A Review By Wendy
4.5 Stubborn Southern Gal, Hot
Metal Rock God, Flaming Hot Smexy Times * * * * 1/2
Does the old saying opposites attract really have merit… and what really is
opposite if underneath it all, the two in question have more of the same in
common then they think?
That really is one of the burning and continuing questions considered in the
follow up book Jet, in the series Marked Men by Jay Crownover.
We met Jet: Heavy Metal Rock God. He has all of the trimming to make any
woman with a pulse cream; has the tattoos, piercings….. and people, I am
talking “decorated “ body parts… multiple body parts….and with that long and
lanky, hard body frame…But the best part of him was the mind and soul of Jet…
pure musician, songwriter and actual good guy. He just had so much rage and
hurt wrapped around him, the only way to make it manageable was release
through the music… the passion of the moment … because carrying all of the
burdens he had left a raging fire within.
Mix all that volatility with Ayden, a woman set on reinvention. Had the body
women and men checked out due to legs that went on for days… sweet curves
with dark brunette hair cut choppy with some curls and eyes… songs needed to
be written about them; they were the color of whiskey and just a potent. She
came from a life where she did everything and then some ...which labeled her
trash. She came from a cliche Kentucky family with a mom who tried her best…
but was far from good enough… and a brother who’s way of looking out for his
baby sister was using her to get himself out of whatever con or back alley
deal he was in…. Ayden had only the good luck of a teacher seeing her real
potential and guiding her through scholarships to see her way out of a life
destined for heartache. Ayden in Denver was new, fresh and determined to live
as differently as possible from the girl she was in Kentucky… and if that
meant denying herself real love and pleasure… so be it.
In the first book, Rule, these two have a situation happen off page leaving
us with a hint of some kind conflict resulting in both of them acting like
wet cats when around each other…..
It seems both were attracted; Ayden was willing to do the nasty and have the
one night experience…. to scratch that constant itch she had for Jet. Jet was
more than ready to follow through … all systems locked and loaded when he
decided to take a step back and call a halt from the hottest, most temping
kiss ever….
Because… Ayden was seemingly too good; too special; too not his usual hit’em
and quit’em girl…
Because with Ayden… Jet knew she would never just be a onetime thing… she
would be someone who could slash his heavy metal heart to shreds…. So Jet
stepped away, making Ayden feel embarrassed and annoyed; resolved and
reassured to stay the path ….looking for the professional, upstanding,
vanilla guy.
Time passes and circumstances causes Jet and Ayden to be living in the same
house with Cora. This means every friggin day, both Jet and Ayden do the play
acting like they aren’t dying for one another; she sees his one niters leave
every morning…doing the walk of shame…. He puts up with her dating a sweater
vest wearing fool … someone who ticks all the boxes of the “appropriate” guy
who the perfect conservative Ayden should love…. And both are so unhappy it
is a hot mess to watch.
All of the friends in this circle see what is happening and finally things
come to a head and Ayden confronts Jet one more time… they finally kiss
again… when both are sober and wanting… and neither one of them can stop this
train… they both admit… the desire… but both only commit to moment to moment
– each carrying their own secrets and burdens not willing to share….
This story was so good… it built on the foundation it had laid in the book,
Rule. These characters knew who they thought they were and why they did what
they did. They had full day to day lives which were described with enough
detail to make you feel you were either in the music studio, concert, bar or
tattoo shop. When a recording session was taking place, it was described as
they really happen… I can testify as I have been there a few times and all
the comments and feeling of the moments were right on.
During the entire book, I felt I was with people finding their way after a
long and difficult growth spurt… like they had tried a few things, thought
they had figured it out only to see … they had to adjust their game plan… and
this type of character development worked for me.
Because in the grand scheme of things… that is kinda how life is… we think we
know what we want or what we have to do in order to achieve whatever the goal
is… and then stuff happens… either it is just the regular everyday stuff that
cause people to grow and mature… or it is life changing, hardcore, slap you
in the face stuff and then you really figure out what you are made of… and
both Jet and Ayden separately and together come through with flying colors in
my book.
They may have made some decisions which caused things to be a little harder
than necessary but over all… they handled thing with purpose and grace and I
understood what they were doing through it all.
I was particularly impressed with how both tried to talk to each other… they
would try in the best way they could to confront and share when they thought
they could. Ayden really rang the bell for being an incredibly strong woman
and able to a great loyal and supportive friend. She did make some choices
which were self sacrificing… but at the time it was the only way clear in her
mind. I really respected and liked her.
So do opposites attract… well these two were sort of opposites but in the
end, they blended so well.
Their chemistry and love was steamy, active and caused hot flashes… and not
the menopausal kind… I am talking … fanning self and wishing you were there
kind.
This series is a winner in my book… our author has voice with a unique
insight to this crew… little Cora and Rule’s brother Rome is up next and I
can hardly wait… but I will ask … please don’t forget Rowdy or Nash, those
two have big hearts and I am just as interested in them as all the other…and
that is because you, Jay Crownover, make me want to know them better.
 I'm supposed to share
interesting details about myself so that my readers get to know me so
here we go in no particular order: I'm an natural redhead even though I
haven't seen my real hair color in years, I'm a big fan of tattoos and
have a half sleeve on either arm and various other pieces all over the
place, I've been in the bar industry since I was in college and it has
always offered interesting insight into how men and women interact with
each other, I have 3 dogs that are all crazy, I live in Colorado and
love the snow, I love music and in all reality wish I could be a rock
star not a writer or a bartender but I have zero talent so there is
that. I love to write, love to read and all I'm interested in is a
good story with interesting characters that make the reader feel
something. |
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