Forbidden Ink

by Daisy Loveless

All her life, Abby Simons dreamed of owning her own tattoo shop. Her stepfather sends her to work in her Step-Uncle Blake's shop for the summer, to get a feel for it. But what happens when Abby and Blake develop feelings for each other?

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80 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 21, 2018

Reviews

[Eva Morian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will like to start with how strongly this book started. The first few pages went wonderfully, but then when we went further into the background of what was needed to run the parlor, it went downhill from there. (The sex scene was good, though. Kudos to the author!) The Fat shaming didn’t make sense. She and Brooke look the same size, but no one gets on her case about what she orders to eat or where she goes. So, is Abby just chubby, obese, or only needs to lose 10 pounds? It was very vague and confusing. Why was everyone outside of her parlor circle worried about her weight? There are thousands of tourists that go through Vegas day in and out to said workers. After a while, people just start looking the same, so that didn’t make sense either.

The research for the book is poor. I could forgive the fictional eateries and the Wheel of Aces, but the Sahara resort (A personal favorite of mine) shut down in 2011. It was very jarring to see it stated in the book several times without knowing what the time period was. By the advanced technology of the cell phones with apps and video calls, it was a glaring detail.

The juicy bits of their romance outside of the lust was off. The scenes skipped and showed barely any progression in between. When the time skips happened, the reader is left somewhat confused by the sudden shift in their relationship and being told about what happened over the skipped days, and simply not shown. The time spent on text messages, cell phone conversations, and repeating the same information could’ve been used to show more progression in all of their relationships. One in particular was the friendship with Rosy being amazing and it was the first time the reader is introduced to her; nearly at the end of the book.

Taboo romances do not bother me in the slightest, but the unrealistic acceptance from their peers did. No one, down to Abigail’s parents, cared about a young woman being with her step uncle. Blood or not, that would not be as widely accepted as it was in this book. They mentioned it several times outside of their group, around other people, and there weren’t any reactions of disgust, or anger, or worry. No conflict whatsoever. Not my cup of tea, but I wish the author luck in their writing endeavors.

[RedEnigma94 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm...not a total turn off, but not exactly my cup of tea. I don't mind forbidden romance stories, but the writing style didn't really grab me. I just find it hard to believe that NO ONE had a problem with their relationship so we don't get any kind of conflict there. The only negativity this couple faced had nothing to do with them being together, but everything to do with her curvy figure. People were just outright rude about the heroine's weight. I was just hoping for a little more conflict about their age difference/being related by marriage.

[angela edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

I loved the book i am ao glad it was recommended to me i cant wait to read more!! Excellent

[Giovanna Busa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forbidden Ink

Well, I enjoyed parts of the story line. I would have liked to have heard more mature dialogue between Blake and Abby, granted she's only eighteen.

[Candice Kamencik · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, this read like HS fan fic, and not in a good way. :( I don't think I've ever left a one star review before, even for books I couldn't force myself to finish. The premise sounded good, but the plot and character "development" relied WAY too much on the taboo of "omg, he's my uncle (but not really)."

This kid has never gotten a tattoo, doesn't know anything about tattoos, but wants to run a tattoo parlor? According to the book, she's been talking about her "dream" since the end of her sophomore year of HS, so, knowing nothing, her parents want to buy her her own parlor, but she needs to spend a summer with Uncle Blake first to makes sure that's what she wants? lol

Shorter, more accurate synopsis of book - Teenager thinks tattoos are cool, decides she doesn't want to go to college, lies to her parents about applying, and instead wants to run a tattoo parlor, which she knows nothing about. Parents decided that if that's what their ickle babykins really wants, they will buy her one, but ship her off to her 30 year old uncle (that she's never met irl) for the summer first. Oh, and while shipping her off, her step-dad encourages her strongly to have a fling that summer. Cause that's not weird at all... Anyway, everyone seems to encourage the 30 year old man to nail his niece-by-marriage. No biggie. Also, she's a virgin? Still, it's fine, clearly. So, these two start banging on the regular, she ends up pregnant within two/three weeks (because the adult in the relationship didn't think about birth control either I guess?) and of course is immediately overcome with severe pregnancy symptoms! Everyone that finds out before she tells daddy congratulates her (lol), she tells him and he proposes, and they get married *later that week*. Ta-da! The icing on the cake? The parents show up to the "secret" wedding, and give zero shits about the fact that their child is pregnant, has no life experiences, and marrying a man 12 years her senior that they trusted to mentor over the summer. It's all good I guess, and everyone lives HAPPILY EVER AFTER. <3 *gag*

Also, besides the terrible and forced plot that put these two numbskulls together, the weird and excessive over use of pet names (baby, sweetie, sweetheart, etc) was just...wow. Everything about this book was so contrived and poorly executed. The only positive point was that it was quick read at about 2 hours, so yay for that.