Beautiful Mess

ARC provided by NetGalley and Publisher for an honest review.<br /><br />2.5 rating<br /><br />Jamie and Jackson had a short month long affair while in law school together. But one day Jackson is gone and out of her life with no explanation or reason. <br /><br />Each face hardship and make life altering decisions. Jamie does all she can to please her parents, follow the rules and lives an orderly "quiet" life. Jackson followed his dreams and became a tattoo artist and musician. Jamie never knew why Jackson disappeared out of her life and Jackson never forgot Jamie. <br /><br />Years later (five to be exact) they meet again and both are very different people. Jackson realizes he missed Jamie and wants her back. Jamie is hurt and her walls are up, she's not going to trust so easily this time. Jackson works hard at regaining Jamie's trust but he's go his work cut out for him. <br /><br />Jamie struggles with a lot of confidence and trust issues almost to the point that it became the focal point of the story. Her "problems" seemed to be so regurgitated and repetitive that I lost interest in the story at times. I also found the beginning to be very s l o w and didn't hold much of my attention ( had to put it down and come back to it in the span of a week) until a third of the way into the story. I found the writing to be somewhat inconsistent with the characters thoughts and what was then played out throughout the story. The secondary characters were likable, except for Jamie's parents of course. <br /><br /><br />

Slick's review:<br /><br />3.5 stars<br /><br />I’m a sucker for books with musicians so when this book was offered up I jumped at it plus it filled my need to read a new to me author. Beautiful Mess was entertaining with a great hero, a heroine that drove me nuts, secondary characters I want to hang out with, and a reunited lovers story with a twist. <br /><br />Jackson Paige (aka Jax Pain) is a talented tattoo artist and the drummer for Manix Curse, an up and coming band. He has a half sister he adores, parents he barely tolerates, and a group of friends he considers more family than friends, and ne never lacks for female companionship although he’s beginning to find that a bit old. The last person he ever expects to see walking into the shop he works in is the woman he walked away from 5 years ago and to find out she is one of his best friend’s sister makes life a bit more complicated.<br /><br />JamiLynn Dillon will do anything to please her parents, seriously ANYTHING and that includes tracking down her former CEO brother, Mason in a tattoo parlor of all places. (Let me say that I found Jami’s inability to tell her parents no and her ridiculous need to make up for something that happened back when she was a teenager tedious especially given that the is a hard working attorney.) Finding her brother in the chair of Jackson, the man who left her back in law school without so much as a word throws her life into a tailspin, and while this Jackson is a bit different from the one she use to know, her body is screaming that he’s exactly the man she needs.<br /><br />I really liked the overall story in this book, but it was very slow to start and it was repetitive. I often felt like I was being beat over the head with the same problem/arguments. While this couple had history, I had issues that the hero didn’t come clean soon after they reunited with what happened in the past and I could not understand how someone out of law school and supporting herself continued to let her parents run her life. I was happy to see JamiLynn grow a pair, but for me it was too little too late by the time she did. <br /><br />Beautiful Mess was a good story that could have been a great one with just a bit more polishing.<br /> <br /><br />Review copy provided for a voluntary review.

Originally posted at SmexyBooks<br /><br />Jackson Paige AKA Jax Pain. Drummer of the up and coming metal band- Manix Curse. Jackson shocked to see his old lover walk through the door of his tattoo shop after he left her with no explanation five years earlier and never looked back. Time hasn’t dulled his feelings for her and he wants back in her life but once she hears his reasons for leaving, she may be the one this time who leaves and never looks back.<br /><br />Jami Dillon. A contract attorney who always follows the rules. She never expected to see her greatest heartbreak when she comes looking for her younger brother, Mason, concerned over some of the choices he’s making in his life (book one-Beautiful Crazy). She is stronger this time around but still hiding some pretty deep scars. She can’t/won’t allow Jax to break her heart again…because this time she won’t survive it.<br /><br />I was really looking forward to reading this installment after reading book one, Beautiful Crazy, and briefly meeting our leads. Second chance romances with an opposite attraction trope and buoyed by some serious undertones? Sign. Me. Up. Unfortunately, what should be an emotionally complicated and extremely sexy romance struggles under the weight of too many tropes, an underdeveloped storyline, repetitive dialogue, and two characters who romance I didn’t buy.<br /><br />The beginning starts off on a high note as our hero and heroine run into one another for the first time in five years. It’s deliciously tense scene with plenty of sexually fueled anger and shock. We learn that Jackson and Jami were fellow law students and lovers. Jackson lets us know right off that he left her one night without so much as a goodbye and that she deserved it. And you believe it because Jami comes off rather snobbish in her attitude and dialogue. Right away Lane sets up the dichotomy between this couple- giving more credence to Jackson’s claims. Jami is so uptight and rigid while Jackson seems to go with the flow. Jami followed her parent’s demands and became an attorney while Jackson grabbed his dreams with both hands and is a talented artist and musician. I liked the tone of this couple and was ready to see how Lane was going to break them and then put them back together whole.<br /><br />Their next meeting is at Jami’s brother’s engagement party and that’s the beginning of where the story started to fail for me. Jackson and Jami have an interlude in the guest bedroom and while it was H.O.T. as all get out, it felt manipulative. Jami doesn’t say boo to Jackson over his disappearance five years ago but we are suppose to believe she will fall into bed with him a few days after seeing him again?<br /><br />From there the relationship picks back up with Jackson and Jami bobbing and weaving; unsure if this was the route they wanted to take again. It made me nervous too. We really don’t get to see what they were like previously nor do we get to see the fallout so I never got a good feel for how they were compared to now. Also, while the chemistry between them is smoking -Jackson is quite the bossy boy with the dirty mouth- I was more weary of what kept the attraction alive for five years of no contact and how easily it was for them to fall back into it. <br /><br />Jami and Jason’s reconnection is littered with numerous pitfalls. Jami is a control freak who lacks self-confidence and self-esteem due to her parents’ constant emotional attacks on her. They really are awful people. She develops some coping mechanisms but they aren’t healthy. Jackson also suffers from some self-esteem issues. When we learn exactly why Jackson left Jami five years ago, it explains some things but also makes him look like a huge arse and I lost respect for him. Lane does an admirable job of facilitating communication between Jami and Jackson over Jami’s many issues but they seem to rehash the same things over and over with no real insight or resolution. Lane truly misses an opportunity to dig in and extract more from both characters. As it was, they stay pretty much one dimensional and boring.<br /><br />I did enjoy seeing some familiar faces from Beautiful Crazy. Kelvin and Mason are still crazy in love and the band is on its way to stardom. Mason and Jami have a wonderfully close sibling connection and their interactions are where she seems to really shine. Lane gives just enough interaction with various other the secondary characters to ensure fans there is more Rock and Ink to come.<br /><br />Beautiful Mess suffers from the dreaded sophomore slump and is sadly not of the same quality as the first book in the series. It does have a solid base, strong writing, and plenty of potential so I hope this was just an anomaly and book three brings back quality I know Lane is capable of.<br /><br />RATING: D

<b>2.5 Stars</b><br><br><a href="http://www.underthecoversbookblog.com/2017/03/beautiful-mess-by-kasey-lane.html" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1430489640i/14717740.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><br>I have wanted to read this series since the first time I saw the cover for book 1. The cover art is truly beautiful! But I forgot to go back to read the first so I picked up this second one instead (another cover that I loved!) I tend to love stories centered around tattoo artists and I was expecting a bit of that, mixed in with a “good” girl needing to loosen up a bit. Sadly, as much as I wanted to really like this story, I just couldn’t connect with it.<br><br>The first thing I was a bit thrown off by is the mesh of tropes thrown in here! The hero is a law school dropout turned tattoo artist (apparently a really good one) plus he’s the drummer of a up and coming (on the verge of massive success) band. I wish there would’ve been less there to deal with. Otherwise, I really liked Jackson’s character. Well, that is until we figure out why their relationship failed in the past. This is after all a second chance story and I couldn’t help but get a bit pissy about the reasons why he couldn’t stick around and make their relationship work. Honestly, I just lost some respect for him.<br><br>Jami, our heroine, is now practicing law and letting her family dictate how she lives her life. Always has. Her true passion is something she barely even considers for herself. I wanted more from her character. There were a lot of things that could’ve made the story more emotional and deeper in her backstory and issues. They’re only touched on superficially and I think that may have been a missed opportunity on getting more meat from the story. She seemed a bit naive and one dimensional.<br><br>In the end, I found this story was lacking something to get me interested in the characters and I was never invested in the outcome. It’s not a bad story, it was just okay and not much about it stood out to me. I wanted the emotions to run deeper and in the end I didn’t get that out of this book.

<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1495462351i/22818868.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>A good rock and roll romance has to follow a certain set of traits and the same goes for a second chance novel, when meshing those you need to be careful not to go to deep into either side of the line, both strings need an equal amount of attentions.<br><br>I won’t repeat the plot in my blurb – as some reviews do – but I will tell you what I felt. Kasey Lane really used some great skills to mesh those genre’s together when she wrote “Beautiful Mess”.<br><br>What else could I say without spoilers, the reader will find well developed characters with secrets. Their developing relationship will draw you in. I liked almost everything about the book which is why this is a solid 4 star read.<br><br>The missing 5th star only comes with my missing emotions during the reading, so there were no loud bursts of laughter or silent river of tears.<br><br>But there was a solid and well developed plotline that I can recommend to lovers of both genre’s with a slight preference on the lovers of the music romance genre<br><br>═══ PLEASE SUBSCRIBE / LIKE / FOLLOW US ════<br> <br>FB Page : <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/JerisBookAttic">https://www.facebook.com/JerisBookAttic</a><br>Twitter : <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://twitter.com/JeriTRyan">https://twitter.com/JeriTRyan</a><br>Goodreads : <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/20537528-jeri">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2...</a><br>Bloglovin : <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.bloglovin.com/people/jerisbookattic-13468119">https://www.bloglovin.com/people/jeri...</a><br>

'Beautiful Mess' by Kasey Lane is book Two in the "Rock 'n' Ink' series. This is the story of Jackson 'Jax' and Jami. I haven't yet read the previous book, so for me this was a standalone book. This was a book about second chances at love. Jax and Jami had dated for about a month when she was in school to become a lawyer and Jax thought he wanted to be a lawyer. They were hot and heavy and Jami fell in love but then Jax up and left school...which ended their brief time together. Now, years later they meet again when Jami learns that her brother and Jax are friends. Jami meets Jax again when she goes to stop her brother from getting a tattoo which she find is Jax is the Tattoo technician. Jami is thrown off but has her guard up as she doesn't want to be hurt by him again. Jax realizes that he wants to be with Jami. Can these two work out the past to move forward into the future? <br />*A Book Obsessed Chicks Review Team Selection*<br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1831318-sissy-s-romance-book-review-for-you">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...</a> <br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2HX0B5ELOPP5Z?ie=UTF8&amp;ref_=sv_ys_3">https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2H...</a><br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/RomanceBookReview">https://www.facebook.com/RomanceBookR...</a><br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1709181636033417/">https://www.facebook.com/groups/17091...</a><br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://sissymaereads.blogspot.com/">http://sissymaereads.blogspot.com/</a> <br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://romancebookreviewforyou.wordpress.com/">https://romancebookreviewforyou.wordp...</a><br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://booklikes.com/blog">http://booklikes.com/blog</a> <br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/romancebookreviewforyoublog">https://www.tumblr.com/blog/romancebo...</a><br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.pinterest.com/u2soapsrus/">https://www.pinterest.com/u2soapsrus/</a><br />

<br /><br />The reaction Jax had to Jami's cat was funny, "...the world’s biggest cat— was that even a cat?— pummeled his knee with what looked like its head. “What the eff is this thing, Jami?” he yelled as the animal continued to aggressively request petting by slamming its enormous head into his knee." Jax could be so thoughtful, “I’m bringing you lunch. Duh.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek before settling into the chair across from her. “Of course, I’d really like to just throw you across your desk and bury my ***k in your hot..." I loved this book, this is turning out to be a favorite series of mine.

Both Jax and Jami are a mess. But I think that the trophy goes to Jami. She has been so concerned with what her parents think that she has molded her life to fit their expectations. It takes Jax to finally realize that she wants something different. <br />Beautiful Mess is a great second chance book with a bad boy trying to get his good girl to loosen up.

A great opposites attract and second chance at love story. I really enjoyed the mix of dominant and vulnerable in Jax, and Jami was so relatable and sweet.

This was an extremely spicy ride that you will not want to put down. However if you do not like sex, and a lot of fun times then this is not the book for you. Also a little warning from me to you. Don't read this in a place were your family may start talking to you because you will blush scarlet red and they will ask.... and it will be awkward for everyone. <br />Jaimi Dillon has had a lot of hard hits it her life. Starting with her family and ending with a lot of heartbreak from her ex's. But the most recent hit is when her boyfriend/tutor abandoned her at school and never told her what she did wrong. Thanks to that heartbreak she is now exactly what her parents wanted her to be. And exactly who she is not. But maybe just maybe Jax Pain will be the one to change all that, if she can get over their shared past. <br />Jackson Paige is having fun with his friends and his band mates, but the partying and a new girl every night is getting old. So when Jaimi walks into his tattoo parlor in her prissy and sophisticated getup he thinks this is it. Its his chance to right the wrongs from his past, starting with telling Jaimi the truth about why he left without a word to her. And ending with some sexy fun times. After all, she always did love it when he took control. But how will she react after he tells her everything, and keeps her stuck with him through a contract with Jax Pain AKA Jackson Paige. <br />This was a great story that I would highly recommend to anyone who loves a good second chance romance and sexy times. And I can not wait for the next book in the series because I absolutely love the characters in this book and I can not wait to learn more about QUIRK. <br />~A Book Obsessed Chicks Review Team Selection.