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Review

Fun, sweet and sexy but still intense and emotional, this book had me glued to my kindle from start to finish. I absolutely loved it!

4.5 stars

Harper survived a vicious attack which left her scarred – inside and out. She has moved to Miami and assumed a new identify in order to hide from her past, but she still lives with almost debilitating fears. And so, desperate to move on from her past, she summons up her courage to go to the local yet renowned tattoo studio to ask about getting a tattoo to cover her horrific scars.

Trent is a the highly skilled tattoo artist who owns Second Circle Tattoos. He has worked hard to get where he is, and he takes great pride in what he has been able to accomplish. Trent is intrigued by the mysterious and obviously terrified girl who approaches him upon closing one night, and with one look at her mutilated back, he knows that he has to be the one to help her.

“There’s good news and good news. Which do you want first?”
“The good news, I guess.” She sounded uncertain, which was a lot better than sounding scared.
“There’s plenty we can do to hide this.”
“What’s the other good news?” Harper asked.
“That I want to do it.”

From that initial meeting, Harper and Trent are in each other’s lives. They share a mutual attraction, though Trent takes things gently, knowing how nervous Harper is, but she starts to get comfortable with him and he draws her out of her shell and they start to grow closer. And amidst some great banter, and sweet and sexy flirting, a beautiful, slow moving and completely realistic love story develops. And it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

“You know what comes next, right, Harper?”
“Yes,” she said, slightly breathless, running her tongue over her lower lip.
“And you aren’t stopping me?”
“No, I’m not.”
Relief and anticipation surged though him. Tugging on the single denim loop, he pulled her toward him, moving slowly as his hand slid around her waist and settled on her lower back. Trent leaned cautiously toward her, his eyes never losing contact with hers, watching her pupils dilate in anticipation as he brushed her lips with his.

Gah! Even just reading that quote gives me tingles!

I adore Trent! Not only is he gorgeously hot, tattooed and wickedly sexy, but he’s sweet, charming, and incredibly caring and supportive. He is there for Harper every step of her journey and is such a pillar of strength for her, pushing her when she needs it, and being playful and fun and showing her what it means to live her life again. Oh, and he’s also romantic and so, so swoony! He’s absolutely perfect, and I love him madly! And he is exactly who Harper needs.

“We’ll do this. You and me. It’ll be in your time, but we will do this. And to make it easier on both of us, you need to talk to me.”
Trent lifted her onto his lap, circling his arms around her.
“I’ll try. I haven’t told you everything yet, and I don’t know if I can.”
“So tell me when you’re ready. If you’re not ready, just tell me. I’m a patient man.”

I love this relationship! I felt every little moment and gloried in every little step that bought them closer to their HEA. And they are SO freaking functional! They like each other, they act on, it develops perfectly and every moment had me mesmerised. And though they have issues they need to overcome, there is no unnecessary angst, and they resolve everything sensibly and without excessive drama. It’s exactly the sort of romance I love to read.

“I love you, Harper. Everything else is details.”

Harper is a wonderful heroine and her journey was amazing to read. She develops amazingly and I loved watching her find her strength and grow in confidence throughout the book. But just when her life is starting to come together, Harper starts to receive mysterious but ominous threats, and she fears that the danger from her past is coming for her once again. For the first time she has a reason not to run. But is she strong enough to stay and fight for the future she is building?

“I see a woman who is getting past this one step at a time, doing the best she can, and who, with each step, reclaims a little bit of herself.”

It’s not a unique story and yes, it is predictable, but it’s so beautifully written and so engaging that even though I knew what was coming, I was still captivated from first page to last. And it’s finished off with an epilogue which ends the story at a graet place.

I loved the extended group of characters – they are a fantastic bunch and all complement the story so much. There’s already two more books just begging to be written and I’m so excited that Cujo and Drea and their crazily antagonistic dynamic are up next!

Scarlett Cole has done a wonderful job with this book, giving us just the right mix of funny, sexy romance, emotional drama with a bit of suspense, and a kickass romance that I was happily swept up in. I can’t believe it’s a debut novel! I absolutely loved it, and can’t wait for more from the series.

4.5 stars