Series: Ashes & Embers, #3
Genre: Rockstar Romance
Trope: Age Gap (Younger Man/Older Woman)
Publisher: Indie
Release Date: July 28th, 2015
Blurb:
A thirty-six year old mother of two finds out life isn’t over after divorce when a sexy as hell twenty-four year old tattoo artist kisses her senseless under a shooting star.
Ivy thought she had it all–married to her high school sweetheart, two great kids, and a beautiful house. But her world comes crashing down when she catches her husband with another woman.
When her best friend gives her a gift certificate to a local tattoo parlor to cheer her up, Ivy gets a helluva lot more when inked-up Lukas Valentine–renowned tattoo artist, violin player extraordinaire, and extreme hopeless romantic–captures her heart.
Lukas is an old soul with a heart of gold. When Ivy walks into his shop, he’s instantly drawn to her shy smile and down to earth personality. Tired of the dating scene, Lukas is ready to settle down, and he’s hell-bent on making Ivy believe they can have the happily ever after they both dream about – with each other.
Despite their age difference, the chemistry and love they share is undeniable. Lukas is everything Ivy never knew she wanted in a man, but can she trust her heart with a much younger man, and can they overcome the hurdles that life keeps throwing in their way?
Lukas is the third book in the Ashes & Embers series by Carian Cole. If you love age gap/cougar type novels, this is the one for you.
Lukas is an amazing tattooist with a great reputation. But he’s over the one night stands and the typical relationships he’s been having. He wants the infamous one to come knocking on his door. He’s ready for the ultimate happily ever after.
After her world is rocked out from underneath her Ivy is left standing on the cliff of divorce and a life change that she never saw coming. Now all she wants is her family and her life back. Ivy is about to realize fate works in mysterious ways when she is given a gift certificate for a free tattoo session.
Meeting Lukas for the first time, Ivy realizes there is more to life than the cookie cutter expectations she was used to. There is recklessness, there is danger, and there is a feeling of completeness. There is also hope, true love, and a sense of complete fear and abandonment. There is someone out there for everyone and Ivy’s coming to realize that Lukas is her person.
Talk about SWOON!!! Lukas Valentine stole my heart from the first moment he walked into this series. I’ve been eagerly awaiting for his story and his chance at finding a forever happily ever after.
I couldn’t be happier with Lukas’s part of this story. He was everything I envisioned him being. He cared deep and loved deeper. He had a protective streak within him that shined bright when his loved ones were being threatened.
Now on the other side of the rating scale, I liked Ivy’s character but towards the end of the novel I started to get really annoyed by her. I get the whole, I’m in a rough spot and don’t know what to do, gist. But I felt for being the older character in this romance, I wanted a bit more maturity from her thought process. The lack of communication seriously pissed me off. My heart was invested but my brain was screaming, get your shit together, people!
Overall, I really liked the first half of Lukas, I loved the moments of fear of advancing into the unknown. I loved Lukas and Ivy’s immediate chemistry. But I could have done without the lack of communication towards the end. So many months ruined due to two individuals refusing to talk their shit out and opening their eyes to the full picture in front of them. But in the end, Lukas is still his swoony sexy as hell self. And Ivy is still just as sweet and naive as she was in the beginning.
I loved the angst and the emotional roller coaster of a journey this novel put me through. Carian Cole definitely knows her way around writing an angsty as hell story!
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(Free with Kindle Unlimited)
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2YsWCl1
Amazon Universal: http://getbook.at/LukasCC
Peace Love and Happy Reading,
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