The journey from friends to lovers is an emotionally intense one when danger intrudes, leaving not only hearts on the line but also a family’s business. Keep reading to get a tempting taste of Fallen Ink by Carrie Ann Ryan, along with my impressions of it, then add this first installment in the Montgomery Ink: Colorado Springs series to your bookshelf.
The Montgomery Ink series continues with a spin-off in Colorado Springs, where a familiar Montgomery finds her place in a new tattoo shop, and in the arms of her best friend.
Adrienne Montgomery is finally living her dreams. She’s opened a tattoo shop with her brother, Shep, and two of her cousins from Denver and she’s ready to take the city by storm with her art—as long as she can handle the pressure. When her new neighbors decide her shop isn’t a great fit for the community, however, she’ll have to lean on the one person she didn’t expect to fall for along the way…her best friend.
Mace Knight takes pride in two things: his art and his daughter. He knows he’s taking a risk by starting over in a new shop with the Montgomerys, but the stakes are even higher when he finds himself wanting Adrienne more than he thought possible.
The two fall fast and hard but they know the rules; they can’t risk their friendship, no matter how hot it is between the sheets and how many people try to stand in their way.
EXCERPT:
Mace was making a fucking mistake, and he didn’t care. Adrienne tasted like sin and seduction, and he knew if he stopped kissing her, he’d let his mind wander to what the hell he was doing, and he’d fuck up everything even more. So, he kept kissing her.
And then he took it deeper. His fingers tangled in her hair, and she slid her hands up his chest, digging into his flesh. Their moans were lost in the wind and rain outside as it beat down on the bathroom window, and he couldn’t help but explore her mouth.
He’d thought about doing this countless times; thought about tasting her, having her. He’d imagined himself licking up her neck and down between her breasts before devouring her everywhere else. He’d thought about how she’d arch into him as he plunged into her, and they’d both come, panting and sweaty.
He’d thought about all of it because he’d been attracted to Addi from day one, but had never wanted to hurt their friendship. That was still the case because she was the most important adult in his life, the strongest relationship he had with another person besides Daisy.
So why was he still kissing her? Mace was about to pull back when she leaned in closer, her breasts pressing into his chest.
And when her hands slid around to his back to cling to him, he knew there would be no getting out of this mistake just then.
They’d deal with the consequences later because that’s what they did. They were strong enough to deal with anything, and right then, all he wanted to do was bury himself inside his best friend and never stop.
So, he didn’t.
FIND AT GOODREADS here.
BUY LINKS: AMAZON | iBOOKS | BN | KOBO | GOOGLE PLAY
MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
Throughout her writings Ms. Ryan has crafted a delightful family in the Montgomerys and with this series starter readers get introduced to another part of the family tree. With this release Adrienne and Shep Montgomery have set up a new tattoo parlor that serves as the meeting place for a new set of compelling heroes and heroines that remind us of the importance of family. Along with its erotically-charged romance of friends to lovers readers will be kept on the edge of their seats by the danger to Adrienne’s heart as well as the danger befalling their new business.
Adrienne’s a strong-willed woman focused on opening her family’s new tattoo parlor, a heroine who’s creative and tells it like it is. She’s also a woman who inspires loyalty from those she calls family along with her close knit friends who rally around her when someone starts targeting her business. Along with the strong familial ties, it’s her friendship with Mace that she’s come to count on most. He’s always been there for her, an attraction that she’s buried for years for fear of ruining their friendship. One night changes everything though and after one taste of their sensual connection she’s addicted. From that moment on she’s all in when it comes to their feelings and the future, but it’s a rocky road to HEA courtesy of his fears and the danger creeping ever closer to her. On a whole Adrienne’s a likable part of this story. I enjoyed her interactions with her friends and family, enjoyed their unconditional support of one another, and cheered her on as she stood up for herself against Mace and the villain seeking to harm her and her business. Though I wish readers had gotten deeper insight into her character, the parts we got to see of her were immensely likable and made her easy to relate to.
Mace Knight is an older hero who’s been put through the emotional wringer by his ex and her machinations over custody of their child. It’s left him doubting his heart and desperate to do right by his daughter. When his ex leaves the country for a job opportunity he’s finally given the chance to be a full-time dad. Though it’s a dream come true it comes at a bad time as his feelings for his best friend have suddenly taken a more erotic turn. He’s left trying to balance being a dad with being a lover and though it starts off good things soon fall apart. Mace is a super sexy hero with a talent for dirty talk. He and Adrienne have a strong connection from the start so their quick transition to something more felt believable. What frustrated me though was that the majority of their interactions as a couple were based on sex. That’s not to say that their sexual interludes weren’t satisfying, just that we didn’t get to see them interacting as a couple out in the world. Though Adrienne’s committed to them being a couple Mace never seemed as sure. It felt like he was just waiting for something to go wrong with his decision to end things based on a silly reaction to fear. Though his groveling to Adrienne was well done I wish she’d made him suffer longer as his doubts over their feelings had me feeling vindictive.
This was a quick yet entertaining read with numerous threads left dangling with others slightly tied off. Though the friends to lovers romance between Adrienne and Mace is what drew me to this story, there was plenty of other storylines to catch my attention...almost too many. Adrienne and Mace are a combustible couple, supportive as friends and teeming with eroticism as lovers. Theirs is a romance dealing with his baggage over the past which left me frustrated, while the lack of time given to them also took away from my enjoyment of their fun and flirty banter. On a whole I wish more time had been spent with them as the theme of friends to lovers is a favorite of mine and their early connection held such compelling promise. The mystery surrounding who’s hurting her business felt a bit tacked on too, a bit of a distraction, but Adrienne’s defense of herself had me cheering in a highlight of this story. Balanced alongside the burgeoning romance of these two friends are the updates of previous characters as well as intriguing temptations of what’s to come for other characters. I’m particularly looking forward to Thea and Dimitri. Ultimately this is a good story with much to recommend it and fans of the friends to lovers theme will be left satisfied as we all wait for the next installment in this series.
Adrienne’s a strong-willed woman focused on opening her family’s new tattoo parlor, a heroine who’s creative and tells it like it is. She’s also a woman who inspires loyalty from those she calls family along with her close knit friends who rally around her when someone starts targeting her business. Along with the strong familial ties, it’s her friendship with Mace that she’s come to count on most. He’s always been there for her, an attraction that she’s buried for years for fear of ruining their friendship. One night changes everything though and after one taste of their sensual connection she’s addicted. From that moment on she’s all in when it comes to their feelings and the future, but it’s a rocky road to HEA courtesy of his fears and the danger creeping ever closer to her. On a whole Adrienne’s a likable part of this story. I enjoyed her interactions with her friends and family, enjoyed their unconditional support of one another, and cheered her on as she stood up for herself against Mace and the villain seeking to harm her and her business. Though I wish readers had gotten deeper insight into her character, the parts we got to see of her were immensely likable and made her easy to relate to.
Mace Knight is an older hero who’s been put through the emotional wringer by his ex and her machinations over custody of their child. It’s left him doubting his heart and desperate to do right by his daughter. When his ex leaves the country for a job opportunity he’s finally given the chance to be a full-time dad. Though it’s a dream come true it comes at a bad time as his feelings for his best friend have suddenly taken a more erotic turn. He’s left trying to balance being a dad with being a lover and though it starts off good things soon fall apart. Mace is a super sexy hero with a talent for dirty talk. He and Adrienne have a strong connection from the start so their quick transition to something more felt believable. What frustrated me though was that the majority of their interactions as a couple were based on sex. That’s not to say that their sexual interludes weren’t satisfying, just that we didn’t get to see them interacting as a couple out in the world. Though Adrienne’s committed to them being a couple Mace never seemed as sure. It felt like he was just waiting for something to go wrong with his decision to end things based on a silly reaction to fear. Though his groveling to Adrienne was well done I wish she’d made him suffer longer as his doubts over their feelings had me feeling vindictive.
This was a quick yet entertaining read with numerous threads left dangling with others slightly tied off. Though the friends to lovers romance between Adrienne and Mace is what drew me to this story, there was plenty of other storylines to catch my attention...almost too many. Adrienne and Mace are a combustible couple, supportive as friends and teeming with eroticism as lovers. Theirs is a romance dealing with his baggage over the past which left me frustrated, while the lack of time given to them also took away from my enjoyment of their fun and flirty banter. On a whole I wish more time had been spent with them as the theme of friends to lovers is a favorite of mine and their early connection held such compelling promise. The mystery surrounding who’s hurting her business felt a bit tacked on too, a bit of a distraction, but Adrienne’s defense of herself had me cheering in a highlight of this story. Balanced alongside the burgeoning romance of these two friends are the updates of previous characters as well as intriguing temptations of what’s to come for other characters. I’m particularly looking forward to Thea and Dimitri. Ultimately this is a good story with much to recommend it and fans of the friends to lovers theme will be left satisfied as we all wait for the next installment in this series.
My rating for this is a C+/B-
*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
AUTHOR INFO:
Carrie Ann Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance. Her works include the Montgomery Ink, Redwood Pack, Talon Pack, and Gallagher Brothers series, which have sold over 2.0 million books worldwide. She started writing while in graduate school for her advanced degree in chemistry and hasn’t stopped since. Carrie Ann has written over fifty novels and novellas with more in the works. When she’s not writing about bearded tattooed men or alpha wolves that need to find their mates, she’s reading as much as she can and exploring the world of baking and gourmet cooking.
WEBSITE | NEWSLETTER | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS AUTHOR PAGE | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | TUMBLR
No comments:
Post a Comment