Asa Cross struggles with being the man everyone wants him to be and the man he knows he really is. A leopard doesn't change its spots, and Asa has always been a predator. He doesn't want to hurt those who love and rely on him, especially one luscious arresting cop who suddenly seems interested in him for far more than his penchant for breaking the law. But letting go of old habits is hard, and it;s easy to hit bottom when it's the place you know best.
Royal Hastings is quickly learning what the bottom looks like after a tragic situation at work threatens not only her career but also her partners life. As a woman who has only ever had a few real friends, she's trying to muddle through her confusion and devastation alone. Except she can't stop thinking about the sexy southern bartender she locked up. Crushing on Asa is the last thing she needs, but his allure is too strong to resist. And she knows chasing after a guy who has no respect for the law or himself can only end in heartbreak.
A longtime criminal and a copy just seem so wrong together... but for Asa and Royal being wrong together is the only right choice to make.
Review:
Say it ain't so.. the Marked Men series is ending. I have loved this series from the first chapter of Rule and it is one that will stay with me for a long time. I have to be honest here. I bought Asa the week it was released. I purposely put off reading it until this week, I just wasn't ready for this series to end!
Royal's head is a little out of the game. Her partner and best friend was injured in the line of duty and it has left her feeling a little out of sorts. Her behavior is a little out of sorts to say the least. She can't stay away from Asa, even though she knows she probably should. You would think that the fact that she had arrested him herself in the past would have extinguished any attraction, but that is so not the case.
Asa hasn't had an easy life, he learned early on that manipulating people got him places, he used his looks and charm to achieve the things he wanted, even though sometimes, well most of the time what he was doing was illegal. He is trying really hard, for his sake and his sister to truly be the reformed man she believes him to be. He fights the attraction to the beautiful cop, but when something is meant to be, it will be. Once these two give into the inevitable this story gets pretty steamy very quickly.
In typical Jay Crownover fashion she pulls you in and makes you fall in love with another one of her Marked Men. Royal may be my favorite heroine of the series, I love that she is a tough cookie, but her weakness for a certain "bad boy" is not a flaw, it made her stronger in my eyes. He was what she needed to heal, she just didn't fully understand it right away.
I gave this book and the entire series 5 Stars! Asa can be read as a stand alone book, but I recommend reading this entire series in order. Each book has a fresh feeling to it, but revisiting with old characters as their lives are integrated into the lives of the new characters makes the series even more special. I can't wait for more from Jay Crownover. She has firmly earned her spot as an auto-buy author for me! Her writing style is unique and her Marked Men are the stuff dreams are made of... well steamy hot, curl your toes dreams anyway!
Buy Links:
Amazon * B&N * HARPERCOLLINS * iTunes
Author Info:
www.jaycrownover.com/
Amazon Author Page for Jay Crownover
Twitter @jaycrownover
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