4 Smooches

Synopsis

10 artists auditioning for a shot at working with the Reed Brothers
10 skins, each with a story to tell
10 perfect tattoos so they’ll never forget
A little bit of healing
A whole lot of heart

An anthology of ten short stories by ten different authors who are donating 100% of the proceeds to benefit Alzheimer’s and brain health. Join Tammy Falkner, Jane Charles, Ava Stone, Marquita Valentine, Lexi Eddings, Lj Charles, Andris Bear, Jerrica Knight-Catania, Caren Crane and Diane Franks to help combat this terrible disease.

Tammy Falkner: All About Adam – “So you see, there was this man…” All good stories start like that. Except this one. “… There was this man, and he broke my heart.”

Andris Bear: Inked – The only thing officer Brent Copeland wants when he enters Reeds’ is some fresh ink to honor his fallen partner. But when he comes face to face with Honor Sloan, a hellcat he arrested six months ago, he must confront the mistakes of his past if he is to have any chance at a future.

Jane Charles: Rattled – She enters the tattoo shop with an envelope full of memories and a heart filled with longing. What she leaves with is more than she dreamed of, and it just might be the first step to healing the wounds of the past.

LJ Charles: Burned – Fred’s agony over past mistakes is so overwhelming he craves a reminder of them—one that will be burned into his flesh forever. Little does he know the past is about to explode into present-day reality.

Ava Stone: Hold Me Tight – Film student Seth Elliott can hardly believe his luck when Molly Wolfe, a pretty face from his past, stumbles into the Reeds’ looking for a tattoo to remember her brother. Finding her after so many years is even better than any of the classic movies he loves so much.

Lexi Eddings – Coldwater Blues – Michael Evans is the poster boy for trouble on two legs. After losing the one person who ever believed he’d amount to anything, he hitches his way across country to the Big Apple, convinced he can outrun the mistakes that forced him to leave his hometown. But as his dear Gran always said, “Wherever you go, Mike, there you are…”

Jerrica Knight Catania: The Knot – Ethan Masters never imagined he’d go for a girl with a tattoo, but when he learns the story behind Madison Kennedy’s mysterious design, all he wants to do is take care of her. But Madison is still struggling with great loss in her life, and is terrified of getting close to anyone ever again, especially someone as perfect as Ethan Masters.

Marquita Valentine: Skin Deep – After one reckless night ends in tragedy, Scottish rugby player Maddox Stuart turned his back on his former life, leaving everything behind, but when the girl he left behind ends up as his client in the Reed Brother’s shop, Maddox is forced to face his demons.

Caren Crane: Lakewood Confidential – Tondra is struggling for attention on the New York art scene when a chance to ink notorious hip-hop legend Lakewood lands in her desperate hands. The reclusive rapper shares a part of his history he’s never told anyone, forcing Tondra to choose between ensuring her own success and safeguarding Lakewood’s secrets.

Diane Franks: The Way Back – He’s not the man he used to be. She’s desperate to find a way to bring him back to her. She needs a tattoo to help her remember. She needs a tattoo so he won’t forget.

Review

Being a HUGE fan of Tammy Falkner and the Reed brothers I was super excited to see both Tammy and other authors take on the chairs at the Reed’s tattoo shop and get some heartfelt and uplifting stories out of them. Telling the tales of 10 people getting tattoos to commemorate something special to them we meet a large ensemble of characters. With 10 new artists auditioning for a chair at the Reeds shop as well as a spot on their reality show, they must prove themselves by delivering the best tattoo they have ever done.

The anthology starts off with a bang with Tammy Falkner’s story featuring the much hated, April (Matt’s ex-girlfriend who left him when he got sick) but each story that follows is just as gripping and all of them are topped full of emotion. Having never read most of these authors I can honestly say I have now added a ton of their books to my TBR since each story in this set was artfully written and impossible to put down.

~miranda

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4 Smooches!

Synopsis

I was his lucky Penny. He was my light in the dark, hope in despair. Our bond was one of survival, friendship… first love.

But then we were ripped apart and Blake Weston became the memory I turned to when everything else in my life fell apart.

Seven years later, a summer working at Camp Chance is supposed to be my fresh start. Beautiful scenery and the chance to better the lives of foster children – kids like me. But when my eyes land on him across the fire, time stands still and feelings come rushing back to the surface. I thought I’d moved on, tucked him away in my heart. One look into his soulful blue eyes and I know I’m wrong. Blake Weston can heal the broken parts of me. Restore my hope. Love me.

It’s our second chance. A sign we are supposed to be together.

Isn’t it?

I was twelve when I survived the accident that killed my parents. Fourteen when I survived the devil. And sixteen, when I survived a heartbreak of the worst kind.

But in my twenty-three years, Blake Weston might just be the first thing I won’t survive.

Review

“We had dreams and hopes for the future, just like any other sixteen-year-old kid. Except we weren’t like most other kids.”

Penny Wilson arrived at Freeman house a scared and devastated twelve-year-old girl. Her world had just imploded around her with the tragic death of her parents in a car accident. She may have walked away from the accident without any visible injuries, but she definitely had emotional wounds. With no family or friends to take her in, alone and afraid, she was thrust into the foster care system and sent to the group home run by the evil Derrick and Marie Freeman.

“Penny was the only good thing in my life. She was all that I needed. My lucky Penny.”

Blake Weston was twelve years old when Penny walked into his otherwise dark and dreary existence. A resident at Freeman house for a few years now, Blake had arrived at Freeman house following the death of his mother and the imprisonment of his drug-dealing father.

“Sometime in the last two years, my best friend had become my reason for breathing. My everything.”

Blake was immediately draw to Penny and was the first one to reach out to her there on her first day at Freeman house. Over the next four years, their friendship grew and flourished. They were able to withstand the awful treatment they endured at the hands of the Freemans, their foster parents, with each other to lean on. Inevitably, their friendship grew and eventually blossomed into young love. Under the stars during late night sneak outs, Blake and Penny bared their young souls, shared their hopes and dreams and planned for the time when they’d be free. Until the day it all changed and Blake left Freeman House behind without a single word to Penny. That’s when her real nightmare began.

“It was time to move forward and to let myself heal.”

Seven years later, three failed relationship attempts, no friends and a minimum wage job that barely supports her, Penny is still working through her issues with the help of a therapist. She’s leaving for the summer to work at Camp Chance, a summer camp for kids in the foster care system. This will be her fresh start; this is her chance to heal. What she wasn’t expecting – at all – was to see Blake there as another counselor. They spend the summer slowly – awkwardly – getting reacquainted and inevitably reconnecting. Until, on what was the last night of camp, Blake suddenly leaves. Again.

“And here I was again. Alone.”

With the summer over, Penny returns back to her life. With a new, better-paying job, a cleaned up apartment, she is determined to continue taking baby steps forward in her healing process. She worked hard on herself this summer, and she would not let Blake’s leaving her behind again to set her back. That was until, while working one night, one of those baby steps lands her right in the path of Blake and his new world.

“I should have listened to the little voice in my head. It was always right. If things seemed to good to be true…they usually were.”

Unable to keep away, Blake tracks Penny down. They start to have the conversations that they should have had over the summer. When the truth of what really happened comes out, will Blake choose Penny, or has his life become too complicated? Will their love for each other be strong enough to weather their differences? Will Penny be able to overcome her fears and let go of the past to take another chance with Blake?

“Blake already owned my heart. He always had. But could I give him my damaged soul?”

L.A. Cotton has written a very poignant, coming of age story in Lucky Penny. These two recognized the other halves of their souls in each other at a very young age. Circumstances, outside forces and time all collided to tear them apart, but the real story was in their coming back together. Ms. Cotton did a great job of taking the reader along for the ride as Blake and Penny dealt with all that happened between them and to them. Heartbreaking and heart healing combine four heart-warming smooches from me!

~ Danielle Palumbo

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