Reviewed by Amber
TITLE: High Contrast
SERIES: Evolution Ink #1
AUTHOR: Tess Bowery
PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing
LENGTH: 226 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 3rd, 2016
BLURB:
The deepest scars aren’t the ones that show.
Jacob Shain is your average member of Generation Screwed. He has a boring internship, no cash flow, and a tiny NYC apartment he has to share with Ethan, his much-cooler, tattoo-artist twin brother. Not to mention his love life is DOA. At least, until his brother’s shop hires on a new piercer, and Jacob’s humdrum life takes a turn for the weird.
Cody Turner is gorgeous, funny and kind—everything Jacob wants in a boyfriend. Except for the way he refuses to talk about his past, or where he lives, or anything about his personal life.
When Ethan is arrested while on a mission of mercy, the reason Cody is so tight lipped comes to light. And while Jacob and Cody fight to understand the depth of their feelings for one another, the police dogs catch their scent. So does the local mob.
Now Jacob has to make the hardest choice of his life: stay safe like a good boy, or dive headfirst into a world he barely understands…and hope Cody is there to break his fall.
REVIEW:
This is one of those rare stories where I liked the supporting characters a lot more than the main characters. I will say on the whole there was nothing wrong with this story but nothing really blew me away, either. And I think that has everything to do with the fact that I really felt no connection with the main characters. I just liked everyone else in the story, so much better. There was even a dog in the story that was on page maybe 3-4 times and I clicked with him more than Jacob and Cody. On the other hand, I will point out that the writing wasn’t bad and like I stated before the cast of characters totally won me over. This author’s imagination was inventive and intriguing so in that aspect I’m glad I read this story.
Jacob has a pretty unexciting, mundane life. He works a 9-5 in an office and spends his personal time with his twin brother, who owns a tattoo parlor and his girlfriend who also happens to be Jacob’s best friend. Things start to change when a new piercer starts working at the tattoo parlor.
Cody loves doing body modifications and thinks he totally lucked out earning a job at Evolution Ink. Unfortunately his personal life still hold a lot of secrets but he finds himself wanting to explore something more with his bosses twin brother.
These two have a pretty mild, slow burn for a good 50% of the book but when they do finally get together it’s pretty hot. I would have loved more of the emotional side of things between them and it almost seemed a little too unbelievable with the “love” part.
Overall, this one was just ok for me but I am curious about the other books in the series because like I mentioned the supporting cast completely won me over.
RATING: 
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