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Book CoverVeena’s review of Beautiful Mess (Rock ‘n’ Ink, Book 2) by Kasey Lane
Contemporary Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 07 Mar 17

I’ve been on a roll with a fair amount of reading and reviewing this month. My greatest pleasure comes not just from some great books that I’ve read but also at discovering two new authors to enjoy, of which Ms. Lane is one. I have definitely enjoyed this story with all its colorful characters that I hope to revisit in future books, as they work through their own beautiful messy relationships.

Jami and Jackson have a history forged during their law school days.  While Jami is now a successful lawyer, Jackson has pursued his artistic bent to not only become an up-and-coming artist on the Portland art scene but is better known as Jax Pain, a drummer for the sensational new band Manix Curse. When Jackson meets Jami over a tattoo needle as he tattoos her brother, he’s determined to explore this chance meeting into something that might turn into a full-fledged relationship.

Jami has striven all her life for a crumb of affection from her self-absorbed demanding parents. To please them, she’s turned herself into a doll, suppressing her real self under conservative suits and behavior they would find suitable.  When her successful brother falls in love with a tattoo artist and walks away from his career to become an entrepreneur marketer and promoter to local Portland band Manix Curse, Jami is determined to save him and bring him back into the fold.  When she’s presented with a second chance with the man who haunts her years later and sees the unfettered happiness and contentment between her brother and his fiancé, is she ready to rock the boat and embrace the messiness that comes from a real relationship? Is there a future for Jackson and Jami?

It’s so sweet to see bearded, tattooed Jackson coaxing Jami out of her shell to becoming part of the loud and messy family of musicians and artists.  What Jami can’t resist is the heat simmering between them, which constantly derails  all her good intentions. The author keeps things humming at a slow boil, which quickly flares into a conflagration. What bothers me about the story is Jami’s continued rejection of all the advice from her friends and her heart in deference to her parents, even after she knows beyond a shadow of a doubt they do not have her best interests at heart.

I enjoyed meeting Kevan and Mason and would like to go back and read how it all came together for them.  Not having read Book 1 in advance did not in any way hamper my enjoyment of this book.

Grade: B

Summary:

When attorney Jami Dillon strides into the conference room to meet her new client, she’s stopped in her tracks by an all-too familiar figure. Jackson Paige. He’s her tall, tattooed, and sexy as hell hook up from law school-who also broke her heart.

Hell’s bells.
Jackson Paige was, in fact, Jax Pain, the drummer of Manix Curse.
That thing in Jami’s chest tightened, making it hard to breathe.

Jackson Paige, aka Jax Pain, has worked hard to put that unfor-frickin-gettable fling behind him and the nasty secret that made him leave her. Truth is, life as the playboy drummer of Portland’s hottest metal band hasn’t helped him to forget the fiery, sexy woman who stole his heart. Lucky for him, Jami was just hired as his band’s new attorney. But when he sees the look on her face when she realizes who her new client is, Jax wonders if maybe being this close to her again isn’t such a great idea. The explosive chemistry is there, but so are the dark secrets…

No excerpt available.

Other books in this series:
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