Review: Loved this one!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 28, 2013
Dellani Oakes' The Ninja Tattoo is a great read, filled with thrilling intrigue and romance. The protagonist Teague runs into Vivica at a donut shop where he accidentally bangs her with the door. This serendipitous meeting draws them together in an instant and authentic heated attraction. When he leaves her to go to work at a landscape job, he is followed by several motorcyclists in what lends to a creeping chilling undertone that continues throughout the story.There are multiple themes; the fear that a gang mentality imposes on its prey; blossoming romantic love and developing trust; family love and support; and the karmic lessons of evil and its comeuppance.Teague is a likable character with ethics and real emotions that are refreshing to see in a male protagonist. Despite them none of his strong masculinity is lost, so believable is the writing. Teague, Vivian and the supporting cast made up of their two families meld together with building tension. Near the beginning Teague takes Vivica on a date in which she meets half his tight knit family at a family owned fish restaurant. When he arrives home later that night he senses people outside his home watching him, which proves accurate. From that point on in the story the tension of revenge, intrigue and fear grip the reader as he and Vivica become victims of one viscous twist after another making it hard to put the book down.Brilliantly intertwined into the story line are the PTSD flashbacks Teague experiences that are triggered by those after him. Scenes of lovemaking and Vivica getting him to talk, to open about his experiences, are interspersed to show the deepening of trust and love into this already heated passionate relationship. The rollercoaster ride of emotions doesn't let up taking the reader into one scary turn after another. No spoilers on how it ends.I enjoyed this authors writing, the crisp realistic dialogue, and the sexual scenes that were titillating but not overly descriptive. It was a really enjoyable read that grabbed my attention and held it from the beginning right up to the last page.