Laura SimcoxCritiques

Permanent Ink, the newest addition to Laura Simcox's Something to Celebrate series, is an absolutely charming and very steamy romance. Set in the small fictional town of Celebration, NY, this engaging story has a wonderful cast of offbeat but likable characters and a marvelously unique storyline.

Blair Whitaker is only planning on staying in Celebration long enough to get her life back on track. When a plum job pretty much falls in her lap, she eagerly grabs the opportunity to use it to help her salvage her faltering career. The town mayor forces Blair to work with super sexy tattoo artist and local business owner Ben Lambert and although these two share nothing in common but a scorching hot attraction, they are surprised by how well they work together. When a scheduling conflict between Ben's tattoo festival and the parade contest threatens her plans, Blair concocts a rather underhanded scheme to save the contest at the expense of the festival. Once her relationship with Ben deepens into something more serious than shared desire, she rethinks her plans for her future but is it too late for her to stop the events she has set into motion?

Blair is independent and stubborn and while this is usually a good thing, it is occasionally one of her biggest downfalls. She is also incredibly self-sufficient and she lets her pride sometimes get in her way of asking for help. Blair is surprised by how easily the town accepts her into their fold and she eagerly reconnects with her aunt and cousin. But when she runs into trouble, instead of turning to family and friends, Blair falls back into her old habit of relying on herself to fix her problems.

Ben is laidback and easygoing which makes it easy for Blair to underestimate him. He likes the slower pace of life in Celebration but he miscalculated the difficulty he would encounter growing his tattoo business. The tattoo festival means not just bringing in new clients but, more importantly, it is his chance to honor his close friend and mentor. While Ben harbors a few secrets, he is a straight shooter who is more than happy to work with Blair but in the end, he is deeply hurt by Blair's betrayal.

The romance between Ben and Blair is understated but it is absolutely delightful watching their relationship evolve over the course of the novel. While most of the story centers around the parade and festival, the two indulge in a few love scenes that are sinfully sexy. Unfortunately, lack of communication, a few misunderstandings and Blair's scheming threaten their fragile bond.

Permanent Ink is an angst-free romance that is fast-paced and engaging from beginning to end. This opposites attract love story is sure to be a hit with old and new fans of Laura Simcox's Something to Celebrate series.

This book really surprised me. It definitely falls into the "don't judge a book by it's cover (or title)" category. This is a wonderful small town romance that hooked me from the very beginning. Great kooky small town characters add a lot of humor and the budding romance between Blair and Ben is wonderful to watch. This is the first book by this author and she definitely has a new fan, I'm already diving into the first book in this series. I definitely recommend this one.

I really enjoyed Summer Promises by Laura Simcox. Set in old ghost town that is being converted to theater, Simcox focuses on the drama behind the show with an insider's knowledge. Set designer Carly has her work cut out for her between restoring the old theater, the psycho sherriff and her no summer romance policy. The action sequences kept me on the edge of my seat and I absolutly adored the secondary character Marilyn and how her outspokenness and outlandishness helped propell the primary romance between Carly and Asher. I hope Simcox will let us return to Ruby Springs and peek in on how the characters fared and if any new romances form at the theater.

I really enjoyed Summer Promises by Laura Simcox. Set in old ghost town that is being converted to theater, Simcox focuses on the drama behind the show with an insider's knowledge. Set designer Carly has her work cut out for her between restoring the old theater, the psycho sherriff and her no summer romance policy. The action sequences kept me on the edge of my seat and I absolutly adored the secondary character Marilyn and how her outspokenness and outlandishness helped propell the primary romance between Carly and Asher. I hope Simcox will let us return to Ruby Springs and peek in on how the characters fared and if any new romances form at the theater.

I love this Something to Celebrate series! The first book, Ivy Entwined, introduced us to a small town in central New York, Celebration. This latest book, Permanent Ink, has many of the characters from the first book that I loved, as well as some new faces to Celebration. I can't deny that as a inked and steeled mama, I love Ben Lambert, the tattooed hunk of manliness at the front and center of this book!

This one centers around Blair and Ben. Blair has come to Celebration from NYC to stay with her Aunt Lola (whom we met in the first book) after her life took a downward turn. Blair is in a bad place in her life, ambitious and wanting more for herself. Coming home with her tail between her legs was never part of her plan. But she finds an unexpected opportunity in Celebration, one that could get her career back on track. But then there is Ben, a inked hottie with a big heart, and more than a few secrets of his own.

While Blair and Ben are our main characters, there is a whole cast of supporting characters that are as nutty as the others, some of whom we met in the last book. Ivy, Marcus, and Ivy's crazy grandmother are back, the latter of whom was one of my favorites. Ben's friend and mentor Grizz is hilarious and clearly the father figure in Ben's life. And then there is Starling...! This chick was nuts in so many ways, but an interesting character with a story line of her own that pretty much tore me up.

This is what I love so much about these books. So many of the characters, whether main or supporting, have their own story lines that are fantastic. They may not be the focus of the story, but they are just as interesting. The author has a way of making you feel like you are a member of the community, invested in the characters as you would be with a friend.

Things to love...

--The crazy characters. Some of them are certifiably nuts but so much fun!
--The story lines. Some of the story lines are funny, but many of them are deep and heart wrenching.

My Recommendation

This is a book that could probably be read as a standalone, but it is so much more if you read Ivy Entwined first. This is a great book with a great story and fantastic characters! I gave it 4.5 mugs!

Ok, first things first - this book cover did not match the story for me. Maybe it's just me but this cover screams bad boy alert but Ben read as gentle giant, if that makes any sense.

Blair can't wait to leave Celebration behind. When she sees her opportunity, she takes it but just when things start to come together, she realizes she may not want to leave. Especially when she finds something special with the town's tattoo artist, Ben. However, once the plan in is motion, it's hard to stop and people get hurt along the way.

Ben has the patience of a saint! I did not love, nor hate, Blair but I struggled with the fact that Ben basically forgave her MULTIPLE times before he ever even got her side of the story. It sounds sweet but a little more angst would have gone a long way with this story. It gave it a little less realistic feel.

Anyway, good book just not great book. Undecided on if I'd read more by this author.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review for Netgalley.

I don't read a lot of contemporary romance, but I am very glad I got the ARC of Ivy Entwined! There were definitely some steamy moments, but, more than that, there was a really good story with a lot of heart and warmth to it. I tend to stay away from a lot of contemporary romance because I find that it can be too neat, too easy, too "woman needing a man," too clean, too "boy meets girl and gets girl" for my taste. I liked that this book wasn't like that. The characters were flawed as people, dropped the f-bomb, made mistakes and had their skeletons in their closets. In other words, they were real. Ivy didn't need Marcus, but wanted him. They made bad choices, questionable choices. They weren't perfect, cookie-cutter people and I loved that.

This is most definitely a character-driven story in my opinion. Even aside from the main characters of Ivy and Marcus, there were any number of supporting characters that were truly that... characters. Marcus' uncle Herman was completely NOT a likeable character, but he was memorable. He was a character that made me uncomfortable because he reminded me of someone I know in my own life, but that made him that much more real as a person. Colleen, Ivy's grandmother, was hilarious, dropping the f-bomb every chance she got! I loved her because she loved life, lived it, and didn't give a damn what anyone thought of her.

The one character that truly annoyed me to death was Preston. He was an arrogant jerk who couldn't manage his own life much less anyone else's. His overbearing, assuming attitude drove me insane, as did Ivy's seeming inability to set him straight. That is one thing that I wish she had done more of in the book because letting him get away with some of what he did seemed out of character for her.

On a side note, being from upstate New York, I enjoyed the Central New York references throughout the book! My own hometown could have been Celebration, NY.

Things to love about Ivy Entwined...

--The characters. As I said, they were flawed, real people.
--Colleen. I want to be her when I grow up!

Things I wanted more of...

--Marcus family. I can't go into this without spoilers, but I would like to know more about them. Maybe in future books?!

My recommendation: A fun read that had me alternately laughing, crying and wanting to smack someone! A must read!