Scan barcode
A review by mxsallybend
Stormy Ink: TK Tattoo Studio by Diana Jayne, Diana Jayne, Donna Jay
4.0
A new romance from the author of Who Am I? (a lesbian romance about love, family, and parenthood), Stormy Ink is what I’d best describe as a romantic drama about the things that are most important in life. At its brightest, it’s sweet and comforting, but at its darkest – a pivotal acknowledgment of real events – it’s also heart-wrenching and terrifying.
Let’s start with the brightest. Taylor is a young tattoo artist who has opened her own shop, which she runs with her friend and fellow artist, Natalie. The friendship between them is delightful, a source of constant amusement no matter how much Natalie sometimes tests her patience. Jade is a young artist who, having dealt with some weight loss and body image issues, comes to Taylor – an old classmate – for a tattoo to mark her sort of rebirth. There’s recognition of a shared past there, and what may be some definite sparks, but neither woman is sure what’s friendliness versus flirting, especially since Taylor doesn’t get involved with clients.
Needless to say, both women are in fact flirting, which leads into a gradual progression from acquaintance, to friendship, to infatuation, to romance. This is not a lust-at-first sight kind of story where the characters end up in bed by the second or third chapter, but a love story that builds a relationship first. Less will they/won’t they tension and more when will they anticipation, it’s a happy tale.
Except when it isn’t.
And that brings us to the darkest. Diana Jayne takes the bold step of incorporating Cyclone Gabrielle into the story, a real-world natural disaster that will be very fresh in some reader’s minds. It’s a sad, violent, tragic eruption of weather, and the story captures it in all its terror – flooding, destruction, the loss of life, being cut off from civilization, feeling helpless, and feeling hopeless. Where all romances have a crisis (or two) to test the relationship, it’s usually some external force that leads the partners to question their love. Here, it’s an external crisis that forces them together, and in doing so leads them to question what’s real and what’s convenient.
That said, darkness is only a part of Stormy Ink, and not what defines it. This is a wonderful romance with a fabulous cast of characters, humor, heart, and (ultimately) hope. Definitely worth the read.
https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2023/12/12/book-review-stormy-ink-by-diana-jayne-romance/
Let’s start with the brightest. Taylor is a young tattoo artist who has opened her own shop, which she runs with her friend and fellow artist, Natalie. The friendship between them is delightful, a source of constant amusement no matter how much Natalie sometimes tests her patience. Jade is a young artist who, having dealt with some weight loss and body image issues, comes to Taylor – an old classmate – for a tattoo to mark her sort of rebirth. There’s recognition of a shared past there, and what may be some definite sparks, but neither woman is sure what’s friendliness versus flirting, especially since Taylor doesn’t get involved with clients.
Needless to say, both women are in fact flirting, which leads into a gradual progression from acquaintance, to friendship, to infatuation, to romance. This is not a lust-at-first sight kind of story where the characters end up in bed by the second or third chapter, but a love story that builds a relationship first. Less will they/won’t they tension and more when will they anticipation, it’s a happy tale.
Except when it isn’t.
And that brings us to the darkest. Diana Jayne takes the bold step of incorporating Cyclone Gabrielle into the story, a real-world natural disaster that will be very fresh in some reader’s minds. It’s a sad, violent, tragic eruption of weather, and the story captures it in all its terror – flooding, destruction, the loss of life, being cut off from civilization, feeling helpless, and feeling hopeless. Where all romances have a crisis (or two) to test the relationship, it’s usually some external force that leads the partners to question their love. Here, it’s an external crisis that forces them together, and in doing so leads them to question what’s real and what’s convenient.
That said, darkness is only a part of Stormy Ink, and not what defines it. This is a wonderful romance with a fabulous cast of characters, humor, heart, and (ultimately) hope. Definitely worth the read.
https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2023/12/12/book-review-stormy-ink-by-diana-jayne-romance/