I absolutely adored this book, which was both a bit of a delightful surprise and the first step in laying a foundation of affection for everything that comes after this!

Permanent Ink is the first book in the Art and Soul series by authors Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn. I really liked this fast-paced romance. The characters are really vivid and well done.
Poe lives at home in his dad’s basement. He hangs with his friends. When he gets arrested he gets the front desk job at Permanent Ink.
He doesn’t want to screw up this job. He knows he is a screw up so far. But he wants to get his life on track. He just really has no direction yet.
Jericho transforms poorly designed tattoos into works of art again. He is nearly twice Poe’s age. And he is Poe’s dad’s best friend. Now he has to choose to either fight the attraction or give into it and possibly lose his best friend in the process.
This story is great. Poe needs Jericho as much as Jericho needs Poe. They each bring something good out in the other person. Poe also proves he can be more mature than his years suggest.
When you want a love story with a great connection, and a little edge to it I highly suggest this one.

Five Shooting Stars

It took me a while to warm up to Poe. He's 23, but by his actions were those of a bratty teenager. But once Jericho took Poe under his wing, it didn't take long for Poe to begin acting his age.

I was half in love with Jericho from the get-go. He's an older tattoo artist with a bit of bad boy vibe, and has a heart of gold. Definitely boyfriend material!

When Poe and Jericho first meet, they're only tolerating each other. I love an enemies-to-lovers vibe, so I really enjoyed their early dynamic and sniping.

The two men slowly warm up to each other, as they spend hours together while Jericho teaches Poe how to channel his artistic energy into a career. It's not a smooth ride - they bump heads often and take a number of steps backward.

But there's a definite click between them that can't be denied. For Poe, Jericho becomes the stability he needs, while Poe reminds Jericho how colorful life can be.

Plus, it doesn't hurt that their sexual chemistry is through the roof! The mild daddy kink added to the fun.

However, I would have liked more on-page relationship development in the second half of the book. Once the two hook up, the relationship development took a backseat.

Even so, 'Permanent Ink' was a fun read. If you're looking for something sexy with not too much angst, give this book a try!

A complimentary copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED! this story. Let me repeat that. I. LOVED. THIS. STORY. A. LOT!!!

Yes indeedy I gave this one 5 stars, and it totally deserves them. For one, this felt so real! I just loved Poe and how he acted his age; he is 23 and you can tell. It is so important when an author can create a character and make them true to real life. Poe is still living with his dad (in the basement), and is really doing nothing with his life. He works a dead-end job at a gas station and is getting in trouble with the police by spray painting buildings. For Poe it's art, but not everybody sees it that way. You know from the blurb what happens then with Jericho and woohoo!! They notice each other almost right away. Sure they've known of each other for years now but Poe was never around much when Jericho was at the house. Poe was always off doing his own thing, so I didn't feel any weirdness about Jericho and Poe having a thing for each other.

Poe, while he may be 23 and act like it, he knows what he wants in the bedroom (or dungeon). He is bisexual and older people are what do it for him. And Poe sees exactly what he needs in Jericho. This is such a delicious age-gap - 17 years separate these men but while it's cliché to say "age is just a number" it is true. They both acknowledge the age difference between them, but that is what works for them. Poe has a "daddy" kink, and Jericho gets totally turned on calling Poe his "boy." *fans self* These guys are so explosive together. And OMG, when Jericho decides he can't keep lying to Landon (Poe's father and Jericho's BFF) and tells him he's seeing his son, as in dating, as in boyfriends, I almost died from my giddiness. Those moments in stories are so good!

And here is one great example of why I gave this book 5 stars. Landon doesn't freak, he doesn't go off on Jericho and beat him up. They talk about it like adults, and yeah Landon questions if he should beat the shit out of Jericho, but he's really only kidding. Sort of. Landon understands that Poe is an adult and can do what he wants with who he wants, and yes it's weird that he's doing it with Jericho, but he doesn't do anything to stop them. Now, he does say he doesn't want to see Jericho in his boxers one night at his house - too traumatizing. Ahahahahaha!!! Jericho and Landon both see that Jericho is having a good influence on Poe, helping him with direction and goals and responsibility.

Another reason this is 5 stars is that when Poe and Jericho have an argument, it's not the end of the world. In almost all romance stories the couple has a big blow up and separate, thinking the relationship is over and they are better off without the other person. That is not what happens here and it was so refreshing. Poe and Jericho have a fight, take time apart to breath and then Poe comes back and apologizes and they have great make-up sex. I can't tell you how much I was dreading the expected blow up and angst filled pages of separation. There were instances between them that could have resulted in this but they both acted maturely and like adults in a relationship where they care about the other person and work through whatever it is. Yay!!

There is something big that happens towards the end but I don't want to spoil it. I thought I knew what might happen, but was wrong which I like because who want's a predictable story? I can't wait to read the next story in this series and I hope (so hard) it's about who I think it's hinting at. And I love to see characters again from previous books - it's like an extended epilogue. Highly recommend this one and I wish I had read this one sooner.

Even knowing the daddy kink was present and that it's not really my thing, I LOVE Avon Gale, so I wanted to give Permanent Ink a real shot. Turns out that not even my love of a certain author and good writing can overcome my aversion to this particular trope.

I actually really liked the May/December romance between Poe and Jericho. I liked the wrench thrown into their relationship in the form of Poe's dad and Jericho's BFF. It caused both guys - especially Jericho - to make sure that this was truly what they wanted, come what may.

I think if the daddy kink hadn't been present, I would've really liked this book. I know that some people love it, but no matter how much I love the characters, the writing and/or the author, it just does absolutely nothing for me to hear a character call his or her partner "daddy" during sex - ESPECIALLY in a situation like this where Jericho could legitimately be Poe's father because of his age. I know this is totally my own problem and is no reflection whatsoever on others who like it or on the authors who write it. But, this book sealed the deal for me. I won't be reading any more daddy kink books, no matter who writes them.

There's something about daddy kink that's just doesn't sound that good to me, but the authors showed me I was right trying to push my boundaries a little more. PERMANENT INK was an amazing first collaboration of two truly talented authors.

Jericho is trying to help his best friend's son to get out of a path of self-destruction by offering him a job in his tattoo shop. The attraction between them is something they can't keep hiding for much longer and what started as only a job might end up being so more than it was supposed to, heating up the rooms of the renowned shop.

Jericho was a great character, his reaction to the events that were developing felt very realistic, not only about his relationship with Poe but towards any issue that came his way. He wasn't perfect, he had some flaws that made him a more believable character. That is definitely something that I look for when I read a book. Poe was very different than Jericho, he was a nice character too, but he had a great ability to make me mad all the time. He was just so frustrating. He seemed way younger than he really was, but maybe that's what made him a fantastic character because it was easier to see the personal growth, without leaving out of the picture what made him who he is. The way their relationship developed was okay, though there was too much lust for my taste at the beginning, which worked fine for the story, but I did believe they care for each other in the end. Something I enjoyed a lot was the passion both main characters had for what they do, the time spent sharing some of the stories behind the tattoos was very great.

The plot was good; it had a hopeful message and the writing was very good too. The book is low in angst, it doesn't lack it completely but I guess it was tolerable.

Overall it was a great book. I think anyone who likes M/M books might like it. It does have Daddy kink, which might not be okay for every reader, but I wasn't fond of it either and I enjoyed the book so much.

Reviews shared on Goodreads, Amazon, B & N and V's Reads: https://vsreads.com/2017/09/18/writing-a-new-life-story-in-permanent-ink-a-review/

Poe Montgomery is wearing his father’s patience very thin. He’s 23, virtually jobless, and just got picked up, again, for making graffiti art–criminal mischief, in this case. His father, Landon, pours out his woes over Poe’s aimless life to his best friend, Jericho McAslan and Jericho feels a kinship to Poe’s situation. Jericho had been a handful, and far more trouble to his caregivers at a younger age than Poe is now, but he’d been given the opportunity to learn the trade of tattooing and it saved his life. Now, twenty years later, Jericho’s in position to pay it forward, and offers to take Poe on as a receptionist at his tattoo parlor, with the bonus that if he is diligent Jericho will offer him an apprenticeship as a tattoo artist.

Poe is a little sulky about the prospect, but he soon is intrigued by the art happening all around him. And, it helps that Jericho is exactly as sexy up-close and personal as Poe had found him when Jericho would pop over for beers with his dad. In fact, Jericho thinks nothing of the age gap between them, and he’s not shy of his interest. Jericho’s undeniably turned on, but he’s also put off by the prospect of damaging his friendship with Landon, and also with the power imbalance in their work relationship. He turns Poe away again and again, but Poe’s attitude only gets worse, and he’s soon in trouble again with his tagging pals–mot notably Blue. Blue wants all of Poe’s attention and he’s not afraid to demand it, which makes their friendship uncomfortable for the first time in years. Blue doesn’t want Poe to learn how to tattoo, or to find a job where he can be supported by his art–because Blue thinks they ought to suffer for it, and it’s all a little off-kilter. Poe hadn’t seen how out-there Blue was until he stepped away and got perspective. He wants a good life, with a good man, and Jericho finally comprehends how good he and Poe could be together. And, it’s super-duper hot, folks. The best of Daddy porn on the page.

I don’t want to give away too much more, but I will say that Blue messes things up for Poe and Jericho big time, and it surely ties into the next book in this series. I’ve read a few tattoo-artist romances this summer and this ones just delightful. The age difference was fun to observe, and the relationships between Poe and his dad, Landon, and Landon and Jericho are really awesome. Landon became a father at a young age and raised Poe without help for nearly all his life. The lack of maternal coddling in their youth is a bonding point for Jericho and Poe, and the way Landon manages to not punch Jericho in the face for “exploiting” his boy is charming. I liked all these characters and felt like they were real enough I’d go have a beer with them anytime. I look forward to the next book where I expect Blue will get a strong lesson in adulting, and love.

I'm not usually a fan of the May/December type books, but for some reason when I read the blurb of this book, I just had to read it.

Afterwards, I can say that I'm glad that I did. While yes, the sex scenes in this book were totally hot, there was so much more to the story than just that. Getting to follow along as Poe found himself, and realized that he could still do what he loved, art, but do it the right way and could make his life better for it was just amazing.

Now, I will be honest and say that Jericho wasn't an easy character for me to connect with in the beginning of the book. It took me till about the halfway mark until he started to grow on me.

Overall, I will say that this book was one that showed how a person can grow, and still keep themselves in the process. It showed that it's never too late to make things right with your family, and that you can always grow your family at the same time.

I absolutely loved this book. I actually read it in about 4 hours. I literally couldn't put it down until I was done. The characters are amazing. The story line is stong. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this book at all. Poe is definitely in some need of guidance and Jericho is just the man to do it, in more ways than one. There are always complications in life, but anything can be overcome if you just try. . Loved, loved, loved it!!!,

This one had its ups and downs for me, but in the end I was pleasantly surprised....

Okay, I discovered something as I read Permanent Ink. I'm not a fan of 'Daddy' kink. It may not have been so weird if not for the fact that Jericho's best friend was Poe's father, but that obviously upped the weird factor for me. Other than that, I really did like Jericho and Poe's story and given the fact that Jericho is the founder and owner of the tattoo parlor, this was a perfect place to start the Art & Soul series.

As obvious as it is, I can't not say something about the Poe/Raven references in Permanent Ink. It was a creative bonus that kind of drew me in (I may or may not have mentioned before that I have a thing for all things Poe ;) )

There were a lot of other relationships in Permanent Ink besides the one that developed between Jericho and Poe. Some of them were more complicated than others and not all of them were healthy. I loved both Poe and Jericho's relationship with Poe's dad. I also liked the relationship between Jericho and his other good friend Callum. Blue and Poe? Not so much.

The jury's still out on whether or not I continue the Art & Soul series. I'm a huge fan of authors who turn my opinion around about characters that I didn't like. This writing duo has their work cut out for them if the next couple turns out to be Callum and Blue. *sigh*

This is my first novel from these authors, and I'm glad I picked it up because the writing style was really beautiful and incredibly readable. There were elements of the story itself, however, that I did disagree with and skimmed with varying levels of side-eying.

I absolutely loved both of these main characters. Poe is just... lost. He's in the process of being picked up from the police station by his dad, Landon, in the first chapter. As he himself later says, he's a big mess, living in his father's basement, living of his father financially, at 23 years old.

Jericho is the best friend of Landon. They've been friends for year, and work in the same complex of shops. When Landon needs to vent about his mess of a son, Jericho offers him a job as a reception person until he hires someone new and, if the boy is interested, an apprenticeship at his tattoo parlour.

Poe and Jericho do not hit it off to begin with. They are at very different stages of their lives, although Jericho sees a bit of his own younger self in Poe. Also, he feels a lot of attraction to his best friend's son.

I followed the plot this far. Honestly, I thought this was an adorable premise for a May/December romance. Of course that's going to be awkward as hell when Jericho talks to Landon about dating his son. I couldn't wait for that scene!

There were two big problems I had overall: One comes from within the character dialogue itself, where Landon asks Jericho what he could possibly want in a relationship with someone almost half his age. That was a really reasonable question, and I had to wait longer than I wanted to for the story to give me that answer.

The other main problem I had was with the daddy kink that is mentioned in a lot of the reviews of this book. Given everything else, the daddy kink aspect just didn't need to be a part of this novel in my opinion. Not only that, but the daddy kink scenes are... not particularly well researched from what I'm given to understand. Although, some of that could be explained away as the characters' own stated ignorance in what daddy kink is.

Still, like I said, the writing style is definitely good enough that I'll be keeping an eye out for other books by these authors and the rest of this series. I definitely hope to see more of both Blue and Callum in further books in this world.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/M Romance, some Daddy Dom scenes
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

This is a story about friendship, love, second chances, and figuring out who you are.

Poe is kind of a slacker. He lives with his dad and goes out at night with his best friend, Blue, to tag (vandalize) the neighborhood with graffiti. He gets caught one night and his dad is at his wits end. Landon is trying to make Poe see that there is more to life than tagging and doing nothing.

Landon is best friends with Jericho and when Poe is picked up again, Landon goes to Jericho just to vent. However, someone once gave Jericho the kick in the pants and leg up that he needed to get out of the bad lifestyle he was living and get into tattooing. Jericho offers that same chance for Poe.

What follows is Poe and Jericho figuring out whether or not they should act on their attraction. They have good, developed chemistry and when Daddy Dom comes out to play, Poe almost wets himself.

In this story, you're hit with growing up, the realization that you might need help, seeing who is a true friend, and learning to love without reservation. I can't wait to see what the next books hold.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This is a sexy, steamy read about a tattoo artist who hires his friend’s son, and then, despite his best efforts, falls hard for the much younger man.

Daddy kinks aren’t really my thing but the kink is pretty negligible in this book. Honestly, silver fox Jeremiah is hot enough that I’d play with him any way he wanted. I wasn’t quite as drawn to Poe. He is very young and while he’s adorable, it’s an exhausting new puppy sort of adorable – fun to play with but far too much work to ever consider taking home. He is way too needy and still making stupid teenage decisions. And seriously, he lives in his father’s basement.

My reaction to Poe aside, these two are very hot together and there are some wonderfully steamy scenes in this book. Boss and new hire, kid dating dad’s best friend – there is a delightfully illicit charge to Poe and Jeremiah’s relationship that I really loved.

I loved learning more about tattooing in this story. I found Poe’s apprenticeship fascinating and I’m now following even more tattoo artists on Instagram. Alternately, I couldn’t quite get into the graffiti aspect of this story. I’m probably just too old and too mainstream to get it but it just served to make Poe seem like more of a clueless brat (and not in a good subby sort of way).

I’m still not sure about Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn writing together. For me, Gale is an immediate autobuy while Vaughn’s writing is sometimes a bit too fluffy for me. This collaboration works well but it is missing the witty, sarcastic dialogue I love in Gale’s books and it isn’t quite as edgy as some of her writing.

Solid romance novel. Gritty and steamy with a great cast of interesting characters. A little kinky at times, and somewhat predictable, but a fun read. Personally, I find most romance novels predictable, but in a comforting way, so it isn't a negative to me, more like having a reliable friend. I loved all the different quirks and flaws that the characters have, and how they embrace each others flaws and end up stronger for it. I also loved the back drop of a tattoo parlor and a love of art. This is listed as #1 in the Art & Soul series, so I'm hopeful that this means they're writing more!

I love Avon Gale's writing, particularly her hockey series. However, I felt like there was something lacking in Permanent Ink -- most likely because Poe's character lacked the maturity to make his relationship with Jericho believable. Although Poe's is described as a 23 year old, he comes off more like a teenager. This makes the age-gap romance between Jericho and Poe pretty uncomfortable. Sometimes co-written novels work really well. This was one of the occasions where it didn't work for me.

Permanent Ink is a hot romance with mild daddy kink. Jericho is a 40 year old man who owns his own tattoo shop and has a best friend named Landon. Landon's son, Poe, is arrested again and Landon's had it. Had it with bailing him out, paying his legal fees, had it period. As he's complaining to Jericho about him, Jericho comes up with the idea to have Poe come in and work as his front counter person until he can replace him with someone permanent. Jericho had no idea his brilliant idea would end up with him meeting the young man who'd end up becoming so important to him.

Of course Jericho already knew Poe, but only in an acquaintance type way, so his attraction to the sullen kid comes as a surprise to him. He doesn't realize that Poe is not only bi, but has a daddy & mommy fetish. He only sleeps with older men and women who use him and order him around in bed, and he likes it that way. He's never been interested in an actual relationship with anyone, until he starts realizing just how amazing Jericho is, and not just because he's a silver fox with tattoos. But, can Jericho and Poe possibly make a relationship work when Landon is Jericho's best friend? And when Poe insists on not only continuing to do his graffiti, but also to hang out with his obnoxious best friend, Blue, who ends up being the biggest punk in the entire story?

I like Permanent Ink despite its daddy kink. I am most definitely not into daddy play, but it's pretty mild here. I do like dominating men, though, and Jericho is definitely dominant in the bedroom. He's not controlling in any other way, but he is dominant, and Poe loves it because he's definitely a sub. Permanent Ink is sexy, but not overly so, and the relationship between Poe and Jericho is an interesting one. I like that Poe does quite a bit of character growth, going from sullen brat to maturing man with a stability he didn't have before. Jericho is a really good influence on Poe, and it's for this reason that Landon can accept their relationship. Speaking of Landon, I think he may be my favorite character in Permanent Ink. I'd love to read his story.

So if you have any interest in older man/younger man romance, mild daddy kink, or just MM in general, make sure to put Permanent Ink on your TBR list. You will not regret it.

I was a little disappointed, I thought I was going to LOVE this one(!!!)

I no trouble reading this one, I just didn't love it. I found the tattoo trend is a hot thing at the moment.
Poe took ages to grow on me, he was a little annoying at times, while Jericho thought he was the bees knees. There attraction wasn't anything to shout from the roof tops, it was just ok.

The daddy kink, wasn't what I was expecting, so for the reader that LOVE there daddy kink this isn't that kind of kink!

Overall the duos writing was good, the romance lacked for me and didn't deliver what I expected.

I dunno. I love Avon Gale (especially when she writes about hockey players) and at the end of this book - while I enjoyed it - I guess I wanted to love it more than I did.

It had a good plot about Jericho, an established tattoo artist (and sexy silver fox) who is attempting to give back by mentoring his friend's 23-year-old son Poe. Poe grows from being a ungrateful thoroughly irritating character to a responsible adult, and Jericho and Poe falling in love (with a tasty side of daddy kink) is pretty damn hot. Jericho's niche is covering up and transforming badly done or ill-advised tats and there's an interesting bevy of side characters at Permanent Ink as well as some compelling stories about transforming the tattoos.

But about 2/3rds of the way through, it felt like Poe and Jericho's story was put on the back burner as Poe's friend Blue is introduced and he wreaks havoc. If Poe starts out as an ungrateful jerk, Blue is exponentially worse and much more irritating, IMHO, and it appears the next book will be about Blue and Jericho's friend Callum. I don't know if I'll be reading this book because at least at the end of the book, this next match-up reads like a rehash of the older/younger MCs with the mentoring aspect. 3.5 stars.

I love a good MM book. And this one had a great story to it. hope you all enjoy it too.

3.5

Good, but it didn't rock my world. I thought Jericho and Poe were a cute couple. But I also thought it went from sex to a relationship and love too quickly. When Jericho said, "We're dating," I thought, "Really, when did that happen?" I liked their little bit of kink, even if it isn't one I particularly relate to. The sex was hot enough, if a little same-same.

The side characters, Landon and Blue were interesting. I'd be happy to read more about either of them, though I'm fairly sure the next book will be about Blue and Callum. It was a pretty obvious setup.

Also fun for me was that the book is set on my home turf, Saint Louis, and the city was fairly recognizable. Even if the 'salty' and 'extra' language that seems to be popping up in M/M books lately isn't anything I've ever heard a youth actually say in The Lou.

My main complaint is that I never particularly came to like Poe. I understand that he is supposed to be a 'brat' to compliment Jericho, who is the 'daddy,' but he just basically annoyed me.

So, good enough that I will read book two, but not making my favorites list.