Monday, May 12, 2014

Nash

Oh, I'm worried about tomatoes being thrown at me, so I'm wearing a helmet, just in case.

Nash - Jay Crownover
Nash (Marked Men, #4)
Will their past determine their future?

Saint Ford has worked hard to achieve her childhood dream of becoming of nurse. Focused on her work and devoted to her patients, there’s no room for love. She doesn’t need a guy making waves in her calm, serene life—especially when he’s the unforgettable hottie who nearly destroyed her in high school. Dark, brooding Nash Donovan might not remember her or the terrible pain he caused. But he turned her world upside down... and now he’s trying to do it again.

Saint has no idea that Nash isn’t the cocky player he once was. Uncovering a devastating family secret has rocked his world, and now he’s struggling to figure out his future. He can’t be distracted by the pretty nurse he seems to meet everywhere. Still, he can’t ignore the sparks that fly between them —or how she seems so desperate to get away from him. But the funny, sweet, and drop-dead gorgeous Saint is far too amazing to give up on—especially since she’s the only thing in his life that seems to make sense.

When Nash discovers the truth about their past, he realizes he may have lost her heart before he could even fight for it. Now, Saint has to decide: is Nash worth risking herself for all over again?


You know I'm a fan of Jay Crownover and her Marked Men series. I really am, I think she is tapping into a whole area of Young Adult that is exciting, new, and fun. Big fan. 

Not a big fan of this book. 

I will start by saying I loved Nash- he's a great guy. I think he legitimately is a good guy that tries to do good by others and keeps his life on the straight and narrow. I really hated Saint. Quite frankly, Nash can do a whole lot better than  her. I've read on some book blogs there is quite a bit of "Saint Hate" going around and the author herself basically refuses to acknowledge or read negative reviews. (Which, that's  her prerogative, but I think if you want to keep in touch with your actual fans instead of the ones who'll kiss your ass and tell you you are the best thing ever, you need to read those. There are some critical things they point out that should be worked on.) Saint is really awkward and shy, which in some female leads is kind of endearing. In this case, it is ridiculously frustrating. Saint has focused her entire adult life based on one party, and one thing Nash said back in high school. Just like anyone else who walks half way into a conversation, you can't base everything you know about a situation because of one statement. That's reckless and rude. But nope, Saint does this. Despite Nash doing everything for her and proving time and time again he really is a stand up guy there to pick her up whenever she needs, she essentially uses him and then goes bananas and runs away. 

And I wish she would have stayed. Unlike all of the other books that have a similar story line (couple meets, couple is sexually compatible, couple struggles, big blowout, someone runs away, they come back together, same recipe for every single book), Saint never really redeems herself with me. She comes back and is all, "I really DO love myself", um, no. You don't just decide, "hey- I'm going to love myself today", it's a process and it takes time. I just felt really frustrated with this book. I like the buildup for the next book, Rowdy, but this one fell flat for me. It's easily the least favorite of the series so far for me. Which is really unfortunate because I have really liked Nash's character throughout and I thought we'd have better for him than Saint. 

Also? As exciting as it is to have these books come so quickly after the last one, it makes me feel like she's rushing through them just to get them out. Now we have another series coming and I don't know if I'm even going to read that because every description has the main character, Bax, out and proud as a badass, sometimes asshole. Um, great? Because who isn't attracted to that? Eye roll. 

I hold hope that Jay can pull it together for Rowdy. Mostly because it's hard to keep an entire series successful as it is, and this... this didn't meet the expectations of the others. 

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