Laura’s Review of Hard as It Gets (Hard Ink, #1) by Laura Kaye

If you loved Axel by Harper Sloan, Down to You by M. Leighton, and Leave Me Breathless by Cherrie Lynn then you will love this book!!!!

Basic Summary: Tall, dark, and lethal…

                Trouble just walked into Nicholas Rixey’s tattoo parlor. Becca Merritt is warm, sexy, wholesome-pure temptation to a very jaded Nick.  He’s left his military life behind to become co-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, but Becca is his ex-commander’s daughter.  Loyalty won’t let him turn her away.  Lust has plenty to do with it too.

                With her brother presumed kidnapped, Becca’s needs Nick.  She just wasn’t expecting to want him so much.  As their investigation turns into all-out war with an organized crime ring, only Nick can protect her.  And only Becca can heal the scars no one else sees.

                Desire is the easy part.  Love is as hard as it gets.  Good thing Nick is always up for a challenge…

What I Love About This Book:  Great character development!! Nick’s back story immediately sucks you into the story, and Becca’s is no different.  Laura Kaye is so great being able to create characters that you immediately like and want to know more about; even if their experiences might not be relatable you root for them instantaneously.  I love the details of their homes and how it adds to their experiences and personalities so beautifully.  For example all the things that lay around Becca’s bedroom that mean so much to her really add to her as a person, adding pieces to her character. 

                Also the chemistry between the two of them is so strong, that as a reader I got tense myself!  You

immediately want Becca to kiss away all of Nick’s problems and do some other sexy things to his body as well.  The electricity between is undeniable and the buildup to that volcano is explosive!  The sex scenes in were the book were very very hot and I enjoyed watching Nick and Becca fall head over heels in love with each other.  

                The action in this book is great as well, and it keeps you on your toes throughout the entire book.  I couldn't put it down because the suspense was killing me!  I was so relieved by the end of this book that I’m pretty sure my blood pressure went down.  I’m excited to read the next book in this series and other books from Laura Kaye.  She’s a great author, and I’m a HUGE sucker for men with tattoos, and her books include all of that more!!

Cons:  I need more sex!!!! If you’re gonna have an erotica book then there should be at least two sex scenes before you hit the 50% mark, but the first real sex scene doesn't happen till your more than half way through the story! The sexual chemistry between Nick and Becca is awesome, and its hot and its heavy but I need more sexy scenes!!!!!!!!!

                There were never lulls in this book, but I did feel it too a lot of time and a huge chunk of the story to set up the plot and lay the ground work for the direction the story was going.  I get that the main story line continues on in the series and it gives you more to time to establish everything at a somewhat slower pace than each book having its storyline.  For me though, sometimes it takes away from the main character’s stories and their relationship and I would've liked more love interaction between Becca and Nick.

Overall:  Great story line, I loved the premise of the story and the pace was great.  I didn't find that there were tons of lulls in the book.  I kind of wish the book would've gotten to answering questions a little bit sooner but that’s okay.  I loved Becca you really feel for her since she’s lost so much in her life but remains strong and sure of herself.  I love Nick even though he kind of pissed me off at certain points, and ladies you all know what I’m talking about if you have read this book! 

                I like that Laura Kaye has made the main plot in this book continue on to the next, and I’m assuming it will take up the entire series which is different when it comes to series.  I've read other book series that have done this and it’s a unique twist that I enjoy because it separates this series from the others.  I can’t wait to see how this all plays out, read about them falling in love and getting their POV of all that crap that goes down. 

Cutest Scene:  Probably the cutest scene that had me laughing was the brothers Nick and Jeremy on their knees singing Come On Eileen by Dixie Midnight Runners, Becca standing in shock with her three legged dog and the other hot guys joining in eventually.  It was so cute, and actually cleared up some questions I had about the lyrics so thank you for that Laura Kaye!