really kicked the world off it's axis for Nash and didn't give us any hint how it would be righted, but did give us a little hope.
I really loved Saint, and I could totally relate to her issues of dealing with the past, body issues, social anxiety, a low self esteem and pessimistic outlook on life and love. It's like someone told Jay my life. Normally I would want to shake the female character and demand she grow up but reading Saint was so real and raw and I totally understood her plight of holding onto the past or embracing the unknown future. Her struggle was real, plus she's a freaking nurse, she like ahead of everyone else in every book just because of ( Yeah if you don't know by now I'm a medical professional with an eye on midwifery, I love reading books with women or men in my field). I loved how confident she was in her field but struggled with accepting that she was just as amazing out of her comfort zone. And of course there is her home life. Le Sigh man Le Sigh.
Our hero Nash is well, perhaps the calmest of the Marked Men, and one of the most damaged ones from a young age. Reading his mother's explanation of why she was the way she was I wanted to knock her block off, like really?? All of that to make your life comfortable?? I'm sure she has some pent up background story but really I don't give a f*ck; you tried to ruin a good young man & you allowed your a**hole husband free rein at doing the same. I should kick you. Nash even though he had every reason to struggle was actually doing amazing & it had to do with the confidence instilled in him by Uncle Phil, his real family maybe shyt, but the one he built for himself was amazing. Nash had the strongest sense of self, even with brief moments of doubt that made him real instead of too perfect.
I enjoyed reading their coming together story. While personally this story was less intense than Rule. less raunchy than Rome (at least to me) it carried a greater emotional impact for me. Their love making scenes were sweet, raw & ground breaking (for both of them) and of course once again sent me running to wiki to double check the newest thing in my sphere. (I'm no vanilla, but learning about these piercings are fascinating and hell I'll admit really new, plus wiki has pictures y'all, pictures, that's way better than imagining it). I loved how Nash worked to make Saint comfortable with him instead of overwhelming her; how Saint left the staid comfortable world behind to embrace everything he has to give (even if she was waiting for the other shoe to drop).
The expansion of their worlds as they embraced each other was great to read. Saint's awakening and creating a fulfilled life, not just because of Nash but in all aspects was beautiful. I loved that she had a good life before she embraced Nash, she had the great relationship with her sister, and a wonderful calling that became a career, while her love life might have been semi dormant, everything else was going good. She has a few issues she was working on, and that made her so real to me.
As we progressed we realized that the story of the other characters were included in a way that helped each of our new lovers move forward. Learning about Asa I'm not going to lie, his speech?? Yeah I might be looking forward to reading his book and seeing if the woman I think is going to kick his butt into gear is really the one he gets. I loved catching up with Rule & Casper, Cora & Rome, and even Jet & Ayd; seeing these characters continue to develop & expand on their lives is a really good treat. It's amazing how they interact with in the story & grow and develop.
With the new shop opening up, we have a new character coming to town and bringing another of our men to his knees (I just know it's going to be rockabilly awesome). We have new characters being introduced from the house & soon one is supposed to blow into town via the bar ( I hear she's trouble). And of course we're going to have six new artist to add to the Marked Clan, of course there is Zeb & Wheeler got mentioned so I'm wondering if they are going to be joining the crew too. It's going to be interesting and I don't see leaving Denver anytime soon.
That's ok, I'm here for the long haul anyway and while we wait... I'm going to check out the new town over and discover the difference between Bad boys...and boys that are just bad.
★★★★★
So you’ve met Rule, Jet, Rome, and soon Nash! But there’s a new boy in town, along with a new series, by Jay Crownover. Better When He’s Bad (Welcome to the Point #1) is a new adult novel scheduled for publication on June 17, 2014, by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing.
This is how Jay describes her new novel/series:
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