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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.

https://amzn.to/3E94p0e

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.

The Marked Men Series:

1. Rule
2. Jet
3. Rome
4. Nash
5. Rowdy
6. Asa

1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

RULE by Jay Crownover. Avon (January 3, 2023). ISBN: 978-0062302403. 432p.

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From the publisher:

A married couple joins a week-long wilderness expedition to help them reconnect in this heartfelt companion novel to the viral TikTok sensation Out on a Limb.

High school sweethearts Sarah and Caleb Linwood have always been a sure thing. For the past seventeen years, they have had each other’s backs through all of life’s ups and downs.

But Sarah has begun to wonder . . . who is she without her other half?

When she decides to take on a project of her own, a fundraising gala in memory of her late mother, Sarah wants nothing more than to prove to herself—and to everyone else—that she doesn’t need Caleb’s help to succeed. She’s still her mother’s daughter after all, independent and capable.

That is, until the event fails and Caleb uninvitedly steps in to save the day.

The rift that follows unearths a decade of grievances and doubts. Are they truly the same people they were when they got married at nineteen? Are they supposed to be?

In a desperate attempt to fix what they fear is breaking, Sarah and Caleb make the spontaneous decision to get out of their comfort zones and join a grueling hiking trip intended to guide couples through rough patches.

What follows is a life-affirming comedy of errors as two nature-averse people fight their way out of the woods in order to find their way back to their roots.

“Bonam-Young excels in creating nuanced characters on complicated emotional journeys and she makes Caleb and Sarah’s reconnection believable through both sweet and heat-filled moments. This is a delight. —Publishers Weekly

https://amzn.to/42aNXGS

I must admit I was feeling a bit trepidatious about reading this second-chance romance. It felt like it might be hitting a bit too close to home for me; after all, I met my husband when I was 17, and he was 19, and while we didn’t get married until six years later and our marriage has been a good one, there were ups and downs along the way. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book. Turns out, I loved it!

Sarah and Caleb have been through a lot together in their seventeen years of marriage. They married when they were nineteen years old, so Sarah’s mom could be at the wedding. She had ALS and died a few months later. Caleb came from a wealthy background but didn’t necessarily always agree with his parents and their life choices. He felt more loved and at home in Sarah’s house.

Sarah was raised by a single mom and her Aunt June, who also had a daughter, Win, who was the same age as Sarah. Caleb felt the loss of Sarah’s mom nearly as much as Sarah did. Several years later, she gets the idea to hold a fundraiser for ALS in her mother’s memory. It’s a formal gala, but the money isn’t rolling in like Sarah was hoping. At the last minute, Caleb gives her a huge check to make up the difference, and that gesture sends Sarah spiraling. She wanted to do this on her own, but after that check, it feels like Caleb rescued her, and she is tired of being rescued. She asks him to name one thing about her that is truly special and unique, and he doesn’t say a word. They end up not speaking for a few weeks.

Then Win tells her about this week-long marriage retreat in the woods that her boss is running. There is an opening for another couple, and while neither Caleb nor Sarah are the outdoorsy types, they decide they probably should go anyway. If being off the grid for a week can help their marriage, they are both willing to try. The camping and hiking trip is no picnic, but they start growing closer again, and it looks like it may have been just what their marriage needed, at least until a dreadful accident occurs.

This was my first read from this author; I believe she had several self-published books before this traditionally published book came out. It was well-written and engaging, and I loved these characters. I couldn’t help but root for their happy ending, and I was sorry to turn that last page. This was a different spin on a second-chance romance as the characters were married, but as someone who has been married for more than forty years, I can assure you it rang true. I laughed, I cried, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Don’t miss it!

1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

OUT OF THE WOODS by Hannah Bonam-Young. Dell (January 28, 2025). ISBN: 978-0593871867. 336p.

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Maple Hills, Book 1

From the publisher:

A TikTok sensation! Sparks fly when a competitive figure skater and hockey team captain are forced to share a rink.

Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. It looks like everything is going according to plan when she gets a full scholarship to the University of California, Maple Hills and lands a place on their competitive figure skating team.

Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.

Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team—including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him.

But when Anastasia’s skating partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot.

Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried…because she could never like a hockey player, right?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Over 1 million copies sold!

Hannah Grace’s #1 New York Times bestselling Icebreaker in a spectacular deluxe hardcover edition featuring:
New bonus material
Pearlized and foiled jacket
Stunning sprayed edges
Designed endpapers
Foil stamped case

https://amzn.to/4jl63fl

I don’t read a lot of books with college student protagonists; I work in a college library supervising student workers, and I don’t need the added drama. But I heard good things about this book, plus it was centered around skating, so I gave it a shot. I was sucked in from the first page and didn’t put it down until the last.

Nate is the captain of the college ice hockey team, and he takes it very seriously. He’s already been signed to the pros, so he just has to get through his senior year without injury or trouble, easier said than done when he has to herd a bunch of rowdy college boys.

Anastasia is a figure skater with an eye on making it to the US Olympic team. She’s a pairs skater, and her partner is a good skater, but a lousy human being. Unfortunately, it takes her a long time to figure that out. There is a serious incident that causes one of the skating rinks to be shut down, forcing the hockey team and the figure skaters to share the ice. The coach demands to know who is responsible, and Nate takes the blame so the rest of the team can keep competing.

Schedules are worked out, and Nate goes to all the practices. There he meets Anastasia, and they start hanging out. She becomes friends with some of his roommates, and eventually, they fall for one another. Meanwhile, another incident occurs with Anastasia’s skating partner. He sustains a bad injury and blames Nate. Anastasia believes that Nate is innocent, but he still gets benched for several games. Nate offers to help Anastasia practice while her partner is out, and learns the difference between figure skating and hockey skating.

Eventually, the truth wills out as it always does, and Nate and Anastasia find their happy ending. There is a lot of drama and some laughs along the way, and a bit of heat, too. I understand why this book is so popular, and I’m looking forward to the rest of this series, which are all available.

The Maple Hills Series:

1. Icebreaker
2. Wildfire
3. Daydream

1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

ICEBREAKER by Hannah Grace. Atria Books (November 19, 2024). ISBN: 978-1668080399. 464p.

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