Fortunate Son

De: Jay Crownover

Narrado por: Kasha Kensington, Aaron Shedlock

Ry Archer and Bowe Keller are as different as night and day. That doesn't mean they don't share similar struggles. At the moment, both are realizing the reality of getting closer to reaching their dreams is not living up to all the hype. The childhood cohorts always seem to connect when one of them needs help. They might constantly rub each other the wrong way (except for when they rubbed each other really, really right), but there is no denying they've always made one hell of a team.

For Ry, he thought he had the perfect girl. He was going to marry young and have the same kind of legendary, lifelong romance his parents did...or so he believed. His girl was going to stand by his side as he chased his dream of being a professional football player in the NFL. He was wrong.

Bowe's about to figure out that maybe she wasn't meant to be in a rock and roll band and that it is entirely possible she let her father's dream and road to success cloud her own idea of what making music should be. Bowe needs to find her own way to fame, and there's a good chance she wouldn't be brave enough or bold enough to start over if Ry Archer hadn't pushed his way back into her life when she least expected it.

©2021 Jay Crownover (P)2022 Tantor

Marked Men - 2nd Generation

I loved Crownover’s Marked Men series (and the Saints of Denver spin-off series) and have read/listened to the complete series multiple times. So learning that she was creating a second generation series featuring the offspring of the original characters had me all kinds of excited. The series kick off with Ry (son of Rule and Shaw Archer) and Bowe (daughter of Jet and Ayden Keller). Childhood friends with a complicated history, a brief affair as teens ended badly and they haven’t spoken since. When Ry’s girlfriend breaks up with him, his battered heart leads him back to the one person he needs: Bowe.

Ry and Bowe had an evolution from friends (although ones who totally pushed each other’s buttons) to more, to a period of estrangement, before coming back together and recognizing their connection for what is was: two people who were almost polar opposites but brought out the best in one another. They both struggled with forging their own paths and following their own dreams. This was very much a new adult story with a focus of these characters coming into their own and straddling that line between needing some parental guidance and also breaking away from those expectations and crossing into adulthood.

I have to mention (without any spoilers) a scene toward the end that harkened back to the original Marked Men series (Rome, book #3). It was a tie-in that I never saw coming and completely hit me in the feels. The scene from Rome, in the original series, is one that never fails to make me cry (yes, every single time I listened to it) and has stayed with me over the years. The same held true here in Fortunate Son. As soon as I understood the connection… cue the tears, because they were surely flowing. Kudos to Crownover for that tie-in that was so emotional and so meaningful.

My only quibble with Fortunate Son would be that the ending felt rushed and, for me, wasn’t fully satisfying. I listened to this one on audio, so I didn’t always have a good idea of where I was in the story. And when it ended I thought, “Wait, that was it? That was the end?” While I imagine there will be more of Ry and Bowe in the next book, I was hoping for something a little more from the ending here.

I so enjoyed being back in the Marked Men world and learning that these beloved characters were all still very much in each other’s lives. I will admit that, especially in the beginning, my eyes were crossing trying to keep all the second-gen kids straight – who their parents were, who was related, what their relationships were. All I can say is thank goodness for the family tree Crownover has on her website! I loved Ry and Bowe – and the whole cast of characters – and can’t wait to continue the series.

Highly entertaining!

Aaron and Kasha’s narration was on point. They brought their characters to life with their intonations and pitch. It drew me into Ry and Bowe’s world and hooked me from beginning to end.

Pleasing.

I am a fan of the author therefore I am someone who will listen to every title, especially when there are series. Jay Crownover has a few series which include overlapping characters that carry the Love Stories on. I am a fan!!

Love!!!

I feel like I waited forever for this audiobook and it was well worth the wait!!!

I was so invested in Rule and Shaw’s story that I have listened to their book numerous times and am so excited Jay decided to write the next generation and how the rough Rule and Jett have raised their kids. I look forward to listening to more next generation of the Marked Men/ Saints of Denver.💯

Young love rediscovered

Great story with lots of history. You get to understand what kids were created from the previous generation while getting a new love story

missing something

story line felt rushed and left too much unfinished at end. decent but lacking

Bring on the 2nd generation!

Ry Archer was the golden boy (hot, smart, popular, highly awarded athlete) and expected to be perfect. As the son of Rule and Shaw he feels a lot of pressure to make his Uncle Remy proud, who they all say he resembles. After dating for 2 years, Aston wants to go to a different college. This breakup is a surprise and he tries to figure things out by visiting Bowe.
Bowe Keller was his nemesis. He rejected her at age 16 since felt like he wasn’t good enough and felt she would always leave him. Bowe was a live in the moment person making music and writing lyrics. Didn’t chase guys only cared about music. Being the child of Jet and Ayden she too felt the pressure to make her parents proud.

Ry and Bowe are each other’s first intimate partners and full of their young insecurities they pushed each other away. It’s finally their time and the support they give each other is beautiful. I do wish there were more steamy scenes as book is slow burn. While their love story is cute it felt boring at times and I wasn’t really invested in their story. There were a couple of scenes I wish I had like Bowe telling Ry she’s never been with anyone else or Ry telling his parents about dream with Uncle Remy.

Had I read this as a standalone it would have received 3 stars. But being a 2nd gen after finishing the Marked Men series it definitely elevated it as I enjoyed the parent cameos and relationships. Also being introduced to all the kids and how interconnected they are.

This had Dual narration with Aaron Shedlock & Kasha Kensington. They did a great job with their characters and made for a good listen.

Not great

I’m being generous with my stars. This was a second generation book. Super confusing with all the kids and their parentage. Story was meh. Female narrator wasn’t good. Male narrator was ok. Female kept going in and out of a twang when she was doing the dialogue. Pick one!

Just okay …

Aaron Shedlock is new to me and I didn’t vibe with his voice so that brought things down a bit. The biggest let down was that this didn’t feel like Ry and Bo’s story but an intro to the series and cast. It felt like all the Peak Points were brought up then wrapped up almost within the same space. An example being someone was badly hurt but the recovery was not expressed or detailed during or in real time it was stated on lightly after the fact. I didn’t connect with either character because of the lack of detail of their growth it was teased skipped over and then summed up to quickly. Not sure if I am going to continue on with the series.

missing epilogue

do yourself a favor and buy Kindle version as well, as it includes an epilogue that is missing from the audible version. incredibly disappointing and enough to keep me from buying the audio of the second book in the series.