Wednesday 27 September 2017

Review ~ Mad Love (Guns & Ink Series #1) by Shana Vanterpool

Title: Mad Love
Series: Guns & Ink Series #1
Author: Shana Vanterpool
Genre: NA Romance/Contemporary
Release Date: September 25, 2017 Publisher: Swoon Romance

She was a disruption he never wanted.
He was everything she distrusted.
Klayton Caldwell owns a tattoo shop in Denver, Colorado, and has seen just about everything and met just about every kind of person. And they all have one thing in common. Ink. 
He isn’t complicated. What you see is what you get. Sex? Always. Relationships? Never. Pleasantries? He doesn’t do that either. Those who can’t handle his mouth get inked elsewhere. Klayton holds everyone at a distance, even his friends. He doesn’t do “close.”
Until Madison ends up in his tattoo parlor, broken, afraid and alone. There’s something about her, and almost immediately, Klayton’s guard drops. Now, everything he knows about himself changes as his life begins to unravel.
Twenty-year-old Madison Hart’s future was taken from her the moment she was abducted from her college campus and held captive by a sicko. After escaping, she flees, running into a stranger. A stranger who shares a similar past. Someone who might be able to help her heal. If she’ll let him. 
Madi comes into Klayton’s life like a storm. She’s beautiful. Pitiful. Dangerous. Her pain runs deep enough that she may never be able to talk about what she’s experienced. Her refusal to talk takes a level of patience Klayton’s not sure he has. 
He must navigate her broken pieces by changing everything he is. Who he’s been all these years won’t work anymore. But Madi fights him, she fights herself. She fights the madness.
She refuses to talk. He can’t control his mouth. She doesn’t want to be touched. He can’t help himself. They don’t want love. Inside this storm, is a love so mad it might destroy them both.
MAD LOVE is book 1 in the Guns & Ink series from Shana Vanterpool. Look for the rest of the Guns & Ink series coming soon from Swoon Romance. 
Book #2 Hard Love - Cat and Brando 
Book #3 Bad Love - Isaiah & Bell


My Opinion

I'm struggling to describe what I feel about this book. On one hand I enjoyed it, but on the other I feel let down.

This is the first book I've read by this author, and I took a chance on it based on the blurb, since the cover hadn't been revealed when I requested an ARC. In part, I'm glad I never saw the cover as there is a very MC vibe about it. Considering I rarely read that trope, I probably wouldn't have glance at the blurb had I seen it, and in fact, I had a hard time remembering the blurb when I saw this cover on my Kindle, cauaing me to wonder what I had signed up for.

Anyway, I found the original email with the blurb, refreshed my memory, and was eager to dive straight in. From the first page this book hooked me. It was intense and it remained that way the entire way through. I felt for both characters. They were broken, flawed, and suffering with their pasts. The author did a good job of breaking Maddison and showing her trauma without giving graphic details of what she went through. Similarly, Klayton was a dark and angry character. Although I didn't understand his backstory that made him like that completely, it made for an interesting combination of emotions.

As the plot progressed, though, I found my attention slipping. And this is why I'm having a hard time deciding what I felt about this book. The book kept me engaged for around 55% but then I kind of became bored of the same emotions and drama happening. I understand that Madi wasn't going to heal overnight, but it began to feel repetitive and lost me a bit.

However, I did think around 80% it was going to win me back. Things started to pick up and I became invested in Madi's story again. Regardless, the events I expected to materialise never did, and in the end, I found myself dissatisfied. I didn't feel the ending matched the level of quality the book started off with. It felt as if the author was rushing to tie up all the loose ends she'd created and it gave a whistle-stop overview of a conclusion rather than something I thought did the book justice. It left the book on a downer.


Overall, I still don't know where my feelings lie about this book. 50% of it is great, the other 50% not so much. I wished it had retained my interest throughout, but most of all I wish the ending had been satisfying so that the book finished on a good note. I guess, overall, it's not a bad read. It isn't an easy one, but the characters are interesting people. I'd say it's worth giving a go if it sounds intriguing to you from the blurb.

3



Romance author, coffee drinker, and bad boy aficionado. Every second not spent breathing is an opportunity to write and read. I live in Northern California with my family and actress dog, Halle Bella. (Just Bella when she decides to cut the crap.) Escaping with a good book is something I live for and I write so others can do the same.
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