Series: Hard Ink #2
Warning: Past Torture, Abuse, Almost Rape
--What’s Going On--
Shane McCallan and the Hard Ink guys continue to search for information on what really happened when they were ambushed in Afghanistan. They get some unexpected help from Confession's waitress Crystal Roberts.
--What are the Issues--
Shane is charming and sweet but underneath it all he lives with the guilt that as a teenager, his little sister disappeared, never to be found again, while he was babysitting her. Crystal is forced to work at the strip club Confessions in order to pay back the debt that her gang member father has to Jimmy Church. Not only is Crystal trapped in this work but she's trapped in an abusive relationship with the high ranking Churchmen Apostle Bruno. She is planning her escape but she needs more money to support herself and her young sister who suffers from epilepsy.
--What I Liked--
This was an amazing follow up to Hard as It Gets and I am absolutely loving this series! Laura Kaye is an artist when it comes to creating characters and then interlinking them through relationships and bonds. Crystal has had a really hard life but after it all she's still a survivor and she still has the fight and will to live free. We see right away that Crystal is strong and she has a plan to escape her misfortune. I liked that Crystal isn't just wasting away until Shane comes in like a white knight. Instead, she's hiding away money, she planning to get out, and she's secretly disobeying Bruno. She might be oppressed and beaten down by life, but she's not a passive participant in her troubles. I also admire her dedication to her younger sister and the fact that she's willing to literally put up with anything in order to keep her sister safe. Shane is also a wonderful character who's a great foil for Crystal because he's so charming and sweet. He has that perfect Southern gentleman persona that provides a comforting and safe place for Crystal to finally be herself. I loved watching the slow and gentle development of Crystal and Shane's relationship. Though they fall in love under unusual circumstances and Crystal comes to trust and be attracted to Shane quickly, I think that Kaye does a great job of setting up her strength of character to later show that Crystal can take what she wants. I also loved how she moved from being Crystal (the name Bruno wanted her to have) to being Sara (her real self).
I'm also loving the rest of the Hard Ink guys, especially Mars! This book really showed his personality and his goofy humor and I really can't wait to read his book. This one was also interesting because the guys delve a bit deeper into vigilantism, but Kaye does a really good job of justifying these actions and not making it seem like just a bunch of ex-military guys going off and doing whatever they want. They can't trust the cops and they know this for a fact, so they have to handle things on their own and they're doing their best to not cross too many lines. They're always aware that what they need to do, needs to have a good reason and that the they are doing the right thing even when they break laws. I greatly respect Laura Kaye for doing this, as sometimes I read romance novels and the heroes just run around killing people left and right. Yes they're bad guys but they don't ever seem to have any regard for what they're doing and how it can sometimes come across. Kaye handles this much better than I've seen in the past. There was also a lot of really great emotional moments between the guys, especially when Nick and Shane finally have a moment to address how things went down after they returned stateside. Watching them have a chance to finally mend some fences was beautiful. Another thing that Kaye does so well is creating bonds and expressing the emotions of her male characters; often romance author's want their male characters to express their feelings and share their past and sometimes it comes across as feminine or like a bunch of women gossiping. Some of that goes back to stereotypes of how men are supposed to act and talk, especially in such alpha jobs like the military. But there is a way to write male characters emotionally bonding and still have it come across as very genuine and natural and real. I greatly look forward to the rest of this series!
--What I Would Have Liked--
I might be biased because I love this author and this series so much, but again I'm having a hard time finding something that wasn't perfect. If I had to say anything, I would have liked a little bit more character development of Beckett and Easy. We got a deeper look at Marz but not the other two.
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