Thank you to Jay Crownover and her team for the advance reader copy of Fortunate Son, this story is out June 22nd.

I could not be more excited to be reviewing Fortunate Son, a book that I never expected to happen. I read Rule back in 2016 and now five years later I don’t just get to read about Rule’s son, I get to review his book with Jet’s daughter. It feels surreal almost.

Check out the Goodreads synopsis…

“Ry Archer and Bowe Keller are as different as night and day. But that doesn’t stop the childhood frenemies from reconnecting whenever one of them needs some help tackling any of life’s major puzzles, like figuring out why getting what you always thought you wanted isn’t living up to all the hype. They might constantly rub each other the wrong way (except for the times when they rub each other the really-really right way), but there is no denying they’ve always made one hell of a great team. They manage to balance each other out… when they aren’t driving each other crazy.

For Ry, he thought he had the perfect girl, the one who was going to run headfirst into a methodically planned future. He was going to marry young and have the same kind of legendary, life-long 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 all the way to the NFL.

He was wrong.

Now, Ry’s gotta figure out the difference between a bruised heart and a broken one, and the only person who can teach him the difference is Bowe.

Bowe always felt like she had to run before she learned to walk to keep up with her father’s musical legacy. He’s her hero, and she wants nothing more than to make him proud. 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 success cloud her idea of what making music should be. Bowe needs to find her own path 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.

Some days they’re enemies. Other days they’re lovers. For a while, they were strangers. But now, it feels more like they might’ve always been soulmates.
Eventually, Ry and Bowe realize that letting go of an old dream and creating a new one is much easier to do with the right person by your side.”

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

Characters: Ry Archer is Rule and Shaw’s (Rule) son and his story opens with a fresh heartbreak. He just had his heartbroken by Aston Wheeler, the daughter of Hudson and Poppy (Salvaged). Ry is equal parts smart and athletic. He is one of those people who have their whole life planned out from playing pro football to scoring his dream girl. But maybe it was the wrong girl. Enter Bowe Keller, the daughter of Jet and Ayden (Jet). Bowe is following in her father’s footsteps and pursuing a career in music. Unlike Ry, she lacks direction and carefully curated plans. Both kids were the perfect blend of their parents. I enjoyed this aspect so much. It was also so incredibly wonderful to see the original characters as parents. I am so excited about future books as we have met more of the kids and I need to know their stories too.
Setting: Ry flees Denver, Colorado to meet up with Bowe in Austin, Texas. Denver is riddled with all the pressure Ry feels and running off to Austin is quite healing for him. Away from prying eyes and their heavy history, Bowe and Ry are able to deal with their pasts and begin to build a future.
Pacing: This story was paced really well. It did not feel too short or too long. I really enjoyed that I savoured it rather than devouring it. Jay’s writing almost makes you take your time so you are forced to digest it slowly and impactfully.
Romance: Bowe and Ry are proof that opposites don’t just attract but flourish together. They had a chance to be together earlier in life, and that was lost to them. Now they are getting a second chance and I loved how they took it and ran with it. Bowe pushes Ry in a way that no other character does, she makes him reassess the life he has planned out. While Ry fights for Bowe and her dreams. They made me so emotional as I went from being happy to weepy. Then I also got to laugh and enjoy some very steamy scenes. I loved these two and everyone else around them. I am over the moon that Jay has taken the risk to publish second generation stories!