Synopsis:

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 . . .

My Review:

Gaaaaahhh! Crownover! You can do NO wrong in my eyes! Another phenomenal read! Rome is SO much more than I thought he was! And I loved him. So much!
Right off the bat, I knew there was more to Rome than what was presented. Especially through Rule, Shaw, and everyone else's perspective. First of all, he was a soldier. He's seen so much death and hurt. He had been hurt himself, as we remember from Rule. So I knew going in that Crownover would definitely be peeling the onion when it came to Rome's issues.

What I didn't expect was for him to be harboring so MUCH stuff. As tough and as rigid Rome could be, he was so burdened. I immediately felt for him -- even though he was a jerk. He knew he was being a jerk to those that loved him, but he was spiraling out of control and couldn't figure out how to stop it. "Captain No Fun" -- that's what he was dubbed as.
Cora, who we've gotten to know a little bit from the previous two books, was definitely a girl after my own heart. Sure, she had some unrealistic expectations of men, but that was understandable considering her past. But even so, she was fiercely loyal, protective, and dedicated to the Marked Men crew. And it showed. I had so much respect for her as a character and as a woman that could help Rome stay afloat. But of course, she has her own demons to fight that, while she is very capable of defeating herself, Rome is there to be her support.

Their relationship progressed in a way that I was extremely pleased with. I liked how Cora got to see glimpses of him, and that Rome got to see her as well. One thing about Cora is she doesn't beat around the bush. She tells you what she wants and damned if you don't like it. Damned if you can't keep up. But Rome is the yin to Cora's yang. And it becomes very obvious within the first third of the book.

He could hang with her. He could give just as much as he got. Cora had definitely met her match in Rome Archer.

The story is my 2nd favorite in the series so far. It just squeezed by Jet's story, which was awesome, but I just felt so much for Rome. Felt his pain. His desires. His fear. He was honestly a big pot of pent up emotion.

This is probably the story that had me the most emotionally involved. While Rule's story is still my all-time favorite, my heart dropped at various points in this book. Granted, I know that Crownover is a sucker for happy endings, I still felt all the sadness, frustration, and anxiety that I was supposed to feel.

By the end of the book, Rome is my hero. He is someone that I want fighting in my corner. He is someone I would want to protect me. He's THAT fantastic. Those Archer men are definitely dangerous, but so perfect for their women.

Oh, the SEX SCENES!!! Jay Crownover is simply GENIUS when it comes to portraying Rome's passion in those scenes. They are beautifully done. Never too graphic, always just enough. And you can definitely see how different the men are, even in these scenes. Rule, Jet, and Rome are SO different. Their personalities show throughout their books, even during intimacy. Jay is SO good at that!

Finally, the one thing that Jay does that I really enjoy is -- she keeps the main story of Rule and Shaw at the center of each book. They are the original couple that we feel in love with. And while we DO want to follow the stories of the other characters, we still get glimpses into the developing lives of Rule and Shaw. And it is perfection. Another amazingly executed story.