REVIEW: Masquerade by Nyrae Dawn

Masquerade by Nyrae Dawn (Games #3)
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: January 7, 2013
Source: Netgalley via publisher
Rating: 5/5 stars
Get it: Amazon | B&N

A biker. A tattoo artist. A love to last a lifetime.

Maddox Cross has always had to be tough. When his father went to jail for murder, the teenager took care of his sister and mother. Now on his own and working security at a night club, Maddox wants to become a tattoo artist-a dream that comes closer to reality when he falls for the hottest, most tatted woman he's ever seen. She's wild and beautiful, and Maddox will do anything to be with her.

Bee Malone came to town to open up her new tattoo parlor, Masquerade. Since being kidnapped as a young girl, Bee has had trouble getting close to anyone. But when she meets Maddox, she sees that under his hard biker's body is the sensitive soul of an artist. What starts out as a sizzling one-night stand soon becomes so much more.

Bee wants Maddox to join her tattoo business, but letting him into her life means revealing all her most intimate secrets. And as the past begins to intertwine with her present, Bee fears their love may not be as permanent as their ink . . . 

My thoughts, feeling, and reactions

I swear each book that Nyrae Dawn comes out with just gets better and better. Masquerade has to be the best yet! Masquerade was just gripping, so emotional, and absolutely heart wrenching. 



Let me talk about Bee
.

I loved her for many many reasons. This girl was downright tough and outspoken. She was determined to live her life the way she wanted to and be exactly who she wanted to be. And while she seemed like this hard, brave girl she was not without pain and guilt. She struggled with wanting to be someone for herself, but also the daughter she thought that her parents loved and deserved. The guilt she felt at being torn in two, how she was just so closed off and didn’t know how to love made me want to just love her even more. I admired her strength and all the ways she endured even if it took her sometime to get where she needed to be. 



Now Maddox.


He was this hard-shelled, angry and guilt-ridden man that refused to forgive himself and let people in. Not matter what he said, I thought he was a good brother for Laney. It was so heartbreaking to see how much misplaced guilt he had on his shoulders for what happened in the past. And to see him finally break down all those walls and let go all the hurt was beautiful and freeing. Even though Maddox could be a complete jerk, the things he wanted in life for himself, for his sister and for Bee made him extraordinary. He may have been wrapped up in that guilt, but had an amazing heart through and through. And I have to mention Maddox was extremely sexy!



More than one glimpse.


I have to bow down and possibly tackle hug Nyrae for including Laney, Adrian, Colt, and Cheyenne into this one. They weren’t the stars in the book, but to see how they were and where they were going made me want to ball my eyes out in happiness. I was thrilled each time they were mentioned and I was even more taken by how these four wormed their way into Maddox and Bee’s life. 



The full story.


While all three books in the Games series have been about overcoming obstacles, opening up to loving someone, and dealing with broken people who thought they couldn’t be fixed, Masquerade kicks it up a notch. I thought out of all the books, this one stood out because of Maddox and Bee’s story, how they didn’t even realize they needed each other and how they just ended up loving one another when they thought they never could. I think Masquerade stood out from the rest, especially because of Bee. She was so different from Cheyenne and Laney, yet she was just as lost as they were. I just thought her story touched me even more so. Maddox and Bee’s love unfolded beautifully and to see them finally admit their feelings made me wish I was actually there to witness it in person.



Overall, Masquerade was stunning. The ending was perfect, the whole book was memorable, and the characters were just heartwarming. It’s one of those books that will rock your world and give you every feel possible. 

*Thanks to Forever for sending a copy for review. 

I was not compensated for my opinion.

REVIEW: Sins & Needles by Karina Halle

Sins & Needles by Karina Halle (The Artists Trilogy #1)
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: June 4, 2013
Rating: 5/5 stars
Get it: Amazon | B&N

Ellie Watt is used to starting over. The daughter of a grifting team, Ellie spent her childhood being used as a pawn in her parents' latest scam. Now she's much older, wiser and ready to give her con artist life a rest. But returning to the dry desert town of Palm Valley, California means one more temptation than she bargained for - Camden McQueen.

Once known as the high school weirdo, Camden is bigger and badder than the boy he used to be and a talented tattoo artist with his own thriving business. Ellie's counting on Camden still being in love with her but what she's not counting on is how easily unrequited love can turn into obsession over time. When Camden discovers Ellie's plan to con him, he makes her a deal she doesn't dare refuse, but her freedom comes with a price and it's one that takes both Ellie and Camden down a dangerous road. 

My Review

I already knew Sins & Needles by Karina Halle was going to be absolutely blow my mind worthy, but I never knew just how much it was going to rock my freaking world and more. Sins & Needles had everything I wanted: danger, sex, tattoos, illegal activities, criminals, redeemable yet flawed characters, and a crazy ass ex-boyfriend on the hunt. This book was 5 stars worth of badass. 

I loved main character, narrator, totally fantabulous, Ellie Watt. She was one amazing character because I got to see the good and bad sides of her. She was a character who had all kinds of faults, she wasn’t a typical heroine, but one in gray area of black and white, right and wrong. Ellie Watt was more human that any character I have every encountered in my time of reading. She was fatally flawed, not able to resist temptation, can do bad things, but still feel guilt and remorse. She was a survivor of a tough life and did things that were illegal and deceiving, but it was who she became to be and I liked that she admitted it and sometimes embraced it even though she wanted to change it. She sometimes had an attitude of consequences be damned that I really liked about her. 

The romance in this book wasn’t butterflies and happy endings full of true love. I’m not even sure you could really call what Ellie and Camden have as romance because of how complicated everything was for them. It was sometimes hurtful, brutal, and intense. There was betrayal and understanding and sometimes cruelty. Though it was not perfect for Ellie and Camden, they were passionate nonetheless. They got where they wanted to be or at least tried to make it work and build the trust they have lost. Camden was one scary sexy beast. He was intoxicating right off the very bat. He was charming and endearing but he was also dangerous and wicked all at once and I loved all sides of him. I loved that he could be gentle and soft and then be cold and unforgiving in one flip of a switch. Camden’s impending darkness and the way he saw beauty in broken things made him much more desirable than he already was. Even in his clever, conniving and intense manner, Camden McQueen was simply breath-taking. 


I completely enjoyed the heck out of Sins & Needles. Halle gave me one dirty, gritty, deliciously dark and one completely engrossing novel. I just loved how easily placed I felt in this book because of how she appealed to all of my senses. I envisioned everything with so much ease. I especially appreciated the flashbacks that were very well placed in the book. I loved being able to see a glimpse of Ellie and Camden’s past, of who they were before and how they got to where they were now. The flashbacks never get in the way of the present storyline. In fact, the third person flashbacks enhanced it to really give you the full experience of seeing that the Ellie you’re meeting now was not the same Ellie back then. I thought Halle really brought in an exciting and thrilling ride. Sins & Needles was dangerous, scandalous and oh so sexy. It had a certain edginess to give the book its originality. It’s crazy and chaotic and sometimes a little wild too. I loved that book messed with the laws, with morals, and meaning of love, trust, betrayal and sacrifice. Some of the characters are bat shit crazy and sometimes the things they do were brutal, but it was because of that Sins & Needles was fucking amazing through and through.