Review: Hidden Ink by Carrie Ann Ryan

Title: Hidden Ink
By: Carrie Ann Ryan
Series: Montgomery Ink #4.5
My Copy: Ebook from Publisher
The BookWhisperer's Rating: 

The Montgomery Ink series continues with the long-awaited romance between the café owner next door and the tattoo artist who's loved her from afar.

Hailey Monroe knows the world isn't always fair, but she's picked herself up from the ashes once before and if she needs to, she'll do it again. It's been years since she first spotted the tattoo artist with a scowl that made her heart skip a beat, but now she's finally gained the courage to approach him. Only it won't be about what their future could bring, but how to finish healing the scars from her past.

Sloane Gordon lived through the worst kinds of hell yet the temptation next door sends him to another level. He's kept his distance because he knows what kind of man he is versus what kind of man Hailey needs. When she comes to him with a proposition that sends his mind whirling and his soul shattering, he'll do everything in his power to protect the woman he cares for and the secrets he's been forced to keep.

Unfortunately, I haven’t read any of the Montgomery Ink series until Hidden Ink.  Fortunately, I wasn’t lost a bit in this story. 

Immediately into the book, I adored Hailey.  There was just something about her character that endeared her to me.  Maybe it was her past struggle, that she fought by herself, that won my heart or that her love for Sloane, even though she thought that there would never be a chance between them.  And really, the reasons above are what endeared me to Sloane.  He also struggles with a past and believes that Hailey is too good for him so he keeps his distance.  What I love is that one customer changes it all.  One customer flirts with Hailey and Sloane pushes himself into making his feelings known.  (Eeekkk!)  Once everything is out in the open, this is when the characters became even more real.  Both revealed their secrets of their tortured hearts to each other and the rest of the gang, which created a tight solidarity circle between all. 

Like I stated above, I haven’t read any of these books before this one but this one has definitely peaked my interest in the other’s stories and in those to come.

P.S.  Hailey’s tattoo…such a beautiful idea.