The Strongest Steel (Second Circle Tattoos #1) by Scarlett Cole

  The Strongest Steel  by Scarlett Cole

Blurb:

Harper Connelly never expected to find herself outside of a tattoo parlor at one in the morning, summoning the nerve to take back her past. She's determined to forget her old life and is looking for an artist who can tattoo over the scars on her back.

Trent Andrews, local legend and owner of the Second Circle tattoo studio, has his own reasons for specializing in inking over scars. And in spite of her mysterious past and the difficult road ahead, he quickly realizes that Harper is funny, smart, and--under her ridiculously oversized clothing and SPF 100 sunscreen--totally hot. He's happy to take on the challenge of designing a meaningful and deadly full-back tattoo for her.

But when cryptic messages start appearing on Harper's phone, strange deliveries arrive at her door, and Second Circle is vandalized, Harper is convinced that her ex-boyfriend has tracked her down, and worse, that he knows about Trent. Running was the only thing that saved her last time, but now that she's started to put down roots in Miami, she'll have to decide if she can finally fight back instead.


Wow, this book blew my mind! I really loved the way the characters developed, I loved the whole story and it was simply amazing to see how Harper slowly found her way back into a life worth living. You could feel her confidence grow and don't let me start on that chemistry - phew! That was super hot - and so sweet! Even when they fight, you just feel that Harper and Trent belong together. Yes, they make mistakes, they argue, they fight but I love the way they deal with it. They are mature (and honest) enough to acknowledge their mistakes and they fight for their love.
And for her ex - well, I knew that he was coming and I expected things to happen but when things got really bad, yup, I loved the way the author dealt with that. It was refreshing and showed once more how far Harper has come in those months with Trent at her side while still being realistic and thrilling.
Seriously, this was once again a book that I simply couldn't put down. It was amazing and captivated me right from the start. Having read Scarlett Cole's latest novel "Under Fire", I already knew that I love her writing but this book proved it all over again. The next books in the Second Circle Tattoos series went straight on my wishlist or rather on my "Very-soon-to-be-bought-list" so I can absolutely recommend this book.

★★★★★