In “Passion and Ink” (Sweetest Taboo #2) by Naima Simone we meet Jude and Cypress. When Jude walks into the bar that Cypress works out sparks fly between them. But they each only want one night. But nothing is ever that easy. And as they navigate through the revelations that are exposed, we are right there with them as they try to make it out the other end in one piece.

I loved the interaction with Knox (Sin and Ink) and meeting Simon (who hopefully gets his own book next).

A definite read. I received an ARC of this book to read through Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own and given voluntarily.

This is my second book by this author, also the second in the series and not only have I found a new top author for my growing list, but a new series as well. What I loved about this is that although it was book #2 in the series and the original cast was there, this story line was completely different, but every bit as good. Then, surprisingly, even “hotter” than the first!

HEA, strong, likable characters, believable storyline, continuation of a series family but still able to be a standalone. So many things to swoon over here. The hard thing about receiving advanced read copies of a series........ waiting for the next one. GAH!!!! I’ll be here anxiously waiting....... Not a single disappointment yet!

Jude is a man who had way too much on his shoulders. He was having to stand strong for people who were selfish. He was suffering from anxiety because of the secrets he was being forced to keep. One day he decided that he just wants something for himself. He just wants a night where no one is trying to manipulate him. This is the night he meets Cypress.

Cyress is a woman who after doing the right thing, finds herself practically homeless and jobless. She has a job as a waitress and when she sees Jude she decides she also just needs a night of fun.

These two were explosive together. They both healed a part of the other that they either didn't know needed healing or was too afraid to risk it.

The fact that they were step-siblings in my opinion had no bearing on the story. I know that it turns some people off but these two barely spent any time together and didn't even recognize each other when they meet again.

I was excited for Jude's story, add in Cypress and it's a hot and steamy story.

Cypress is back in Chicago after being gone for over 10 years for school and a job. A father she is estranged from is who she has to seek out for financial help after she's fled her high paying job. When her hot and sexy one night stands ends up being her stepbrother, Daddy Dan is quick to sense they're sexual tension and warns her away from Jude using his help with strings to guarantee his wishes.

When you have such a hot, heavy and deep connection as Jude and Cypress you can't stay away. As Jude as his own issues to deal with these two troubled souls are perfect for each other.

Passion and Ink continues the Sweetest Taboo series with Jude, the brother of Knox (I love him so much <3) and fellow tattoo artist.

Jude is dealing with living under the shadow of his brother's reputation as an MMA fighter and tattoo artist. He wants to make a name for himself, but that's hard to do when you're carrying around as much baggage as poor Jude.

Needing to blow off some steam after a stressful week, Jude notices a gorgeous new waitress - Ro - at his regular hang out and the physical attraction is so tangible between them you can almost taste it!

One thing leads to another - holy hotness, grab a fan! - and they spend a hot night together. What they don't realize is that Ro is really Cypress, Jude's step-sister who he hasn't seen in more than a decade.

The chemistry is still magnetic and they have to fight their attraction or it will rip their family apart. I love this taboo series and the family dynamic! You get to see a little of Knox and Eden from Sin & Ink the first book in the Sweetest Taboo series.

Both characters have their fair share of baggage. It was just a lot going on. If the book was longer and some elements were able to be fleshed out more, I would have been all for it.

Another reason why I only gave this book 4 stars was I felt that Jude and Cypress could have used some more down time. I would have preferred to witness them getting to know each other rather than Jude spouting off all of the things he learned about Cypress over the course of a few weeks. I'm a sucker for the small moments and I think that this book could have used more of them to sell me more on their relationship beyond the physical.

I absolutely loved book one in this series, and book two keeps the awesomeness coming. I was hooked right from the start and completely devoured this story. For me, that's saying a lot since I greatly prefer the suspense genre and rarely read anything lacking that kind of danger and action. This story had absolutely nothing to do with danger and action, but it had the most fantastic characters. There was also an underlying tension that pervaded the story and kept me sucked in. I loved the update letting readers know what is going on with Knox and Eden from book one and giving a new dimension to all the family drama. I am so ready for Simon to get his story. I hope it's next so I can find out what's behind that straight laced facade.

I received an ARC from Net Galley.

Rating 4.5 stars.

Simone is really good at stepping just slightly Into the taboo. In Sin and Ink, book one in the Sweetest Taboo series, the widow of a dead brother falls in love with another brother. In Passion and Ink, Jude and Cypress are step-siblings. Both cases sound like they’re taboo but are they really? That’s one of the issues the characters must iron out.

Cypress and Jude saw each other for short periods for three years as teens. They didn’t even recognize either other when they hook up. How taboo can that be? They’re really pretty much strangers. Cypress is escaping back to home after a job she loved became unbearable because her supervisor harassed her and blackballed her. She’s been treated horribly and life has thrown her back to her humble beginnings. Jude is tired of living in big brother Knox’s shadow and has taken a job as guest tattoo artist in London. He’s also having panic attacks and the situation with his nuclear family is in tatters.

One heated night together start this pair down a bumpy road with enough stress to keep me turning the pages. I loved watching Cypress become an even stronger woman who could fight her own battles and finding she could love a man and not lose herself. She’s amazing with Jude when she finds him having an anxiety attack. Jude was sweet and supportive but needed a little knock on the head to realize what love could mean.

I’m really enjoying this series and this book was a good read. .

Cypress has gone from a six-figure salary at a fancy investment firm to slingin' drinks in a Chicago dive bar after refusing to put up with the sexism and harassment necessary to further her career. She's used to being hit on by skeevy men, but has no trouble shutting it down. That is until the sexiest and most intense man she's ever seen sits in her section. And offers her a night of passion, no questions, no strings.

Too bad her "avenging angel" turns out to be her step-brother.

Jude Knox, still trying to push away the ex-girlfriend who threatened to kill herself when he broke up with her and trying to make his own way out of the shadow of his brother's success, is aghast when the woman he's still dreaming about turns out to be his step-sister, a little girl when he last saw her. He's even more aghast when he learns where Cypress has been living, what she's been putting up with as she struggles to make ends meet and take care of the health bills for her mother, the mother who was crushed when Jude's step-dad left her.

These two can't stay away from one another, but the ties to family and expectation may prove to be too much to handle.

Unfortunately I didn't connect with this story as much as I loved the first book in this series. The step-siblings thing was handled fine (but isn't a fav trope of mine), and I found it a little odd they wouldn't recognize each other at all, even if they were kids when they last saw each other. But I can let that go. I did really like Cypress's character, and her motivations were sound. Jude just wasn't my favorite hero, and I never really enjoy a "crazy ex" plot, but I did find that Simone handled it in a far better way than most.

That said, this book was smokin' hot and still a fun way to pass the time if you love high-angsty romances.

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. Passion And Ink by Naima Simone is the second book in her Sweetest Taboo series. It can be read as a stand-alone, characters from the first book do briefly appear in this one. Cypress Keller has moved back home to Chicago from California after her mother suffers a heart attack, to make ends meet she is working as a waitress in a dive bar and the hot guy she takes home for a one night stand turns out to be her stepbrother Jude Gordon a tattoo artist. Both of these characters are buried under huge amounts of baggage from their parents as well as dealing with stuff from their own lives. The steam level is super hot but I would have liked to liked to see a bit more about how they went from lust to love. Enjoyable read. Publishing Date February 18, 2019 #NetGalley #PassionandInk #NaimaSimone #EntangledPublishing

The cover is hot I mean who doesn't like a delicious body with art tattooed everywhere. The story itself is a bit taboo and shows you that life and love can be messy at times. "Ro" first meets Jay at the dive bar that she works at and at first sight he leaves her speechless! Jay is having a rough week but is taken by her at first glance. One night is all they are giving in to until "Ro" has to go to her dad's house who she has not spoken to in forever. Low and behold she runs into her stepbrother, and it's her one night stand Jay! they find out that Jay is a nickname for Jude and Ro is short for Rowena her middle name. The same man that gave her so much pleasure! They both feel the pull is there but they are 'family' now and it has to remain platonic. There were a lot of sexy scenes and great chemistry throughout and it was great to meet the crew from the Hard Knox tattoo shop! Great characters and really enjoyed the story.

WOW - sooo hot!!! Naima has hit this one out the ballpark! Jude - smoking hot artist/tattoo artist picks up the waitress from the bar by his studio for a smoking hot one-night stand only to discover at Sunday family dinner that she's his step-sister, Cypress, newly returned to town. This book is 2 in the Sweetest Taboo series and can be read alone, however there's a LOT of background family drama, so it is helpful to have read Sin and Ink first (believe me - you want to meet Knox - Jude's older brother!!!) I felt there was a bit too much inner dialogue with the main characters that I found a bit distracting but Jude's sensitive, sexy manliness and Cypress's strong, kick ass personality more than made up for it.

this was a great book I loved how the characters in this book got along. it was hot n awesome. they fought the attraction for each other It was hard

I'm pretty sure Jude is right up there with Ronin and that Ms. Simone is the one to ruin my expectations, not Disney or Vikings.

This book may be romance - it has all the hot scenes to prove it - but it's deeper and more than just that - a contemporary romance. The issues discussed and presented in the book do happen in real life.

The events Cypress, our heroine faces, have happened and will, unfortunately, happen to many women. I won't be detailing this because it's sort of spoiling the story.

But I can say this - Jude is absolute perfection and was written perfectly to match Cypress. He makes me want to write poetry about him, even though he too has his flaws. If you've read the previous book in the series, you know what I'm talking about. His family is far from perfect, it has a sad past and even sadder present. Jude is kind of like the glue that still holds everything together and I can't tell you how strong that makes him, even though he's crumbling, on the inside.

I loved finding out what happens to Knox and Eden and I can't wait to read about Simon, because he too needs a HEA!

I'm pretty sure Naima Simone has figured out the way to my heart - by writing these full-of-feels books with the best flawed heroes and heroines. Now, if only Jude were real...

I voluntarily agreed to read an early copy of this book via Netgalley and my rating is 4.5 stars.

I must admit to mixed feelings when I requested this book, as I enjoyed book one, but have NEVER been a fan of ‘step” anything stories. There are an abundance of them at the moment and so many lack originality. As expected, when you throw that type of family dynamic into the mix, there is bound to be a disproportionate amount of angst and tension, not to mention some downright hostility.

There also seemed to be a disconnect in the relationship between Jude and Cypress; oh, don’t get me wrong, there was PLENTY of hot, sweaty encounters, but the deep emotional bond I held out for, was just…..meh. This is still an OK story, but the first book was definitely far better.

Chapter one definitely delivers that hot and steamy passion. It just Keeps getting better page by page. Throw In some major family drama and you have a good read.

I had just finished another Naima Simone book a day or two before I spotted this available on Netgalley. I really enjoyed the other book and immediately requested this one. (So, standard disclaimer: I was provided a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley in order to facilitate a review.)

I'm sorry to say I didn't enjoy this one as much as the other Simone book.

Let's start with what went right. This book is hot! The sex scenes! Simone knows what she is doing with these sex scenes! If you are in the mood for some down and dirty--and don't lie, you know you have your favorites for when you need that inspiration--this needs to be in your collection. On sex scenes alone, 5 stars.

But for the story? I didn't connect with either character and didn't feel the connection between the two of them together. I don't mind instalust, but I wanted to see it grow into something more, and I didn't get that. I felt like Cypress and Jude's stepsibling relationship was tacked on for the added drama of it, to give her father something to hold over her, but ultimately no one cared about it. Cypress didn't care. Jude didn't care. In the end, even her father didn't care. It provided all of two seconds of drama when they realize the connection, and that's it. So why bother?

Also, Jude was made out to be a long-suffering family "secret keeper", which might be true, but didn't feel true, if that makes any sense. (I need to allow for some benefit of the doubt here because I didn't read the first book in the series. Maybe more people lean on him in that book. In this one, there's... one secret? And somehow that means he was holding the family together? It's not a small secret, but it's also not devastating.)

And I'm not sure how Cypress didn't find another accounting job in Chicago? With her credentials? She was making "high five figures", so she couldn't have been making so much money that it'd be worth anyone's while to blackball her from an entire industry when she has a master's degree in the subject matter. Even if she didn't work for one of the biggest firms, there's plenty of accounting work to be had in Chicago that would pay "high five figures". So why the waitressing?

This one wasn't one of my favorites, but I will still keep an eye out for Naima Simone's new releases. Not every book is for every reader, and she has a lot of talent.

This book gripped me completely. I never wanted to put it down. It was SO steamy, so emotional, so full of unexpected curveballs and it was so superbly written. I really enjoyed every bit of Jude and Cypress' sexy, taboo romance. I devoured it!

Wow did I like this book. Such a good love story even with so many messed up family members. I haven’t read this author before but I will now.

Rated 4.5 Stars

I loved Passion and Ink. It's the perfect blend of taboo, filthy and emotion. I thoroughly enjoyed Jude and Cypress' journey and highly recommend it.

In chapter one when she delivers the beer with the cap on it and he opens it, that’s not going to happen. As a former bartender nothing ever left the bar with the cap on it or sealed up. The bartender always opens the bottled beers or pops the tops on the cans.
There is no conversation between anyone in this book. The awkward family dinner and no one talks to each other. It’s almost all internal monologue and then when Cypress talks to her dad. There is an abundance of internal monologue and it gets boring to read after a while. How after weeks of them living together do they badly have anything to say to each other. But then all the sudden the crazy ex shows up at his door and Cypress defends him and puts the pretty princess in her place. It was awesome and it just happens Jude overheard the whole conversation.
Oh and I absolutely hate the female lead name Cypress. In the beginning I couldn’t tell if it was the female or male character.