The Fractured Heart: A smoldering, sexy tattoo romance

Scarlett Cole

Jan 2016 · Second Circle Tattoos Book 2 · Sold by Macmillan

About this eBook

Thrown together by fate and friends, a bad boy tattoo artist and down on her luck waitress are about to find that opposites really do attract in the follow-up to Scarlett Cole's The Strongest Steel.

All things, when placed under pressure, eventually break or leave a mark.

Tattoo artist Brody "Cujo" Matthews knows how to keep things simple. Tattoos, a good time with friends—and steer clear of relationships.Abandoned as a child by a mother who refused to stick around to raise three boys she didn't want, he has no interest in getting involved with complicated women. That all changes when he’s asked to help organize his best friend Trent's engagement party, which means working with Trent's fiancée's best friend, Drea, the definition of high maintenance and sizzling curves. And the one woman he doesn’t want to walk away from.

Andrea "Drea" Caron is broke and tired. After years of caring for her ailing mom, she's at the end of her rope trying to manage the piling medical bills, two jobs, and a life placed on hold. She certainly doesn’t need the added frustration of a sexy playboy tattoo artist messing up her best friend’s engagement party or her carefully balanced life. But when Drea witnesses the abduction of a woman from the café she works at, she can’t help but turn to the sexy, inked Cujo, who’s determined to prove to Drea that he’s someone she can count on forever. But as they attempt to bring the truth to light, someone is working to bring that forever to a sudden, deadly halt.

The Fractured Heart is a full-length romance in the Second Circle Tattoos series that can be read as a standalone!

Ratings and reviews

I absolutely loved everything about The Strongest Steel, from how well the plot flowed to the well developed, and extremely likeable characters and couldn’t wait to get my hands on the next book and I found The Fractured Heart to be just as amazing, if not better than the first in series. Once I started I was totally hooked and had an extremely difficult time putting it down. Cujo aka Brody had been the guy that interested me the most in The Strongest Steel, he was charming, sexy had a wicked sense of humor and a protective streak a mile wide and I loved seeing all that more in this book. Learning about his past and what made him tick had me wanting to give him a hug, even as I wanted to Gibbs smack him, because of the cage he’d put himself in. Were his issues warranted and heartbreaking? Yes, but after witnessing him with his nieces I could see the man he could be if only he let himself. Drea, spunky, sassy, determined and, outside of Cujo, I swear has the patience of a saint. Going into this I knew her life was not all wine and roses, though the woman put on a great front, but good God what she goes through with her mother truly has me wanting to nominate her for sainthood because while she wished her life had turned out differently, she never whined about it outloud. There may have been a pity party or two going on in her head, but she kept it there and did what was necessary to make ends meet, even when the floor gave out from under her. There was no denying that sparks would fly, sexual or otherwise, when Cujo and Drea occupied the same space, nor that they’d face quite a few bumps in the road considering that they had both put themselves in their own forms of purgatory, so to be able to witness them coming to terms with not only how they felt about each other, but themselves through the process, was a true delight. Each step, whether it be heartwrenchingly painful or sweet and sexy, proved that they are definitely better together. As with the first book, I felt that the writing was engaging and flowed well and I loved how the characters, both main and secondary, came to life on the page. These are all people that you can believe are a tight knit group of friends, and family, and I want to spend time with them and get to know better as the series progresses, but what I think was actually done better in this book than in the first is the whole mystery/suspense aspect of it. The abduction of the woman from the cafe and the various twists and turns that came out of it were tighter and really added another layer to Cujo and Drea’s story, both to show the kind of people they are as well as help their relationship evolve, because they were intimately involved in it from the beginning. Now, I have to admit that I figure a few things out, but I loved the anticipation of waiting to see when everyone else would and what their reactions were going to be. The Bottom Line: This series is just getting better with each book and I can’t wait to see what Ms. Cole has in store for Dred and Pixie! ~ ARC provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ~

Story is good well paced look clears to the next installment. For me i just couldn't like cujo and drea (loved them in the strongest steel) but most likely it's the stupid decisions. Like taking something home that someone is after there are enough movies that tell that tale.

LOVED this book! I was happy dancing when I saw that another book was coming in this series and it absolutely did NOT disappoint. I enjoyed Cujo's character in The Strongest Steel and his yummyness (yep I like that word) just continues here. He tries to live his life as uncomplicated as possible. The last thing he wants is a woman with a pile of problems but "Drea" just calls to him. Drea has enough on her plate so the last thing she needs is a carefree tatted up sexy as hell man causing problems planning an engagement party for her best friend. The banter between these two is fun and keeps the story light. When Drea witnesses an abduction she knows she needs help and Cujo is the one she turns to, and he'll do anything to keep her safe. This one needs to be on everyone's must read list. I highly recommend it.

About the author

Born in England, SCARLETT COLE traveled the world, living in Japan and the United States before settling in Canada where she met her own personal hero – all six and a half feet of him. She now lives with her husband and children in Manchester, England where she's at work on her next book.