Rowdy (Marked Men, Book 5)

4.75 New Book Boyfriend Stars!!

Rowdy is book five in Jay Crownover’s Marked Men series. I am a hardcore fan of this series and therefore am always anticipating the next book. All the Marked boys have woven their way into my heart and I have come to love their “merry band of misfits” wholeheartedly. This author definitely delivered when it came to the execution of this book. The storyline is both sad and sweet, dealing with coming to grips with the past and beautifully intertwining it with a tender romance. It’s about letting go and embracing life because if you are able to grab hold of that second chance, you may just find a once in a lifetime kind of love....a love that may have always been there to begin with.

There’s a lot more to twenty-five year old Rowland St. James (a.k.a. Rowdy) besides his bad boy image, rockabilly look and the fact that he rocks a pompadour. Rowdy has lost many of the people in his life that he has loved. He is used to being the one left behind. After having his heart crushed by the one girl he professed to love, Rowdy left Texas behind along with a promising football career. Rowdy has landed on his feet, found a profession that he loves, and has found a “family” that stands by him through thick and thin. What he purposefully stays away from is falling in love ever again. Love has gotten him nowhere. He’s unwilling to establish that trust it takes with a woman and let’s nothing go beyond a few good times. That is until someone from his past shows up as the new employee for the tattoo shop. She’s a reminder of all that he lost and Rowdy does not know what to do about it. Twenty-eight year old Salem Cruz and her younger sister grew up under the thumb of a tyrannical and religiously zealous father. When she was finally old enough, Salem could not wait to leave the hell that was her home even if it meant leaving behind her sister and the young, blue-eyed boy who she befriended and had grown close to. Life has not always been easy for Salem but she has found her way and has lead somewhat of a nomadic lifestyle since leaving her hometown back in Texas. She never forgot her special childhood friend, Rowdy, and has often thought about him over the years. When the opportunity arises for Salem to work for the same tattoo shops that Rowdy is currently employed with, she has no doubt in her mind that she is meant to relocate once again. This time Salem goes knowing that she is searching for something more....something that she feels she will find with the boy who holds a special place in her heart, with the man he has become. When Salem first appears things are a little rocky. She is determined to infiltrate Rowdy’s life and Rowdy is not willing to let her in. For Rowdy, Salem was his one safe place and his solace when he was a young lonely boy. Until she left. He may have never forgotten her but he has also never forgotten the hurt he experienced when she picked up and left everything behind. Salem also serves as a reminder of how much her sister hurt him when she broke his heart in college. Both Salem and Rowdy have a lot to sort out, both individually and collectively. They both carry many painful reminders from their past and the fact that Rowdy once believed he was in love with Salem’s sister is a huge elephant in the room whenever they are together. Can Salem and Rowdy find a way back to the intense connection they once shared and hopefully develop a new and even more meaningful relationship or will ghosts from the past prevent them from taking a chance on one another?

“I feel like you and the past have been chasing me down ever since you walked into that shop, Salem.” She didn’t answer me but I noticed a little pink work its way into her dusky cheeks. “What are you going to do if I decide to let you catch me?” ***** “With you staying is the only option I have because the only place I want to be is wherever you are at.” ***** “It may have taken me a long-ass time to figure out the difference between first love and real love, but, Salem, there is nothing more real than what I feel for you.”

I must admit that when I read the synopsis to this book I was a little gun-shy about jumping in due to the fact that I am not a huge fan of sisters having the same guy storylines. With this being said, I should have never doubted Jay Crownover. The overall story arc turned out to be nothing like I expected and true to her wonderful and unique writing style, this author throws in a few twists along the way that I did not see coming effortlessly threading together a beautiful story about taking a chance once again and finally being able to fully open your heart and love unconditionally. I absolutely loved Rowdy and Salem. I also loved the fact that despite having some hurdles to overcome, things never got over-the-top angsty nor did I grow frustrated with how matters were evolving. I completely understood where Rowdy and Salem were coming from and I adored watching them find their way back to one another. It is not easy allowing someone in when your past has taught you nothing but disappointment and pain when you have opened up before. We all bear marks from our past, particularly during our younger years where our emotions are all over the place and our psyches are much more vulnerable. Salem and Rowdy had to reacquaint themselves with the person the other had become in adulthood. They had to realize that what they shared when they were younger was more powerful than either could have grasped at that age. Finding their way to a new normal was not easy but certainly worth the effort. It was a beautiful thing to see flourish. All in all, Rowdy was an amazing read and will go down as one of my favorite books in this series thus far. And, just like in previous books, we get to catch up with the much beloved “gang”. There were some heartfelt moments as well as glimpses into what Ms. Crownover may have in store for future books. I am definitely excited and can’t wait for more.

Fav Quotes:

"Fighting for everything made fighting for the things that actually mattered get lost in the noise and lose their signifigance"

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"The journey to get here had been long, often filled with wrong turns and missteps, but at the end of it, all that really mattered was the destination no matter how long it took to get there."

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"Home is where there are people that love you and need you. Home is where you belong no matter what your faults are or what your life looks like to others. Home is where you can leave but always know it’s there to go back to."

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“You are the last person I want to kiss. The last woman I want in my bed. I want you to be the last girl that touches any and all parts of me. Salem, and that means so much more than a first.”

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"I kissed her because I had to. I kissed her because I needed to. I kissed her because kissing her was starting to make me feel like I had found something I wasn't really aware I had been looking for. Mostly, I kissed her because every time she kissed me back I felt her setting a piece of herself even more deeply inside of me" - Rowdy

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“You're a dumb shit. There's a million first girls for a million different first things. There's the first girl you slow-dance with, and the first girl you go to bed with. There's the first girl to give you a kiss, and then the first one you take home to mama." His amber eyes lit up with humor.

"There's the first girl you fight with and the first girl you fight for. There's also the first girl you have to let go of. There's the first girl you love, obviously, and the first girl to break your heart. There's always a first girl, Rowdy, but there is also the girl that is going to come after her until you get to the last girl.

The last girl is the one that really matters.” - Asa

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“I always thought it was the firsts that matter, but now I know that it’s the lasts that stay with you.”

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“We might have been on the outside looking in at our own families and our own lives, but at least we could stand outside together.”

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“It's okay to be scared, I really think that's how that whatever it is you're meant to be doing matters, but it's not okay to not find that thing you're supposed to be doing because you're afraid of something new.”

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“I don't think it's where you go that matters, I think it's where you end up.”

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“You found your family tree, Rowdy, and the branches are stronger and sturdier than most people with blood relatives have.”