Reviewed by Cindy
TITLE: Fresh Ink
AUTHOR: John T Fuller
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 118 Pages
RELEASE DATE: October 16th, 2024
BLURB:
The West Coast of America, 1995. Chant has just arrived in town from England, running from something he’s not sharing. When he lands an unusual job at a local tattoo parlour, The Blue Comet, it seems like perhaps he’s finally found a place to call home, people to call family, and maybe even love with the artist with the big dark eyes and black curls. But everyone has their secrets, and Chant is about to learn just what those secrets are, and how they are connected to what lurks in the catacombs beneath the sunny seaside city of Santa Ines.
Fresh Ink is an urban horror-fantasy m/m romance. Available in two editions – high spice (explicit) and mild spice (fade to black) – this is a gay love story that is guaranteed to sink its teeth into you!
REVIEW:
Chant has been around for more than a few years. He’s just trying to escape from his past and never means to settle down anywhere permanently. However, there’s something-or someone-at the Blue Comet that’s making it really hard to not get attached.
This is a very interesting premise. Chant and Manuel have a fantastic chemistry and watching Manuel worm his way into Chant’s heart was lovely. It didn’t take long to figure out what was going on with Chant, to a certain extent, but the rest of the story took a little long to work out.
It’s a different kind of story to be honest. The romance is just a small part of it, but that doesn’t make it any less interesting. I read the spicy version (there’s also a mild version, but I didn’t read it). The sex is hot and well written but it’s not the most important part of the story and I like that.
I can’t say too much, as this is a short story and everything happens pretty fast. Ceci is a great character and I liked her sense of humor.
However there is a problem with this story. I was just getting into it, going along, enjoying the journey I was on and it stopped.
Out of nowhere, it was the end of the story. I thought it was the end of the chapter, but nope!
Nothing that made this story interesting was solved and it’s very obviously mean to be the first book in a series, but it was very jarring and the ending could have been done much better. The characters were just beginning to grow and develop so I was left pretty angry by the ending. Also, there’s no indication in the actual book that the story will continue anywhere, so I have a hard time recommending anyone read it, because I don’t know when or even if it will continue.
I’m giving it a 3.5 because of the components I really liked, but that ending in what feels like the first quarter of the story really didn’t leave a good taste in my mouth.
I’ve included the link to the author’s website because the Amazon link to the book is just for the paperback.
RATING: 
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