Thursday, August 10, 2017

Inked

*This post contains affiliate links.*

So, I was just browsing Amazon one day (as one would do during nap time, obviously) and I saw this book pop up in the whole "you'd probably like this AND it's on sale" area. Impulse buy. I can't even feel shame.



One look, and panties drop. One night, and they’re ready to marry me. 


Too bad I’m not interested in anything more than a taste. 



Until I’m tempted by Little Miss Goody-Two-Shoes. She’s a good girl, the kind I want to possess, dominate, ruin. No one’s ever told me no, and I’m not about to let it stop me now. 



She keeps pushing me away, even with her curvy body pressed against mine and those soft moans spilling from her lips. 



But I’m persistent. She doesn’t stand a chance. And now that she’s moved in next door, it’s only a matter of time before I'll have her screaming my name. 



She can try to run, but she’s not getting away from the bad boy next door. 


Alright, I have to start this review by telling you this almost landed in my did not finish pile and that's no easy feat. I tend to finish books even when I hate them because I am always hopeful the author can turn the hot mess around. If I tell you I didn't finish it, it sucks and you need to save your money, point blank. My issue with this book actually was Zane at the beginning when he first meets Madeline. Zane is very alpha male and Madeline isn't confident around men and has sworn them off. Both are in a bar and Zane zeroes in on Madeline and decides he's going to have sex with her and toss her to the wind.

Which, that alone is annoying to me but that isn't even what felt wrong to me.

That actually happens on page 37. Zane is laying it on thick with Madeline and all of her internal radar is going off and telling her to get out of this situation. Here's the passage:

"I try to make a run for it, but suddenly I'm sandwiched between the wall and a rock-hard body. 

Fuck. 

"Did I say you could leave?" Zane growls in my face. His voice is soft and sexy, not meant to be a threat, only a dare to stay."

Under absolutely no circumstance is this behavior OK. If this happened to me in real life, that guy's balls would be deflated and his penis in a world of hurt because I would have kicked him so hard he wouldn't have seen it coming. I know the authors were trying to achieve the strong alpha male but you can do that without the man coming off as a potential rapist.

I kept reading anyways and it turned out OK. It was an interesting story, Zane is in the mob against his will essentially and though he's a successful tattoo artist with his own shop, the mob owns him and he knows it. He can't afford to be in a relationship and potentially bring someone else into that world. Madeline doesn't want to be in a relationship after having been burned in the past, she wants to focus on her college studies but even she isn't immune to Zane's potent sexuality and charm and despite every alarm bell in her head going off, she can't help herself.

You know it's all going to go tits up with the mob involved and it does. A terribly bizarre shoot out ensues and the ending is predictable to an extent, but felt rushed to me. The book definitely feels like a quick romance pumped out by authors who believe in quantity over quality I think. It's self published and rightfully so, it feels like it's missing some oomph. Overall? I'm only giving this 2 out of 5 stars. The sex scenes are good, and I liked the relationship development even though Madeline is kind of unlikable, but the overall story feels hokey to me.

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