Kristie J’s review of By Her Touch (Blank Canvass, Book 2) by Adriana Anders
Contemporary Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 4 April 17
Before I say anything else, go out and buy this book as well as the first in the series, Under Her Skin. Both are on sale for $.99. Go do it now!, I’ll wait.
OK – did you get them? Good, because you won’t be sorry. This is the second book and it’s the story of George, who plays a large role in the first book, and Clay, a tortured hero if ever there was one. George is a dermatologist and one of her specialties is removing unwanted tattoos. That’s what she did to the heroine of the first book, an equally wonderful story. She often does it pro bono, which she decided to do for Clay Navarro, an FBI agent who has been deeply undercover as the member of a notorious and vicious motorcycle gang. He was made just before the gang was arrested and was “tattooed” by a sadist in the gang who wanted to mark Clay before they killed him.
Clay. Oh my, Clay. As I said, he’s been deeply undercover as a gang member and as such has had to do some real bad shit. This haunts him. He’s also hiding in the small town, partly to have his tattoos removed by George and partly because there is a traitor in the FBI and Clay wants to stay alive so he can testify against them. Because he was only moments away from death, he suffers from PTSD and can only sleep after downing a good deal of alcohol. But when he’s with George, she seems to have a very calming effect on him.
He is so wrecked it breaks the reader’s heart. He has so much going against him. A few members of the gang escaped and he knows they are trying to find him. He has the PTSD and the hard-to-miss tats. The reason he signed up for the assignment is this particular gang was responsible for the death of his sister. And if all that isn’t heavy enough, in order to successfully infiltrate the gang, he had to really become a gang member, and although he hates them, there is also a bond that he hates.
George has sadness in her life too, though not as much or as heavy as Clay’s. But because of those things, she has walled herself up and has very little social life and is quietly lonely. These two wounded souls are perfect for each other.
As I said, you have to also get the first book in this series. I reread it just before I started this one, even though it hadn’t been that long since I read it the first time, and it was just sweet and tender the second time. It’s as sweet and tender as this one is. So if you didn’t get both these books when I first told you too, well, hopefully this review gets you interested enough to get them now. They are well worth the price.
Grade: A
Summary:
Clay left the Sultans biker gang a changed man. Its ringleaders may be awaiting trial, but he wears the memory of his time in that hell tattooed across his skin. He figures he doesn’t have space in his messed-up life for anything gentle?not now, maybe not ever.
Besides, what woman could possibly want the man he’s become?
Dr. Georgette Hadley is drawn to the damaged stranger’s pain, intimidated but intrigued by the warmth that lies beneath Clay’s frightening exterior. She thrills at the way he gentles at her touch…and under his rough hands, she burns with a passion she never thought she’d know.
But when the Sultans return looking for revenge, Georgette finds herself drawn into the dirty underbelly of a life forged in violence…that not even her touch may be able to heal.
No excerpt available.
Other books in this series:
