This is my first time reading a book by this Author so I had no expectations going in. Cassie Whiteaker is a few months shy from reaching 5 years breast cancer free and has asked MJ Flores the owner of Thorn & Thistle to take over her apprenticeship (her previous mentor has died of breast cancer). Cassie wants everyone to like her and you can say that she doesn't have much of a backbone. MJ is a hard core badass. Her tattoo shop is having financial hardship and she doesn't want to take on the apprenticeship, but when she finds out who her mentor was, she feels obligated to take on Cassie. MJ also has a hard time trusting others since her former lover/business partner ditch her to open her own tattoo business.

For the first 50%/60% of this romance, I hated MJ and I had a really hard time connecting to the book because of MJ. I honestly wanted to stop reading it because she was such a terrible character. I have also mentioned in previous reviews that I hate it when a character stays in their head. I don't need to know every thought they are having to have a connection with the character, especially when I find it not interesting. This bored me to pieces and I found myself skimming often. Cassie's character was fine for me, but I could not understand why she would be remotely interested in MJ.

After the 60% point, MJ started to grow on me because she soften up as the rest of the book progressed. This helped the story turn around for me. There are still other issues but another main one for me is that lack of chemistry between the two MCs. For me there is no reason why I would be attracted to MJ if I was Cassie and no reason to be attracted to Cassie if I was MJ. The two characters don't fit.

The first part of the book was easily a 2 star book and the second portion maybe a 3. I will just average them to be 2.5 stars.

To just be super perfectly honest, this one drew me in right away just because of the cover. For me, that's really rare, since I read on a Kindle and rarely look at the cover, but something about this one just drew my attention. Nice job, cover artist! :) More than that, the blurb grabbed me with the book being set around a tattoo shop. That part really caught my attention too since lately I've been debating getting another tattoo on my ribcage. Now that I've read this, wish I could go to the Thorn & Thistle!

First off, I want to mention that I appreciate that this was published by a mainstream publisher, Carina Press. They're a Harlequin subsidiary. Kudos to them for expanding and trying to bring in more LGBT novels to the line! I love seeing more an more mainstream publishers pushing LGBT novels!

As a novel, this one was a good read. Personally, I was bothered in the beginning with the attitude of one of the MCs, MJ. She came across to me as too abrasive, too angry, too abrupt. She softened quickly though, at least with MC Cassie. If she had been my boss though, I would have left... There's a difference between not giving a damn about what others think, and being an asshole. MJ toed that line for at least the first 1/4 of the book.

Once the two MCs really started to connect, the book got better. I do have to mention that the POV choice in this one felt like I was constantly head hopping, and I found myself having to go backwards to check the chapter headings to determine who's head we were in, especially towards the end when Cassie finally started to grow a pair. IMHO, this would have been better served in 3rd POV instead of 1st, but that's just my personal preference. The writing is solid, the pacing is good, and this is a solid read. 3.75 stars!

**Many thanks to Carina Press for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.**

MJ and Cassie are -- to all appearances -- complete opposites. But when Cassie's tattooing mentor dies, MJ reluctantly takes her on as an apprentice. Davids has created an ultimately satisfying emotional arc for both MJ (whose anger makes her borderline unlikeable for the first third of the book) and Cassie, who strives to find her own strength. The first-person voices are sometimes difficult to distinguish, but the tension between the protagonists is palpable, and it's refreshing to read a romance that includes Cassie's particular circumstances.

Cassie decides to leave her steady job to pursue a new passion, giving tattoos to cancer survivors like herself. She's almost ready to take off on her own, but until she reaches her five year cancer free milestone, she isn't willing to take the leap.

She gets a job at a struggling tattoo shop under the tutelage of MJ Flores, agreeing to learn the trade in exchange for help MJ with a new marketing plan. What Cassie isn't expecting is to have feelings for MJ, as Cassie has been on a strict no sex and no relationship regime since her diagnosis, since her mastectomy.

MJ also wasn't expecting to fall for such a "good girl" but as she discovers Cassie's hidden strengths she can't help but want to also show Cassie what life can be, fear be damned.

I've read a few tattoo shop romances, but this is my first with a queer couple! I really enjoyed it, especially for the tender way the author handles the love scenes. I haven't read many other romances that feature a character with a mastectomy, and it is nice to see that represented on page.