Passion and Ink

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Introduction
Passion and Ink was a story that I eagerly wanted to jump into as I had just fallen so hard for the first book in the series and also just adored this family. I will be honest in this though that this book didn't quite click for me as book one did. I think part of it was that this book wasn't in audio. Sometimes having a book in audio just makes all of the difference ya know? And I just wasn't as invested in this couple as I wanted to be and even though I love forbidden taboo romance this one just didn't feel as intense as the previous book.

Summary
Basically our hero and heroine, first meet, at a bar and have a sensual sexy night together and the steam is really powerful between these two. But what they don't expect is to meet each other at a family dinner where they realize that they are step siblings but even though there isn't any blood related between them, its socially taboo for them to even be together. But also the heroine's dad has blackmailed her into forbidding her from being together with him or all the money she needs for her mother's medical bills will be taken away. But despite the fact that their relationship is forbidden, they keep it under wraps and in secret. They both have to learn to fight for each other and only then will they be able to believe in what they have together...

My Outlook
I absolutely had a fun time with this. Forbidden love is actually one of my favorite tropes to read in romance and I really feel like Naima Simone really handles these aspects so well. And while these aspects were done very well, my heart just wasn't in the story. I am not sure if it was just my mood or what, but I just didn't feel connected to this couple as I did with the first couple. She does powerful steam and I have come to really enjoy how she handles chemistry and I would say that this book is borderline erotic romance, as there is quite a bit of high steam being focused in the story. So I do think these are scenes you don't really want to skip out on though. And the level of forbidden themes that are introduces was so well done. And I didn't mind the step sibling aspect as they weren't ever truly raised as siblings together and the heroine left for almost a decade. But it was quite interesting in seeing how the heroine was the one not wanting to be open about her feelings for this one. Its also fascinating when the hero is more open with himself than the heroine but you understand why she is the way she is. My heart just broke for these two. And I really don't like the parents, I will be honest. It doesn't matter how much they apologize, they really tend to manipulate their children emotionally and that is abusive so I don't know if I will ever get behind these. I am wanting more books for this couple but not sure if the author plans on writing more for this couple. Would love to see her return to this series though because I LOVE these siblings.

Overall View
Passion and Ink was a captivating read and I absolutely had a blast with these two here. It was so fascinating seeing them come together and learning to fight for their love....truly endearing!

Rating Evaluation:
Plot: 4
World Building:4
Cover:4
Hero: 3
Heroine: 3
Steam: 4
Heart & Feels:3
Ending:3.5
Overall View: 3

Content warning: (view spoiler)[suicide attempts (discussion of one in the past, plus fears a side character will), workplace sexual harassment (described by character), anxiety attack (on page) (hide spoiler)] HELLO, ANGST! There is nothing so unbelievably delicious as watching two incredibly broken people fall in love and figure out how to unbreak themselves, and Naima Simone is the queen of sexy angst. I’m not usually a fan of “taboo romance”, but in this case, though they are step-siblings, they haven’t seen each other since they were kids 10 years ago. While I think you could read this as a standalone, I’d recommend reading Sin & Ink first, about Jude’s older brother Knox and Eden, just because it’s also insanely awesome and will give you background on Jude’s family dynamics. “I was smart enough to go through any door that opened. While I seriously doubt the late, great Joan Rivers meant throwing caution to the wind and embarking on a hopefully hot-as-hell one-night stand with a stranger—a stranger who had gifted me with one of the most brain-numbing, panty-melting orgasms of my life—her nugget of wisdom still applies.” Cypress is back in Chicago after the implosion of her career and barely treading water, working at a dive bar while trying to take care of her mother, who’s still recovering from a heart attack some months prior. When she feels an instant attraction to one of the bar’s patrons, she can’t resist the chance to steal a bit of time for herself with a one-night-stand. Only, she can’t seem to get him out of her head – especially when she shows up to a family dinner with her estranged father and realizes he’s her stepbrother. Jude hasn’t been able to forget her, either, but even adding to his family’s already toxic atmosphere isn’t enough to dissuade him from wanting more with Cypress. But Cypress’ father – Jude’s stepfather – has laid down an ultimatum, and flaunting it would break each of their own families even more. Is the breakdown of both their families worth a few nights of passion? While usually this is the point I gush about the heroine, I have to say I loved both Cypress and Jude. Both are struggling under crippling emotional baggage: Cypress from her mother’s inability to recover from her husband leaving her for another woman years ago, and Jude from trying to hold his family together under a weight of secrets and dysfunction in the wake of his father’s and brother’s death. After having held together her mother after her father deserted them for his new family when she was a young teen, Cypress is unwilling to lose herself in a relationship, so it’s easy to just avoid any relationships whatsoever. Jude is motivated by grief and fear, that it’s his responsibility to be the strong one and hold his family together, but also struggling to assert his identity out of his older brother’s shadow. There’s a fascinating focus on relationships in this book – toxic and healthy ones – and the particularly lovely assertion that a good partner doesn’t complete you, but rather adds to you. Since this is the main thing I love about romances – the relationship that helps grow you as a person – this completely hit the spot for me. Also, I mentioned “sexy angst” before, and all the family and personal drama certainly brings the angst part. The other half of that is that this book is ridiculously steamy, like fan-yourself-with-your-Kindle steamy. Cypress and Jude’s chemistry is off the charts, and Ms. Simone does an amazing job of showcasing each of their hopes and fears in the sex scenes in a really emotionally fulfilling way. My only con is that at times it did feel like some of the family drama overshadowed their relationship. While I liked that I think it’s a realistic picture of a family fracturing under so much grief, adding the events from the previous book on top of it all made it feel over-burdened. Knox and Jude’s mom continued to wallow in her grief, and now in addition to aiding and abetting that, Dan, the step-father, also had basically abandoning his teen daughter in favor of his new wife and family. Much of it does seem to finally reach a turning point by the end of the book, which was a relief. Overall, this was insanely hard to put down, an angsty, feels-soaked ride, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Content warning for threat of suicide, use of the term "crazy" in regards to an ex 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.