REVIEW: Inked Armor by Helena Hunting

 Synopsis

 In this follow-up to Clipped Wings, the emotional love story continues between Hayden and Tenley; two young people who desperately want to love and be loved but are afraid to completely let go of their pasts.

In the wake of losing Tenley Page, tattooist Hayden Stryker's tumultuous past is haunting him. Plagued by nightmares about the murder of his parents, Hayden reaches out again to Tenley. Having run from the man she doesn't believe she deserves, Tenley finally lays her guilt to rest. Despite their intense physical attraction, Hayden and Tenley struggle to repair their fragile emotional connection. As Hayden gets closer to the truth, he must find a way to reconcile his guilt over his parents' death in order to keep the woman who finally cracked his armor, and found her way into his heart.

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ADRI'S REVIEW:

First off thank you to NetGalley for approving us the ARC's so that we could read this fantastic book.

Well as many of you know (especially if you have been following this blog for a while) the three of us fell so much in love with the first book Clipped Wings that we had to make the review a triple joint one, and well book 2 gave us the same results.

This story continues from where Clipped Wings left off, and I have to say as someone who got to read the first draft of this story, I loved the changes made so much. I especially like that book 2 concentrates on Hayden's past and demons and that it shows us a very strong very matured healing Tenley.

Even though this story has the same steam and passion as the first one did, you can feel the difference in the way the characters interact with this story.

I look forward to finding out what else Helena Hunting has for us.

Happy Reading... Adri

Sarah's Review:
Thanks again to NetGalley and Helena Hunting for providing us with the ARC of this amazing story.  I was in the midst of the end of graduate school, but I took a day and read this great story.  It was just what I needed at the time.

In this sequel, we see some of what Tenley and Hayden go through during their separation.  However, we also see how they are so drawn to each other that it is like kismet that they end up finding their way back to each other.  We see struggles that Tenley had to experience to know what she needed and how she finally began to heal.   With Hayden, we see how he reacted to Tenley's leaving and then her return.  We see how he begins to heal from his parents murder and how he is able to get some closure and begin his healing.

 What I loved most about this amazing series was Helena Hunting's ability to demonstrate how grief is different for everyone and no one grieves the exact same.  Grief doesn't have a time table and it doesn't have a picture, since everyone is different.


Erin's Review
 Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this wonderful book.
 Inked Armor picks up right where Clipped Wings ends, with Tenley leaving and Hayden not being able to cope. Helena does a beautiful job showing what happens when two people are so damaged they don't think they can deal with "normality". They both struggle with, what to us would be mundane tasks, but to them, it appears to be impossible. Just the mention of an airplane sends Tenley over the edge, and Hayden, in some ways, uses his body art to keep people away. The more society snubs him, the less he has to deal. It's his coping mechanism.
 Their love is put through the ultimate test when Tenley returns, can Hayden trust her again? Can Tenley handle all of Hayden's past? Or will the need to protect themselves from each other destroy the one thing they both crave....love and acceptance.
 We meet up with the old crew again and get a to know Hayden's uncle, Nathan, a bit more. He is wise beyond his years and even tells Hayden the things he does not want to hear. Tenley finally begins to close her old wounds as well and learns that sometimes standing up for yourself, is the best therapy there is. Our girl is strong, and she proves it more and more as the story progresses.
 Inked Armor is a story of healing, of facing your demons and letting them go. It's a beautiful story of what happens when we let those we love in to see the damaged part of our soul that we feel is beyond redemption. Closure comes at different times, and in different forms. And the best way to help someone else, is to help yourself first. It doesn't mean you don't love them, it means you love them enough to want to be strong for them. Tenley and Hayden were two damaged souls who were beautifully broken, only to find one another and begin to heal again.
 Good on ya Helena, you have a fan for life.