Looking for a novella that will sweep you off your feet and make you fall in love? Take a look at this one. Hidden Ink by Carrie Ann Ryan is a sweet and sexy novella that will touch your heart. Check out more about the book, read Tina’s Thoughts, and get a sneak peek into to the story with an excerpt!

Hidden Ink
Montgomery Ink #4.5
1001 Dark Nights Novella
Carrie Ann Ryan
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: January 12, 2016

The Montgomery Ink series continues with the long-awaited romance between the café owner next door and the tattoo artist who’s loved her from afar.

Hailey Monroe knows the world isn’t always fair, but she’s picked herself up from the ashes once before and if she needs to, she’ll do it again. It’s been years since she first spotted the tattoo artist with a scowl that made her heart skip a beat, but now she’s finally gained the courage to approach him. Only it won’t be about what their future could bring, but how to finish healing the scars from her past.

Sloane Gordon lived through the worst kinds of hell yet the temptation next door sends him to another level. He’s kept his distance because he knows what kind of man he is versus what kind of man Hailey needs. When she comes to him with a proposition that sends his mind whirling and his soul shattering, he’ll do everything in his power to protect the woman he cares for and the secrets he’s been forced to keep.

You can purchase your copy of Hidden Ink today at the retailers listed below!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU 

Novellas are both a blessing and a curse. They give you a short story that will satisfy you on one level and leave you begging for more on another. Some novellas are written purely for those who love a series, giving insight into important moments and people. Some are written to give a side story that you have been hoping to see. With this novella, I feel like it falls into every category. Hidden Ink is a novella that shares a moment in which a dream and longing becomes a reality. This short story should not work but it does so well. Carrie Ann Ryan deals with some heavy issues, ones that have the tendency to weigh down a full length story and the fact that she can use them in a novella is genius. She is brilliant in taking those themes and having them add depth to two characters without dragging the story down into details and tragedy. Hailey and Sloane have some major chemistry and history, something that is so obvious from the beginning of the story. They have been friends with a deep connection for so long and when a move is made, it can either end in bliss or tragedy. The story unfolds in a way that is not rushed. Having never read the Montgomery Ink Series, I still understood and felt the emotion from these two. It is clear that their attraction has been alive and building for a very long time. You understand their history without having to relive it. That is brilliant. They both carry heavy burdens and pain from their past, something that no one around them understands. But honesty and openness allows them to take a step into healing and bring life to the darkness.

After reading this novella, I have added the entire Montgomery Ink series to my TBR list. Carrie Ann teases with her characters and builds a comradery that I love to see in a book and series. As someone who has no idea as to who the characters are and their stories in the past, I need to know where they come from and what brought them together. I also hope to see glimpses of Hailey and Sloane both before and after this novella. If you love this series, this novella is a must read. If you know nothing of the series like I did, know that this one is still worth reading and be warned that you will come away adding a handful of books to your reading list!

Soon she found herself with only one drink on her tray along with a single cherry and cream cheese pastry.

His favorite.

Behind Maya’s work area sat another station.

Sloane Gordon’s.

All six-foot-four, two hundred something pounds of muscle covered in ink, his light brown skin accented perfectly by the designs. The man was sex. All sex. Sloane had shaved his head years ago. She was convinced he kept it shaved just to turn her on. He kept his beard trimmed, but that and the bald head apparently jump-started a new kink in her.

Who knew?

He was a decade older than Hailey, and though he didn’t speak of it, she knew he’d been through war, battle, and heartbreak.

And she loved him.

Only he didn’t see her. He never took a step toward her. He also looked as if he were ready to growl at her presence most of the time.

Much like he did now.

“Thought you’d forgotten me,” he said, his voice low and gruff.

She shook her head then raised her chin. “No, I have yours here.” After she had handed him his drink and pastry, careful not to brush her fingers along his, she glanced down at his client, who was in the middle of getting his back done.

While Sloane looked dangerous and battle worn, this guy looked gentler, but not soft in the slightest. His hair was longer on top and flopped down over his forehead and into his eyes, but the sides had been clipped short. He had a short beard and a smile that looked as if it came easily. His green eyes sparkled, and Hailey could only smile back.

“Hello there,” he drawled.

Oh, my. A southern accent—just a hint of drawl but not too much. If she hadn’t been in the presence of the one man her body and soul had chosen for her, she might have gone weak in the knees at the sound of it.

“Hi,” she said back, well aware that Sloane was staring daggers at her.

“What’s your name?” the stranger asked. “I’m Brody.”

“Hi, Brody. I’m Hailey. I own Taboo next door.”

His smile widened, showing a bit of dimple. “I’ve walked by there a few times, but now I know I need to go inside.”

She shook her head on a laugh. “I see. You scent my baked goods and now you’ll come inside.”

“It wasn’t your baked goods that made me want to step inside.”

What was she doing? Flirting with another man in front of Sloane like this? And why did she care? He wasn’t hers. He never would be. She would never have Sloane Gordon in her life beyond a few curt words and grunts of thanks. She was young, healthy, and alive. She should be able to flirt whenever she wanted.

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan never thought she’d be a writer. Not really. No, she loved math and science and even went on to graduate school in chemistry. Yes, she read as a kid and devoured teen fiction and Harry Potter, but it wasn’t until someone handed her a romance book in her late teens that she realized that there was something out there just for her. When another author suggested she use the voices in her head for good and not evil, The Redwood Pack and all her other stories were born.

Carrie Ann is a bestselling author of over twenty novels and novellas and has so much more on her mind (and on her spreadsheets *grins*) that she isn’t planning on giving up her dream anytime soon.

Newsletter | Facebook | Twitter: @CarrieAnnRyan | Instagram | Goodreads | Pinterest | Tumblr | Google Plus | Email