A review by mandyreads
Hidden Ink by Carrie Ann Ryan

5.0

I absolutely adored this book. It went straight to my heart and I loved every single minute of it. Even though I am new to this series and am jumping in the middle of the over arching story line, I did not feel like I was lost one little bit. Carrie Ann Ryan was more than able to portray the strong emotions of longing and unrequited love between Sloane and Hailey.

Hidden Ink is the story of two physical and emotionally scared souls who meet and find they are kindred spirits. Sloane is a former military man who has made it back from the war with a tired, battered, and weary soul. He also has a major case of PTSD with soul screaming nightmares. He's been working as a full time artist at Montgomery Ink which seems to be helping to heal him and integrate him back into society. Hailey owns and runs the bakery Taboo next door to Montgomery Ink and has become apart of their family since the two buildings are connected by a single door. From the first moment that Sloane and hailey laid eyes on each other, they have a had an intense connection and amazing chemistry. But Sloane has refused to make a move because he doesn't think that he is good enough for her. He believes that he will taint her good with his "bad soul". Little does he know that Hailey has deep and dark secrets of her own.

"And until he could know for sure that the darkness within him wouldn't touch Hailey, he had to hold himself back. He'd known he was playing with fire by waiting, by watching for years and never doing more. But she'd held back, too. She'd know it wasn't the right time yet."

I was brought to tears when Hailey's secret was revealed. This book deals with tough, relatable, and real life situations and I think they were handled perfectly. Carrie Ann Ryan's writing is lyrical, profound, and just hits you right in the gut. I loved how strong each of her characters ended up being, even when they didn't feel strong themselves. I loved that they kept persevering and had hope for the future. I will easily be adding the rest of the Montgomery Ink series to my TBR.

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