Rome

A Marked Men Novel

By: Jay Crownover

Narrated by: William Sharpe, Alicia Neil

Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's 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...

©2014 Jennifer M. Voorhees (P)2014 HarperCollinsPublishers

yum

Jay Crownover’s third installment of the Marked Men series was about Rule’s older brother, Rome (aka Captain no-fun) and his friend Cora (aka Tink or Half-pint). Rome had all the steam, fun loving moments and captivating characters that drew me in with Rule. We were introduced to Cora Lewis in the previous two books as this feisty little powerhouse who works as the body piercer/receptionist at the tattoo shop where Rule and the boys also work. Rome Archer is back from his final tour with the Army. He is home and he’s not been himself since he’s been back. He has issues with his family, and his time spent at war left it's mark. Rome is closed off to everyone, but there is something about Cora that can bring him out of his shell little by little. The two seem like opposites. However, both are loyal and protective of their friends and family, caring and they have things they are dealing with. Rome and Cora have a lot of obstacles to face. Rome has to deal with his guilt, PTSD, depression and nightmares and Cora needs to get over her fear of falling deep in love and having that person leave. When the two of them finally came together, it was just beautiful. I can’t tell you how much I loved watching Cora’s and Rome’s love story come to life. They were both two very broken individuals; however, right from the start they have this intense connection which only grows and becomes more amplified as the pair seek out and explore this bond they share. Cora was exactly who Rome needed to snap him out of his stupor and help him realize that he has so much to live for. She breathed life back into him and gave him a reason to fight his demons. Cora was so focused on finding Mr. Perfect that it took Rome barging into her life for the realization to come to the surface that sometimes it is our imperfections that make a relationship real and beautiful. All in all, Rome was absolute perfection and encompassed everything that I have come to love about this series. I'm definitely looking forward to Nash's story!

loved it

great as always. the male narrator was a bit awkward but the story was sweet

Rome

The story written by the author is great but the narrative is a little choppy

love the story

I love the marked men series. to see how the characters grow is amazing and sweet

Great continuation

How really enjoy how you're still getting input from the previous couple and the way the story blends with the new characters.

Not always perfect!!

I love this story! I love that these two are not always perfect and yet the are perfect for eachother!! J can write a story and give you all the feels!!

Sassy, funny and heart-wrenching

I love love love Cora. Her straight-shooting character is the perfect foil for Rome, and she is laugh-out-loud funny. Go, girl!

Love it!!!! Rome, you Rule!

Where does Rome rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Well, nothing can compare to the Harry Potter audiobooks, so I can't say Rome is *perfect*, but it comes pretty close. The storyline is great, with enough unexpected twists to keep it interesting. Some of the topics are serious (PTSD, etc.), and they are dealt with accordingly, but there are also some laugh-out-loud funny moments. Also, although it's realistic and believable, it's also lighthearted enough - overall - that I don't feel like I need to take a Valium to listen through to the HEA. Yes, it has a HEA, or at least a Happily Enough For Now, with hints that we may see the HEA in a sequel - perhaps in the Rowdy's book, due out later this year?

What does William Sharpe and Alicia Neil bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Both readers are excellent. The heroine is supposed to be from Brooklyn, and the readers portrayed the accent extremely well (to my ear anyway, and I grew up an hour north of NYC). At the same time, the accent wasn't exaggerated enough to be annoying (if you've never had to listen to someone from Brooklyn drone on for hours - trust me, you'll be begging for earplugs). Other characters (Brite, Asa) are portrayed as having accents from other regions of the country, and those also sound authentic to me. In addition, when a male reader portrays a female character you occasionally end up with a grating falsetto, but that's not the case here. Really, overall the whole performance is extremely well done.

Any additional comments?

Rule is still my favorite character, so I was happy to see him appear throughout the book, but I think Rome is probably my second favorite. In any event, if you are considering purchasing this audiobook and you haven't yet either read or listened to the first two books (Rule, and Jet), I strongly suggest you do so. This book can probably be enjoyed as a stand-alone, but I think reading (or listening to) them in order will definitely contribute to your overall enjoyment of this performance. Plus, trust me, you don't want to miss Rule!

THEY JUST KEEP GETTING BETTER

JC has delivered yet another fresh, captivating and compelling story that captures your imagination, then she fills the hours with loveable characters whose individual dramas pulls at your heart strings, gives you that feel good HEA ending and finally leaves you panting and eagerly waiting for more more more.

Rome has just returned from his final tour of duty and, after 10 years of service, this lost, broken and broody Alpha man can't fit in and doesn't know what to do next which makes him unsociable and angry. Cora, the feisty, strong, tattooed, pierced, independent, happy, receptionist for the tattoo shop is a great friend to all the Marked family. However, deep down her heart was once broken so she's holding out for Mr. Perfect...... unaware that he's actually very close by.

When these two outwardly totally different people finally have a heated one night together it starts off a beautiful romance as they both find they have things in common, they are loyal, caring and protective of their families and friends, they are very attracted to each other enjoy witty banter together with a great sense of humor. Cora calls him Captain No Fun and Rome calls her Tink or Half Pint which is all part of their great and ever growing chemistry as they slowly heal one another. There are also some tender scenes between Rule and Rome as the brother's renew their bond.

Again, we catch-up with all the other members of Marked that have found love and we eagerly await the books for those characters who haven't yet found everlasting happiness.

Worth a credit? JC has now moved into the 'auto download' category for me because I know her books will be enjoyable, charming, sexy and will deliciously tell of love stories that will be heartfelt, will capture my imagination and will have loveable characters that I'd happily add to my Contacts List. So, YES very creditworthy.

Absolutely love this series!

I highly recommend this book and actually the whole series is awesome. This is my 5th time listening to this book and I just can’t say enough about it! I have also read the books. William Sharpe and Alicia Neil do such an excellent job bringing if these characters to life., I can picture them in my head, so thank you for that.