Tattooed Book Review

See this review and more at www.tattooedbookreview.com!I truly enjoyed this book: one of those reads where my fiancé walks in on me reading and jokes, “I hope Amazon will replace that Kindle for water damage…” It’s not that it’s an overly emotional tear-jerker, but that the characters are so real, and their emotions so palpable, that I couldn’t help but become emotionally involved.When Maggie Thompson returns to the tiny midwestern town she grew up in, it’s with a determination to become the ‘New Maggie’, to abandon a broken past and the emotional damage and instability that follows her like a dark cloud. However, with constant reminders of her haunted past around every corner, and dark secrets she keeps hidden inside, finding a way towards a new life and a brighter future seems impossible. I felt so strongly for Maggie’s character. She is burdened with a past she didn’t deserve, secrets too deep for someone so young, and some serious self-loating and emotional baggage. She puts up a shield, keeping everyone out, using her sexuality and reputation to push away anyone who may actually care for her.“I don’t want her to shut me out tonight, so I turn to her and out my hands agains the car, pinning her in.Her eyes change in an instant. The sorrow fades, swallowed up into that part of her that holds the rest of her secrets. Just as quickly, awareness flashes in its place. Her eyes turn hot.I want her. Want to hold her. Want to feel her. Want to get inside and see what she is so desperate to protect. And I know the last is what she’ll resist the most, but I’ll start here.” Enter Asher Logan, the rich, mysterious former rockstar with a dark past of his own. He sees Maggie’s beauty and intense sexuality, but also the broken girl behind the facade. As he courts her, he slowly breaks down her walls, piece by piece. He accepts her for who she is, and helps her to find a way towards becoming a stronger person, all while his feelings for her intensify. He treats her with such protectiveness and understanding, but never becomes a weak character. His presence is always strong, sexy, dominant, occasionally jealous, and totally HOT.“He rubs the inside of my plan. Soft. Gentle. This man may look rough with his tattoos and piercings, but there is nothing rough about the way he treats me. And, where the violence that flashed in his eyes didn’t scare me, this gentleness does.” If I had to choose one word to describe Maggie and Asher’s journey, it would be intense. Intense emotion, intense sexual chemistry, intense pain. The type of intensity that occurs when two people meet, the course of their lives is forever altered, and everything that happened before just doesn’t seem that important any more, now that the future seems to have so much possibility…“We find our rhythm like that. Asher never taking his eyes form mine as he moves with me under the light of the waxing moon. Me, flooded with emotion spilling from my newly wakened heart. Because I’m not a virgin. And I’m not in love. But this is all new to me. Here With Asher in the moonlight, rough and hungry and dangerous. Exposed. This is making love.” Overall, I enjoyed this book immensely. A story of dark, secretive, complicated pasts and the potential for healing and redemption that only comes from truth. A story about those who are lucky enough to be loved, even when they can’t find any love within themselves. The characters are multi-dimensional, flawed, and relatable. The story-telling is beautiful and engrossing, with seamless changes to multiple POV’s, plenty of angst and drama, and well-timed revelations of secrets and twists. Though there was a time when it seemed all was lost, but I was rewarded with an extremely satisfying, heartfelt conclusion. *I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review.