Skip to main content

"Perfectly Imperfect ... Sleep Exhausted and Smiling" The Third Book in the Marked Men Series: Rome

Rome 

It's safe to say I have somewhat fallen for the Marked Men novels. The first installment Rule won me over instantly,  Jet was an intoxicating sequel that nearly trumped its predecessor (but not quite) " it was an amazing read nevertheless. Rome. Well, well, well Rome; what a book; what a captivating story, what great work yet again by Crownover. I didn't think there was enough space in my life for another adorably cute yet so polar opposite couple in my wonderful world of fiction - and then came along Cora Lewis and  Rome Archer, and all bets were, immediately off.

Cora has been the feisty little firecracker in the first two books who works as body piercer at Marked, who's dedicated to always being there for her boys and girlfriends, but she's been heartbroken by someone she once thought loved her and now she's decided she will settle for nothing less than perfect. In other words she's every teenage girl. Little did she know "Love isn't perfect. It's hard work and sometimes it's more effort to be in love than it is to just run away. If you keep looking for perfect the real thing is going to pass right by you".

Rome Archer "is a man on a journey, just like we all are, and he's only trying to do the best he can" having retired from the Army and trying to fit into civilian life but feels like a stranger in his own life. Not only are the demons from the loss of his younger brother weighing on him tirelessly, the horrors of war are unrelenting as he tries to adjust to life out of the battlefield. As a result Rome's general attitude is rather brooding and standoffish and fittingly Cora dubs him "Captain No-Fun".Crownover handles the re-acclimatization of soldiers in a way that is realistic and relatable without completely distancing the feat from her reader's. 

The initial hostility between Cora and Rome is palpable as is their undeniable sexual chemistry; but the loyalty and sense of duty and respect they develop for each other is beautiful, "hovering on the periphery - sanity, logic, rationality".

The one thing I loved most about this book was the unity of the opposites - a motif that has.convinced me love is love. Cora was used to seeing people who, much like herself, "marked their skin to define their individuality, to claim it as their own". Rome's scars were unwarranted and "reflected his life, the choice he made to go off and become a warrior ... it was body modification on an entirely different level with a different purpose". That's the unique beauty of this book, despite the turbulence that disrupted their path they were somehow able to make it through their "perfectly imperfect" world. 

Both Cora and Rome have a distorted view of the white knight complex as they both feel the need to be needed yet are not able to accept support they so obviously need but eventually a realisation is made that "he wasn't perfect, I wasn't perfect, but the love we had for each other ... nothing was more perfect than that"

"Love is never perfect, big brother. It's what you make of the imperfections in it that makes the ride worthwhile"

"Who we are is always shifting, turning and changing"

"Who you are never stays the same. It's called living life"

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Fault In Our Stars

I wouldn't call this post a review because I haven't really reviewed anything, nor have I summarised or really critiqued in great detail  but  "that's the thing about pain ... it demands to be felt"  and sometimes you can't express the pain you feel when you read a book that breaks your heart up to the very last word. This is  "not a cancer book" . Sure, a lot of the characters in the book have cancer but it's a classic love story: boy meets girl - boy once had cancer lost a leg (maybe not so classic), girl still has cancer and carries her own tank of oxygen that keeps her alive - girl and boy do a book swap - boy hunts down author of book - boy and girl travel to Amsterdam in search of the infuriating author - boy and girl fall in love, make love, boy admits he's dying - boy dies - boy leaves girl a beautiful love letter. *floods of tears ensue* I think when you read a book that generates so much buzz about it, it's safe to say yo

Enjoying the Chase

*** Warning the following post contains the views held by a hopelessly hopeful romantic, if you are so cynical that you do not wish to entertain the idea of a happily ever after for a couple of moments, I suggest you read no further*** It goes without saying I think Kirsty Moseley is the  bomb diggity when it comes to writing books that leave you feeling all warm, fuzzy and generally happy, and why shouldn't you, you don't have to read the serious doom and gloom books and it's safe to say I am most definitely recommending Enjoying the Chase as the book to offer you much needed light relief. After reading Nothing Left to Lose you will love Moseley and all the characters you grow to care about and Enjoying the Chase is no exception. Undoubtedly it is a book in its own right but reading Nothing Left to Lose helps you establish a relationship with Nate, Ashton and Anna. Moseley is one of the few writers that I'm willing to stay up until sunrise just to finish

Before I Fall ... and realise how complex and connected everything is.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver ... into the submission of melancholic turmoil, or was it a never ending reflective narrative that left me refreshed? It's safe to say that when I began reading this book I was not head over heels with excitement or expecting to take any meaningful sentiments away from it. In fact I hated it when I first started reading it I despised the narrator so much I put it down for 3 months before deciding to try and tackle it again. It took me two very trying attempts to finish reading this book. Perhaps it was the monotonous fact that you know this whole book is going to be about Samantha's last day, from the get go I had taken an  instant disliking to Sam. But eventually I did it, and I was so glad I did when I read the last page. I loved this book, hated this book, refused to read it at one time: it's annoying; cruel; honest; heart breaking; real. High School is supposed to be the best years of your life but teenage girls can b