Review of Hook (Men of Inked: Southside Book 3) by Chelle Bliss
In the prologue Angelo shreds my heart (and his own) as he says goodbye to his wife, who's dying of cancer. Years later, he's still grieving when his young daughter, Tate, shreds his heart again when she very calmly informs him that he needs to get out, get back on the saddle again (after having heard the analogy from her Auntie Nee) and find her brother Brax and herself a mommy. Ouch. When Angelo's broken heart tries to reason with her that they have a mommy already, Tate puts it best: "She's not here anymore, Daddy. Brax needs one, and so do I." Well hell, what does a grieving father say to that?!
And then he meets his new neighbor, the luscious Tilly, who's opening up a bakery next to the bar. And something is forged that in meeting. They can see in each other a shared pain. The shared pain that only someone who's lost their love can see in another. But is that pain a deterrent or will it become the backbone for a new relationship between Angelo and Tilly?
It's no secret that I love the Men of Inked: Southside series. I've fallen in love with Lucio and Delilah and Daphne and Leo as they fell in love with each other, but up until now, I don't think my heart had been broken by a Gallo until Angelo's heart got seemingly irreparably shattered as his wife succumbed to cancer. And then Chelle Bliss had the nerve to give him a heroine whose heart was in the same condition as Angelo's. But she knew what she was doing, because it absolutely works for their story. It works so well, so very, very well because who better to understand the other's grief but someone who experiences the same exact grief? Throw in the absolutely most adorable, precocious adult-like little girl, and the entire loving but loud Gallo family, and what you've got in Hook is Grade A romance gold. Gah, I'm still smiling (and crying a little on the inside) even though I've been done reading for awhile. Hook is everything you could possibly want in the best kind of story - starting off with two leads who absolutely fit each other perfectly, even though they never, ever thought they'd find love again. Their relationship develops organically and naturally, not too quickly but not a slow burn, either. Not too much angst, but a lot of feels and emotions as the two fight their way through their past loves to find their present love with each other. Add in adorable kids, and a whole loving but rambunctious extended family that includes Tilly's brother-in-law, and Hook is by far the best thing this author has written, and definitely the best yet of the Men of Inked: Southside series. Vinnie's story is coming soon, though, (Hustle), and he's been such an intriguing side character throughout this series that he might top his brother Angelo as the king of the Gallos. Before he arrives though, I am happy letting Angelo and Tilly's story reign as my favorite Chelle Bliss story and my favorite of this series.
ARC via Bare Naked Words.
In the prologue Angelo shreds my heart (and his own) as he says goodbye to his wife, who's dying of cancer. Years later, he's still grieving when his young daughter, Tate, shreds his heart again when she very calmly informs him that he needs to get out, get back on the saddle again (after having heard the analogy from her Auntie Nee) and find her brother Brax and herself a mommy. Ouch. When Angelo's broken heart tries to reason with her that they have a mommy already, Tate puts it best: "She's not here anymore, Daddy. Brax needs one, and so do I." Well hell, what does a grieving father say to that?!
And then he meets his new neighbor, the luscious Tilly, who's opening up a bakery next to the bar. And something is forged that in meeting. They can see in each other a shared pain. The shared pain that only someone who's lost their love can see in another. But is that pain a deterrent or will it become the backbone for a new relationship between Angelo and Tilly?
It's no secret that I love the Men of Inked: Southside series. I've fallen in love with Lucio and Delilah and Daphne and Leo as they fell in love with each other, but up until now, I don't think my heart had been broken by a Gallo until Angelo's heart got seemingly irreparably shattered as his wife succumbed to cancer. And then Chelle Bliss had the nerve to give him a heroine whose heart was in the same condition as Angelo's. But she knew what she was doing, because it absolutely works for their story. It works so well, so very, very well because who better to understand the other's grief but someone who experiences the same exact grief? Throw in the absolutely most adorable, precocious adult-like little girl, and the entire loving but loud Gallo family, and what you've got in Hook is Grade A romance gold. Gah, I'm still smiling (and crying a little on the inside) even though I've been done reading for awhile. Hook is everything you could possibly want in the best kind of story - starting off with two leads who absolutely fit each other perfectly, even though they never, ever thought they'd find love again. Their relationship develops organically and naturally, not too quickly but not a slow burn, either. Not too much angst, but a lot of feels and emotions as the two fight their way through their past loves to find their present love with each other. Add in adorable kids, and a whole loving but rambunctious extended family that includes Tilly's brother-in-law, and Hook is by far the best thing this author has written, and definitely the best yet of the Men of Inked: Southside series. Vinnie's story is coming soon, though, (Hustle), and he's been such an intriguing side character throughout this series that he might top his brother Angelo as the king of the Gallos. Before he arrives though, I am happy letting Angelo and Tilly's story reign as my favorite Chelle Bliss story and my favorite of this series.
ARC via Bare Naked Words.
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