Even if he wasn’t the lead singer of the insanely popular college band Luminescent Juliet, Justin Noel wouldn’t have to work at picking up women. It only takes one flash of his dimples to make ladies swoon. And they do—nightly. Which is perfect because Justin doesn’t have any interest in a relationship that might last longer than sunrise.
For tattoo artist Allie Landon, guys like Justin are a joke. Since her ex broke her heart, Allie rarely dates, and she wouldn’t be caught dead with a bad-boy type like Justin. But when her ex unexpectedly shows up, desperation forces Allie to introduce Justin as her boyfriend. Justin’s more than happy to play along—after all, who wouldn’t want to be with Allie? She’s hot and she can ink a killer tattoo.
When playing along starts to mean something more to Justin, he discovers that Allie exposes emotional depths within his soul that he didn’t know he had. But Allie’s life isn’t what it seems, and there’s little room in her shattered and confused heart to let Justin in. As Justin grapples with an increasing need to have her in his life, Allie finds that ignoring the growing attraction—both physical and emotional—between them is becoming more difficult than tattoo removal.
As the lead singer for the popular band Luminescent Juliet Justin Noel’s life revolves around school, the band, the ladies, and partying. When he pretends to be Allie Landon’s boyfriend in order to help her fend off her overbearing ex, he starts to care about her in a way that his previously shallow life never allowed him to do so. When he realizes that Allie’s life is not all that it seems and her list of responsibilities is much longer than any twenty-two should have he has to fight twice as hard to try to win her over.
Allie does a good job of maintaining her responsibilities, and anyone would be leery of relationships if they had been through what she had been through. Mrs. Haus does a good job of portraying her vulnerability and struggles while also displaying an underlying strength that allows her to deal with all that is going on with his life. The one thing that I did not like is her views on Justin’s life and his attitude. They are of a similar age and she is unable to look beyond the college boy and lead singer to see the fact that he works hard and has his own familial issues that he has to deal with. Despite this, Ink My Heart provides an interesting read about how a tattooed rock singer attempts to make it work with the tattoo artist he lusts for.
Reviewed by Lucy for Cocktails and Books
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17 November, 2013:
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