Review: Bad Boy Gets A Taste of the Good Life and Responsible Girl Gets a Taste of Letting Go!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 13, 2013
Ink My Heart is book two in the Luminescent Juliet series and is a New Adult Contemporary Romance written by Jean Haus.4 Rock My Heart Stars!The Review:Luminescent Juliet... You Rock My Soul!!A friend recommended In the Band (Luminescent Juliet #1), to me a while back and I absolutely loved it! So when Ink My Heart came up for review, I was all over it!! Trust me when I say I was not disappointed. This book was real! It was angsty! It was filled with life and love and had a powerful story. I loved this read!Story...Justin Noel doesn't have much direction in life. He's a twenty year old guy who loves to party, hook up with a different girl at every show and have fun. He sings in an indie band called Luminescent Juliet but doesn't take it too seriously. He goes to college but never does his own homework or laundry as he has groupies do it for him. He lives off the allowance his absentee, affluent parents send him but who needs them anyhow? He doesn't like emotions nor does he want any emotional attachments. His life is carefree if a bit empty, but he prefers it that way. Emotions only get in the way and make him think too much. Right?One night after playing a gig, he walks into a new tattoo parlor to check out the scene and after hearing the sexy voice of the gorgeous owner, his life slowly gets turned upside down. Little by little, the boy who used to care about nothing suddenly turns into a man who cares a lot.Quote Spotlight...Until I met her, I'd been a shallow, immature self-centered boy. She's unknowingly made me a man.Allie Landon is twenty-two and has too much responsibility for her age. She has heartbreak in her past and obligation in her present. Its complicated and tough but she pulls through by being the best she can, taking on the responsibilities given to her and working hard. She goes to college, taking business classes as a backup plan incase her inking parlor doesn't succeed. The last thing she needs is a relationship, especially with someone who knows nothing about hardships and responsibilities. So when carefree Justin walks into her parlor, though he may be exceptionally hot, he's not for her. But as he inserts himself into her life, she realizes maybe its time to open her heart again.Quote Spotlight...I realize he had caught me. And despite all the responsibilities on my shoulders and reservations in my heart, it feels right. More than I ever thought possible, I want to be caught.Thoughts...I enjoyed this read so much! The story was fantastic and I just loved the characters.Justin might have been carefree but he was avoiding all those responsibilities because with that comes emotions which is something he steers clear of. He doesn't like to sit still because it gives him to much time to think... and see how lonely he really is. He's never been showered with feelings, love or hugs so encountering those things or seeing someone else experiencing those things confuses him. When Allie presents a challenge and a willingness to walk away, which is something he's never experience from a girl in the past, he can't help but want to go after her. She's not like the other girls. She doesn't party, she has goals and she has shadowed eyes that haunt him. Justin has to learn to deal with emotions he's never experienced before. Love, concern for another, jealousy, wanting a girl to trust him, wanting a girl past a one night stand. This is all new to him.Justin knows that being fake with Allie won't work, so when he starts to be real with her, she can see past that partying guy to the inner Justin who's beautiful and caring and worth the risk. But she's had so much heartbreak in the past, she has a hard time letting go of all that pain. She has some pretty big life responsibilities too and with all that responsibility comes stress that needs an outlet. Allie has to learn to trust again after betrayal and heartbreak which she struggles with as her past and future collide.I find a fierce female lead to be the best kind of reads and Allie being independent, beautiful and responsible just endeared her to me more. She put her responsibilities first even though it made her a bit uptight. She spoke to me on a personal level because I've been in her position. I had similar things going on in my life at her age and the fact she wasn't out partying and she put her family first made her a class act!Lyrical Spotlight...Fell into her a million miles an hourAgainBut the needle droppedInked my heart and scarred my skinWatching these two come together, slowly, really made me love them more. So many times a romance will have their characters hook up right from the start, but with these two, they took their time, reluctantly getting to know one another a little and finding more than just lust in common.Dont get me wrong, they were still hot together. Their chemistry was perfect. They were perfect.And the ending... oh wow! I actually got a little teary eyed there for a minute. I really loved the ending!Wish List...We get to see a little of Riley and Romeo from book one in this book. Riley gets some one on one time with Justin to dish out some sage advice, which I loved. That girl went through a lot in book one and its was good to see her and Romeo "after the story". My only wish is I wanted to see more! Yes, I'm stingy. But I REALLY loved book one and their story was so freaking sweet! Romeo was a bit of an uptight in book one, but this book, wow, dude needed to take a chill pill. He was "scolding children" but thats how they were acting. No one was really getting along. I hope by the end of the last book in this series, the band has become stable. They bicker a lot and I'm hoping its just because they aren't living their HEA's yet. They do seem to have each others backs when things get tough though, which was hot! ;)The Wrap Up:I fell in love with the men in this group while reading In the Band, which was so much fun with its angsty characters and beautiful story. This book is a fantastic second book in the series and I can't wait for book three. I'm not sure who its going to be about, Sam or Gage, I'm thinking Gage, but either way, I can't wait!Note: A gifted copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review through AToMR Tours.