Review: Fortunate Son by Jay Crownover

FORTUNATE SON

Jay Crownover

Publication date: 6/22/2021

Format: Audio

Source: Purchased

4 Stars

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.

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. 4 Stars