Marked Men, Book 1
From the publisher:
Opposities Attract in this Angsty Forbidden-Love College Romance, and Inspiration for the Upcoming Film “Marked Men: Rule and Shaw“
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.
The first Marked Men novel in Jay Crownover’s combustible New Adult series.
This book was a bit different from my usual; this is categorized as New Adult, with Shaw, the female protagonist a pre-med college student, and Rule, the male protagonist, a few years older and a tattoo artist. But I heard about the movie and decided to take a look, and I loved it.
Shaw is the quintessential good girl; pre-med, a rich, preppy boyfriend, and does whatever her parents want her to do. Rule is the complete opposite. He is tatted all over, and runs a very successful tattoo business with his best friend, financed by his uncle. He was also a twin, but his brother, Remy, died in a car crash on his way to pick up Rule. Rule hasn’t really recovered and his oldest brother, Rome, is in the service half way around the world. His mother blames him for Remy’s death and this family is really hurting. Remy and Shaw were best friends all through high school, and everyone thought they would eventually get married. After his death, she still hung out with his family who treat her like a daughter. Her own family has some serious issues – her parents are divorced and both remarried and are very wealthy. They like to control Shaw with money, basically telling her if she doesn’t do whatever they say, they will cut her off. Growing up with a father like that, I could definitely relate.
Shaw picks up Rule every Sunday and drags him to his family brunch, but it’s not a happy time. Half the time when she shows up, he is in bed with random women. What Rule and his family don’t know is that while Shaw loved Remy, she has been in love with Rule since she was fourteen years old. Remy knew, and it suited his purpose to have his family think they were a couple.
Meanwhile, Shaw has been dating Gabe, and her parents are thrilled, but she is not attracted to him and eventually breaks up with him. He refuses to take no for an answer and starts stalking her. Her parents don’t believe her, and Gabe is in constant contact with her parents, telling them they are working things out, which makes them happy – while it makes Shaw miserable. On her twentieth birthday, Shaw gets drunk, and Rule takes her home with him. She seduces him, and he is shocked by their chemistry. To his surprise, she is gone when he wakes up. Usually, he has to kick out the girls he beds, so this is a new experience for him.
Shaw and Rule start seeing one another, and for Rule, this is a first. He’s never had a girlfriend, never wanted one, but there is something about Shaw that makes him feel seen, and he isn’t sure how to handle it. Their relationship has its ups and downs, but things get super creepy when Gabe keeps sniffing around. At one point, Shaw’s parents invite Gabe and Shaw for dinner, and she can’t figure out a way to say no. He ends up attacking her in her bedroom, and she becomes scared of him. As it turns out, for very good reason.
There is a lot of drama and a lot of sex in this book, along with body modification, which I found interesting. The book was pretty much unputdownable, and I read it over the weekend. I was able to get the series from Hoopla, an app through my public library, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest. I’m looking forward to the movie as well.
1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
RULE by Jay Crownover. Avon (January 3, 2023). ISBN: 978-0062302403. 432p.
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