Rule A Marked Men Novel

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:📔📔📔📔
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒
Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨


First Impressions
Rule is the first book in the "Marked Men" series and this series is also loosely connected with her Point books and Saints of Denver series. I have been wanting to get through this author's backlist. I have really come to appreciate her style of contemporary and it just has such a refreshing feel to it. rule is a new adult setting. It has such a great mix of tropes and character types that just blended together so well. This one does have plenty of drama and angst as is typical with many new adult romances but it entertained and seemed to just work so well within the story. I think if you are a fan of this author's work overall and the way she writes her characters, then this book will most definitely be for you. I found Rule to be most entertaining and even though it wasn't a full five star read, it was such a solid beginning to what I am hoping is a fabulous series.

First Line
At first, I thought the pounding in my head was my brain trying to fight its way out of my skull after the ten or so shots of Crown Royal I had downed last night, but then I realized the noise was someone storming around in my apartment.

The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Rule Archer
Bad boy brother, emotionally constipated, a playboy with women of sorts and has a short fuse on his temper. He lost his twin in a accident and has been treated like an outcast by his family.

The Heroine: Shaw Landon
Shaw was best friends with Rule's brother, and has been in love with Rule since she was a teenager. She acts like his friend, guardian, and drags him to family functions and attempts to be the peacemaker. She is from a high society family, but feels more at home with the Archer's and is going to college to be in the medical field.

Summary
Shaw Landon has loved Rule Archer from afar and right next to him. She has never let him know of her true feelings for him. But acts more like his babysitter than the woman who has loved him. She was his twin's best friend and confidant but they believed she was something more. But when Rule's brother returns from the military for a recovering break, their family ties are going to be tested when it becomes apparent the toxicity and mental illness their mother has been suffering and laying out on Rule most of his life just because he was different from the rest of her children. Then when Shaw cuts ties to stand by Rule, a bond between them forms as well as something deeper and for the first time in his life Rule wants more than just casual sex with women, he is seeing Shaw as a woman and not just a family friend and menace. But a relationship with the family black sheep and a high society princess will be much more difficult than either of them could imagine. Can they find a common bond to make a real relationship work long term or will it fail?

What I Loved
What a wonderful book this one turned out to be. I really had a blast with this book. It was so interesting because I would never have expected this combination of tropes to actually work the way that it does. But somehow Jay Crownover is able to make it work just right. I also was captivated by the family connections. My heart broke for this family though and most especially Rule who lost his twin. A twin bond is so special and unique and I love seeing these played out. I also loved the frenemies relationship that Shaw and Rule had together. Its also so fun when you see a pining character just act so antagonistic towards the person they love haha It makes no sense and wouldn't happen in real life but it makes for some lively interactions for a romance. And Jay Crownover really captures the right focus for these two.

Rule was such a wonderful bad boy hero. I just have a soft heart for those bad boys and you definitely see why he has become a bad boy. His mother is so emotionally abusive and I did relate to some of that on a personal level and so I was always going to be on team Rule. I hate how his father and older brother even just stood by and let it happen though and forced him into situations that only emboldened the mothers behavior instead of standing up to her better. I did love how Rule stood up to the abuse, and didn't just let her destroy him emotionally. He had such a free wild spirit. And when Rule gets together with Shaw, I really respected how Shaw and Rule are together. Their relationship displays such a fresh and new vibe to it. The romance between them was intimate and strong and unique.

What I Struggled With
First all, the new cover is just awful. I am not sure what the author is thinking with these new covers, but they make no sense to me. Why do authors and publishers do this to books? Can't they just leave a good cover alone?? Apparently not. And also I wasn't a fan of the third act conflict. To be honest they drifted apart and it didn't make any sense why they did that. Especially on the part from the heroine, she kinda does the silent treatment and doesn't ever explain why so of course the hero reacts to it in a very confused manner. So it made more sense his reaction than how she treats him and I do think she should have done the grovel not Rule. I also didn't understand the epilogue either when the heroine suddenly is getting a body full of tattoos....when that wasn't who she is in the book or wanted for herself. I just wish there had been some details better explained in why character changes had happened.

Overall View
Rule is a story that digs deep into relative emotion and intimacy, its a spicy installment that will capture readers attention, with a blend of tropes that really flesh out a beautifully executed story to steal your heart!

Favorite Quote(s)
I'm learning easy thing never really pay off. It's the things that make you work that really matter."

You have me, Shaw, any way you need me, any way you want me, you have me."

“Because it’s always been you even when I didn’t want it to be, even when it broke my heart over and over again. It’s just always been you.”

“True enough, and opposites don’t just attract, they freaking catch fire and burn the entire city down.”

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance, New Adult
Character Types: College Student, Tortured Hero, Bad Boy, Heiress
Themes: Tattoo's/Piercings, Sexual Piercings, Friendships, Family Bonds, Pining Heroine
Tropes: Unrequited Love, Opposites Attract, Enemies to Lovers

Book Perspective
Duo POV

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
A mix of both

Song This Book Inspires
Need You Now by Lady Antebellum

Recommendation For Reading Order
You can read as a standalone

Steam/Spice Explanations

Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.

Okay so I liked this book. It had a lot of the same cliches that these NA books have, but I liked it. I liked Rule. I liked that he wasn't the normal "emotionally unavailable douche turned perfect boyfriend" in a day. Instead he kind of stayed the emotionally unavailable douche, just with a girlfriend. I know that sounds bad. But what i mean is that he did change in some ways for her, but he wasn't anywhere near perfect. And actually when he tried to become perfect, she couldn't stand it. It caused problems in their relationship and all she wanted was the old Rule back. I can appreciate a girl that wants to be with a guy the way he is, not take this "broken" guy and change him. Normally that's what happens because apparently some women have fantasies about making a bad boy a good boy, but just for them. Instead Shaw wanted a bad boy that was still a bad boy, minus the sex with all the random women. What really bugged me about this story was the virginity situation. I think this bugged me because it seems to be a thing in NA, but seriously? Why oh why does the man whore always have to take the girls virginity??? Why???? I can't wrap my mind around it. Is it sexy to some people? I get the whole idea of wanting your first time to be with that right guy and all that but it's extremely unrealistic. Also why does he have to sleep with anything with a vagina, while she's been the poster child for purity her whole life? UGH. I seriously can't stand it and it drives me crazy. I also appreciated the situation with Rule's family. They went through a lot and although they were messed up, they seemed real to me. Like this is easily the way a family could/would react to pain like that. So I liked that. The ex bf crap is was kind of annoying, but there has to be some kind of crazy drama right? So I guess according to the writing world it's necessary. Overall I appreciated this book. It had annoying parts, but for an NA, I felt that it was pretty good.

Can't get into. Rule was interesting but the story was crap.

ok this was really cute but the timeline was fucked up

Yes I am rereading this questionable smut book that my middle school/jr high self was obsessed with...it is indeed a comfort book of mine

I want to like this book but Rule and Shaw just put me off it. It's say this would worry me as I'm slowly getting all Crownover's books but I really liked the secondary characters so I think it was my lack of connection with the MCs which was my issue as opposed to the writing. I flicked through to get to the end and don't feel like over missed out.

I love rule and all the guys in this book except Gabe what a dbag

Me encantó la historia, me encantaron los personajes y no veo la hora de seguir leyendo los otros libros de la saga. POR FAVOR QUIEN NO QUISIERA TENER UN RULE ARCHER!!!!!

3.5 stars

1 HATE IT Stars! I hate this book. Call me a romantic but I HATE when a male hero is a cheater. For example pretty much the whole book Rule is looking at other girls calling them tempting and alluring. He also is attracted to other females multiple times in the book while he's with the heroine i.e. looking at hot blonde, and when she gives him a look he's so into it he chokes on his drink. This all happened while he was waiting for said heroine at a bar. In this book, the heroine is obligated to go to a family brunch. Her ex's family is going to be there so the ex wont leave her alone and wants to bum a ride. She figures it's better than getting a ride with him. Well instead of the hero being understanding and talking about it he ignores her for days and proceeds to make out with another girl... NO NO NO NO! This book is nothing like Rock Me or Beautiful Disaster. Travis never cheated on Abby. They were never together the first time he hooked up with other girls, and later they had been broken up for months. There's a big difference. And while Travis shouldn't have done it, Travis also didn't lust after other girls like this hero did in this novel. I hated it. There were a million typos, and the storyline was very predictable. Ladies we all love bad boys, but there comes a time when there's a bad boy and a sleaze. Rule was a sleaze to me. Just no. Ugh!

This is very similar to Rock Me by Cherrie Lynn. Bad boy, tattooed (and tattoo artist) Rule is a self-proclaimed manwhore. Shaw is pre-Med, blonde, innocent, and has been in love with Rule since she was 15. Everyone thinks she was Rule's now dead twin's girl, but she has always been in love with Rule. He never noticed her lust for him until one drunken night (and one scandolous outfit) changes everything. Again, so very similar to a different book I've already read, but it was ok.

So, this book... I want to be clear that I'm rating this book 5 stars because of the story and the author's way of delivering a story. I fell in love with Shaw (and Rule, even with this flaws) almost immediately. I simply had to know more. While the whole tattooed bad boy/good girl storyline has been done to death, something about this felt fresh. This author has a lot of promise. Now, for the bad. My god, the grammar. The spelling errors. The run-on sentences. The use of "and" when they meant "an" and "skin" when they meant "sink" and so on and so on and so on. It seems like there were errors on every page. I was editing it as I read, which definitely took away some of my enjoyment of the story. I find it hard to believe anyone looked at it before it was published. It's a damn shame too. This story was so fantastic. I hate that the lack of a beta reader or editor caused it to be released in this shape. It's an insult to the story and the characters. I understand the book has been edited and re-released now. That's great. I'm just sorry I had to suffer through an obviously edited version. I have Jet to read next. I'm hoping it was actually edited before it was published.

Easily one of my favourite books, ever. I just got consumed into it and I couldn't put it down and that happens whenever I re read it now. There was a connection between the characters and I think that was my favourite aspect of the book.

Une romance qui se lit très bien et vite. On se doute évidemment de la tournure des évènements mais cela n’empêche pas d'apprécier le moment. Même si j'apprécie le côté "tatoué" je n'ai aps été en émoi face aux descriptions physiques de Rule, peut-être un peu trop marginales à mon goût.

Originally posted at Booklovers For Life OMG BAD BOY ALERT!!! If you love bad boys, then Rule is so right up your alley! It’s been quite a while since I’ve read a book with a perfect bad boy, but Rule has got it all. He’s a man-whore, he’s got all sorts of tattoos and piercings, he’s rude, and he works at a tattoo parlor! It took a while for me to like him, because he was a bit too much for me, but I ended up falling a little for this bad boy. And the best part? He falls for the good girl! *grins* Shaw Landon and Rule Archer have known each other for forever, but Shaw is the only one who harbors a crush for Rule. She’s loved him since the first time they met but Rule has never returned her feelings. Mostly because he never knew about them, but also because he believed that Shaw was his late twin brother’s girl. But circumstances thrust them together over and over again, and when Rule sees Shaw in a new light, one where she’s not the perfect goody-two shoes he believes her to be, sparks fly. “Rule if this goes bad it’s gonna be so, so bad.” Her voice was just a husky whisper against my chest. “True, but if it’s good it’s gonna be so very, very good.” Rule and Shaw agree to give a relationship a go, but it’s not going to be easy. Rule has always been a bad boy, and he has a hard time giving up bad habits, but he’s willing to try to be better for Shaw. And oh my goodness, this is when I truly fell for this bad boy. He believes he’s not good enough for Shaw, but he tries so, so hard. He has his rude, crass, bad boy side to him, but then we get to see the sweet, lovable, adoring side to Rule he only shows to Shaw. I gulped down the sudden surge of emotion in my throat and pulled her into a tight hug. It felt like coming home, a feeling I don’t think I had ever actually experienced before. Even though I enjoyed the romance so much, what really sold this book to me was the internal transformations both Rule and Shaw experience. For Rule, he’s been lost ever since his brother, the other half of him, died. He’d been spiraling down a dark path until Shaw brought him out of it and into the light. He’s still one hot, sexy bad boy, but he learns to care and show his emotions for others now. His family is a huge part of the story, and I loved seeing the changing dynamics as Rule becomes his better self. Shaw, on the other hand, has always upheld her good girl image, and being with Rule makes her want to be free. She doesn’t want to be the perfect girl everyone expects her to be, and I was so proud of her for standing up for herself, for being who she was truly meant to be. Rule and Shaw have their ups and downs together, but I honestly had no worries, because they fit each other so well. They give each other the love and support that they never really had, and they bring out the best in each other. And Rule is one fine bad boy. I didn’t LOVE him, but as far as bad boys go, he’s pretty awesome. ;) “You have me Shaw, any way you need me, any way you want me, you have me.” Liked this review? Subscribe to Booklovers For Life for more!