Review – Sinful Southern Ink (Pricked) by S.J. Drum

Description:
Abigail Hart moved to Clifton, Tennessee to escape the stigma of being the daughter of a murderer. To reinvent herself, she left her old name and terrible childhood memories to rot along with the shitty trailer she’d once called home.
When her violent past catches up to her, there’s only one person Abigail can trust with the truth. Too bad he demands her heart—and her body—in the bargain.

Jed Weston is a tall, hard, country boy with dangerous cowboy charm and piercings in all the right places. As Abigail’s partner in her tattoo and piercing shop, he’s kept things between them on a strictly professional level. Seeing her vulnerable, wary, and hurting, opens his eyes to the woman he’s seen only as a friend for so long.

Jed’s jealous ex-girlfriend, a nosy reporter, and a potential father-in-law on death row won’t keep him from the woman who makes him hard at the very sight of her, the woman who provokes every protective instinct within him. Nothing will keep Jed Weston from catching—and keeping—the woman he loves.

This is a short, sexy, fast paced story set in the south which I always LOVE to read since I’m from the south.  When I came across the synopsis of this book I could not wait to get my hands on it and find out just WHERE and WHAT all Jed had pierced and tattooed.   No spoilers, but let’s just say, you will NOT be disappointed.

Abigail and Jed have been working together in her tattoo shop for over three years.  Hard to believe they haven’t done the nasty yet, but Jed has maintained her policy of NO hanky panky in the workplace. I felt the chemistry between the two was well written.  In fact, I found myself early on in the story yelling, “just do it already! ” Both characters are very likable and I enjoyed the friends to lover theme.  Abigail has been through a great deal in her life and I was impressed with her character’s ability to overcome all of it.  When I hear Cowboy-Tattoos- Piercings, I’m thinking rough, tough, edgy, with some bad-boy thrown in for good measure, but what you get is the opposite.  Jed turns out to be a charming, toe curling sexy, sweetheart of a guy.

The story has a lot going on, maybe a little too much for the length.  I would loved to have seen more of them together and less of the crazy wanna-be girlfriend, but realizing it was necessary to show Abbey could trust Jed with her heart and we needed to see how he reacted in certain situations.  Honestly, I felt there was huge potential in this story.  I really liked these characters and it was a sexy, fun read, but I definitely wanted more of them from the tattoo shop.

Enjoy Everyone!

3.5 Stars