Rule (Marked Men #1)

I'm super busy this week with grad school (several exams coming up!!) so I haven't been able to read that much.  However, I still wanted to give you guys reviews this week for Tuesday and Thursday.  So, I wanted to introduce (or find some fellow fans) of one of my favorite NA series...the Marked Men by Jay Crownover.  I only started this series earlier this year, but it had been on my Kindle for ages.  So when I found out that Jay was going to be at ApollyCon 2015, I knew I had to read it and see what a lot of my friends on Goodreads were talking about.  I did have the wonderful pleasure of meeting her back in February at ApollyCon, and it basically made my life because as you will see from my review, I'm obsessed with this series.  Jay is seriously one of the sweetest and most hilarious people you will ever meet!  She just made my love for her characters grow even more.

Rule (Marked Men #1) by Jay Crownover
Publication Date: December 30, 2012

Opposites in every way . . . except the one that matters

Shaw Landon loved Rule Archer from the moment she laid eyes on him. Rule is everything a straight-A pre-med student like Shaw shouldn’t want—and the only person she’s never tried to please. She isn’t afraid of his scary piercings and tattoos or his wild attitude. Though she knows that Rule is wrong for her, her heart just won’t listen.

To a rebel like Rule Archer, Shaw Landon is a stuck-up, perfect princess-and his dead twin brother’s girl. She lives by other people’s rules; he makes his own. He doesn’t have time for a good girl like Shaw-even if she’s the only one who can see the person he truly is.

But a short skirt, too many birthday cocktails, and spilled secrets lead to a night neither can forget. Now, Shaw and Rule have to figure out how a girl like her and a guy like him are supposed to be together without destroying their love . . . or each other.

I can't even begin to describe how much I adored this book. Funny thing is, I've been meaning to read this book (and series in general) for awhile. Rule has been waiting patiently for me, and let's just say he certainly delivered. I have to give Jay major credit because writing a book from both a girl and guy's POV is difficult. You can run into the problem of the guy sounding way too much like a girl, or both characters just sounding like one person. But Jay's writing is excellent and each character is defined and perfectly written. I loved Shaw and Rule, as each had their own unique personalities that were extremely relatable, and while they were polar opposites, their relationship worked.

Shaw's character was written beautifully. I saw so much of myself in her, and that made the book even more enjoyable. But Rule...I fell hard for him. He had me as soon as he said that he didn't call girls baby. Can I get a HALLELUIAH! Finally a guy who understands me! His character was so well developed as well, and I loved being inside his head. Granted, he's infuriating and a jerk sometimes- he's a bad boy in every single way. But beneath the shell that he's been forced to put up, is someone who is simply an amazing guy. And honestly, he was hilarious. However, I hated the way his family treated him because it just broke my heart throughout reading this novel. I felt it was so unfair, and I applauded Shaw for standing up for and sticking by him. This boy had me cracking up so many times. Rule is so misunderstood, and I was amazed at the complexity that Jay achieved with his character.

While this definitely didn't have insta-love, you will be rooting for Shaw and Rule from the get-go. Seriously, they are just perfect for each other. There were times where I wanted to smack both of them because they needed to learn to communicate (it's a downfall in any relationship though haha), but at the end of the day, I think Jay accomplished something few authors do in NA, a relatable progression of a relationship between two people that are fighting against the odds.

The ending of this book gave a nice conclusion to Rule and Shaw's story. This being said though, I NEED to read the rest of this series. I'm so intrigued to by all of the other characters we meet in this book, and I'm hoping that we see more of Rule and Shaw. Each guy featured has their own book in this series, and I can't wait to get to know each of them. I already have a soft spot for Rome and Nash, and I have a feeling I'll be getting a couple more book boyfriends soon ;)

I highly recommend checking out this book because you won't be disappointed. I'm just sorry that I put this off for as long as I have! Every aspect of this book you will enjoy, and with writing as amazing as this, I know that Jay is going to be writing some more excellent stories in this series!

Happy reading :) 

~Cassie