Author: Jay Crownover
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date of publication: April 2015
Starting over in Denver with
a whole new circle of friends and family, Asa Cross struggles with being the
man he knows everyone wants him to be and the man he knows he really is. A
leopard doesn’t it change its spots and Asa has always been a predator. He
doesn’t want to hurt those who love and rely on him, especially one luscious
arresting cop who suddenly seems to be interested in him for far more than his
penchant for breaking the law. But letting go of old habits is hard, and it’s
easy to hit bottom when it’s the place you know best.
Royal Hastings is quickly learning what the bottom looks like after a tragic situation at work threatens not only her career but her partner’s life. As a woman who has only ever had a few real friends she’s trying to muddle through her confusion and devastation all alone. Except she can’t stop thinking about the sexy southern bartender she locked up. Crushing on Asa is the last thing she needs but his allure is too strong to resist. His long criminal record can only hurt her already shaky career and chasing after a guy who has no respect for the law or himself can only end in heartbreak.
A longtime criminal and a cop together just seems so wrong . . . but for Asa and Royal, being wrong together is the only right choice to make.
Royal Hastings is quickly learning what the bottom looks like after a tragic situation at work threatens not only her career but her partner’s life. As a woman who has only ever had a few real friends she’s trying to muddle through her confusion and devastation all alone. Except she can’t stop thinking about the sexy southern bartender she locked up. Crushing on Asa is the last thing she needs but his allure is too strong to resist. His long criminal record can only hurt her already shaky career and chasing after a guy who has no respect for the law or himself can only end in heartbreak.
A longtime criminal and a cop together just seems so wrong . . . but for Asa and Royal, being wrong together is the only right choice to make.
My thoughts:
We are so excited to be a part of the Release Day Blitz for the final book in the Marked Men Series. For me it is a bittersweet ending. While I was eagerly awaiting Asa, I am sad to see the series end. It's been a wonderful experience reading these 6 books. If the author had to pick a great way to end a series, then Asa was the best!
We are so excited to be a part of the Release Day Blitz for the final book in the Marked Men Series. For me it is a bittersweet ending. While I was eagerly awaiting Asa, I am sad to see the series end. It's been a wonderful experience reading these 6 books. If the author had to pick a great way to end a series, then Asa was the best!
I loved this book. Asa has always been a favorite character. He is one of the most damaged of the 6 men in the series, but I always knew he had a heart of gold deep down. I was so rooting for him to finally put the past behind him and realize he had worked hard to make a better life. That he deserved to be happy. Of course, Royal is battling her own demons and Asa is the perfect man to help her overcome them. They were great together. Don't get me wrong, it's not a painless, hearts and flowers road to HEA, but it's worth taking the journey.
There are a few hints at the beginnings of other romances. I was a bit nervous that they wouldn't be explored., especially Sayer and Zeb. I am happy to see that they will be explored in her new series, The Saints of Denver. I can't wait!
Excerpt:
I pulled the Nova to a stop in front of a duplex that had
clearly seen better days. It wasn’t a rusted-out trailer in Kentucky, but it
might as well have been. I turned off the ignition and sat back in the seat so
I could turn to look at Ayden. She was watching me carefully and I could see
how frustrated she was with the entire conversation in the way her shoulders
were tensed up and the way her hands had curled into tight balls on her lap. It
was the way she used to look whenever I got into trouble and she had to do
something desperate and drastic to get me out of it. I reached out a hand and
put it on top of her fists.
“I died in that hospital, Ayd. There were no angels playing
harps. There was no redemption and repentance. I died and it was very clear
that I was going to get exactly the kind of fate I had been courting with all
the messed-up shit I had been doing to other people. All I could see was every
wrong I had ever committed and every bad decision I had ever made exploding all
around me. For once I could see how all of that affected you. I was dying, and
I knew what was waiting for me on the other side, yet I couldn’t go knowing
that was all you were going to have to remember me by. I had to come back and
give you something else to hold on to, some kind of good memory to go with the
endless miles of bad I laid at your feet. I wanted to have the chance to show
you I could be the kind of brother you deserved all along, so no, I didn’t save
myself—you saved me. Just like you’ve always done for my entire life.”
I saw her bottom lip tremble until she snapped her teeth
around it to keep it still. Her fists unclenched below my palm and she curled
her shaking fingers around my hand and her already husky voice rasped with even
more emotion when she told me what I think I had needed to hear from her all
along.
“I have always been proud that you’re my brother, Asa. Yes, there
have been times in the past I would have gladly fed you to the wolves, and it’s
no secret that I had to leave home because I didn’t know what to do to help you
anymore, but we both made it out alive and are better people for it. I know
you’re sorry for the way things went down when we were younger, but I need you
to open your eyes and take some credit for the way you have turned it around to
make things the way they are now. I’ve long since come to terms with the Asa
from my childhood. What I want to do is love the Asa that’s here with me now.
You need to let go of those boulders weighted with all the bad things from past
that are dragging you down before you get crushed under them.”
It was eerily similar to what Royal had been telling me the
deeper and deeper I sank in with her. I don’t think I was ready to let any part
of those stones go just yet, but a sexy redhead was slowly and surely eroding
bits and pieces of the rock the more and more time I spent with her. By the
time she was done, maybe she would be able to carve out something that was
worthwhile, something that didn’t eviscerate me to look at.
I leaned over enough that I could kiss Ayden right on the
center of her forehead between her midnight eyebrows and I felt her let out a
shuddering sigh.
“I’m never going to let you down again, Ayd. That is the one
and only thing in the entire world that I can promise and know it’s a promise I
will keep.”
We stared at each other for a long and silent moment. The
seriousness of the words I had said to her and the fact that I could see that
she understood that I really, truly meant them finally worked to absolve me of
some of the guilt that seemed to suffocate me whenever I thought about the
things she had done to keep me safe.
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About the author:
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 that started with BETTER WHEN HE's BAD and is currently
working on her newest series The Saint of Denver. 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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And don’t miss the previous books in The Marked Men
Series!
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