Rowdy (Marked Men #5) by Jay Crownover

After the only girl he ever loved told him that he would never be enough, Rowdy St. James knocked the Texas dust off his boots and set out to live up to his nickname. A good ol’ boy looking for good times and good friends, Rowdy refuses to take anything too seriously, especially when it comes to the opposite sex. Burned by love once, he isn’t going to let himself trust a woman again. But that’s before his new co-worker arrives, a ghost from the past who’s suddenly making him question every lesson he ever learned.

Salem Cruz grew up in house with too many rules and too little fun—a world of unhappiness she couldn’t wait to forget. But one nice thing from childhood has stayed with her; the memory of the sweet, blue-eyed boy next door who’d been head over heels in love with her little sister.

Now, fate and an old friend have brought her and Rowdy together, and Salem is determined to show him that once upon a time he picked the wrong sister. A mission that is working perfectly—until the one person that ties them together appears, threatening to tear them apart for good.

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Jay Crownover delivers another stellar installment in her Marked Men series. Just like the others, Rowdy is full of heart, with just the right amount of steam, to get you hooked and keep you flying through the pages. Just when I think Jay can't deliver a better book than her last, she surpasses my expectations yet again. There is definitely a level of expectation with NA novels, but what sets Jay's books apart is her ability to create such dynamic characters, and then use them to tell stories that have rather profound perspectives on matters of the heart. Yes, Rowdy has all the things you would expect of a NA novel, but it also eloquently addresses the ideas of destiny, and the idea that when it comes to the heart, sometimes the "lasts" are more important than the "firsts." Not all NA authors are able to do this, to create stories that are so much more than gratuitous "love" stories. This novel, in a word. is perfection.

There is one more book in this series, and I have a feeling that Asa's story is going to be her best one yet. Jay also has a spin-off series in the works. I, for one, will be pre-ordering all of them :)