Karina Halle

Ellie Watt is used to starting over. The daughter of a grifting team, Ellie spent her childhood being used as a pawn in her parents' latest scam. Now she's much older, wiser and ready to give her con artist life a rest. But returning to the dry desert town of Palm Valley, California means one more temptation than she bargained for – Camden McQueen. Once known as the high school weirdo, Camden is bigger and badder than the boy he used to be and a talented tattoo artist with his own thriving business. Ellie's counting on Camden still being in love with her but what she's not counting on is how easily unrequited love can turn into obsession over time. When Camden discovers Ellie's plan to con him, he makes her a deal she doesn't dare refuse, but her freedom comes with a price and it's one that takes both Ellie and Camden down a dangerous road.

Sins & Needles

Kattia

Anna Ureta

I admit to not being entirely impressed with this book. I had high expectations and while reading it I wasn’t entirely thrilled. I WAS SO WRONG. Halfway, or a little less than halfway the book takes a MAJOR TURN that made me blink; it made me question what I just read, and made me wonder if perhaps I didn’t give this book enough merit as I should have. Karina Halle, I am HIGHLY IMPRESSED!
 
It isn’t easy growing up when your parents are con-artists. Not knowing any better, growing up on the run. Ellie Watt has always been running. Running from her past, her family, and from the man that wants to destroy her. Now she’s run out of places to go and identities to change into, so she decides to run back to the place she’d never thought she’d run to – her temporary home in Palm Valley. There, she unexpectedly meets someone from her past, someone she never thought she’d see again; her once old friend Camden McQueen, now turned tatted hottie. Together, they fall back into a familiar friendship while Ellie slowly starts to feel more. But soon, she learns that even in this town her past can still haunt her when Camden turns on her and threatens to expose her con-life unless she makes a deal with him.
 
I am so glad I gave this book a chance. And even just judging by the cover (which is WRONG, you shouldn’t do that. But I still do it anyway), I knew this book and this series was going to be badass. I’ll admit to have overlooked the book as I was reading it, thinking it was going to be a straight-forward story about how a girl goes back home and falls back in love with her high school friend…blah blah blah….Don’t you just love when you’re wrong.
 Sins and Needles is definitely one of the most interesting and surprising books I’ve read this year.
 
Having read On Every Street before Sins and Needles I had a really good understanding of Ellie’s character and her motivation. I knew what she was running from and what she was afraid of. What surprised me was the time gap between On Every Street and Sins and Needles. Ellie Watt is an interesting character for me. I don’t know where to put her on the admiration scale. On the one hand, she’s been fighting for survival, using the tools and tricks she’s learned to live a life – even if it is a criminal one. And on the other hand, you have to feel sorry for her because it’s all she knows, and the things that have happened to her have scarred her for life. What Ellie is, is determined I’ll give her that. She’s loyal, to an extent, and doesn’t break her promises….sort of. I know it isn’t the most honest picture of a person, but when you’ve lived a con-life for as long as she has, and have put on so many names and faces, it’s hard to be an honest person.
 
In this book we’re also introduced to Camden McQueen, Ellie’s love interest. He’s A LOT different from Javier Bernal and I may actually like him better. You know, considering the fact I wouldn’t be entirely afraid of him wanting to kill me in my sleep… He’s tatted, he wears sexy nerd glasses, and he genuinely seems to believe in and care about people. A piece of advice though: Don’t underestimate him. He may come to surprise you as he surprised me. He was even scary for a minute or so. I was LEGITIMATELY scared of him, and for Ellie too. But, eventually he came around and proved that sometimes, you just can’t help who you love.
 
“I hate you, Ellie Watt,” he whispered, lips coming closer to mine, “because I still love you after all these years.”
 
At first it seems like a typical love story; clearly because I didn’t read the back or the summary otherwise I would have known it would be anything but. I promise you if you haven’t read it, Sins and Needles is exciting, addicting, and will leave you clinging to each word. I can’t wait till I get my hands on Shooting Scars, Book 2 in the trilogy. You go Karina Halle! Put Canadians on the book map!
 
5/5 Hearts of Love

Check out the rest of my reviews at http://www.akiikomorireading.com

JoLee

Rating 4 Stars - Loved It

Sins and Needles is a great read and loved all the action and the surprises. I never knew what was going to happen next. 

Camden loved his character right down to his nose piercing and sexy Tattoos. The love he has for Ellie is sweet. But things start to turn around for them and the angst between the two at times broke my heart. Poor guy can not catch a break. He has loved Elle since high school and she broke his heart then and did it again in the present. I loved the past flash backs of how they were in high school as friends. 

Ellie and Camden are broken and have scars that were brought on by their parents. Elle's are visible and Camden is buried deep inside. Ellie's bad actions are brought on by her scars and feels this is what she was made to do in life when really deep inside she wants to be a better person. Camden has a bit of a dark side to him that he has kept buried and knows he can be good and go down the right path in life. Camden sees the good in Ellie and knows she can also go down the right path in life, she just needs to get over her anger and not use her scars as her reason for her bad actions in life.

The sexual tension in the beginning was hot and sweet. Oh my, I would not mind Camden teaching me how to play golf. The Few sex scenes were hot, fan-your-self. 

I believe I started The Artists Trilogy out of order by reading On Every Street (The Artist Trilogy #.05) first. I was fine with it as I instantly fell in love with Javier. Got to see how Elle and Javier relationship started and how she became and why she became a con artist, but how the cliffhanger ended I could not believe what happened. I needed this incident not to be real as it broke my heart. I needed answers that it had to been some kind of mistake as it is not a HEA ending. Bummed I did not get answers and Javier was stalker crazy in Sins & Needles. Next up is Shooting Scars and with a major cliffhanger ending in Sins & Needles I hope I get my answers.

There's a Fine Line Between Sin and Salvation . . . Ellie Watt is a woman on the run. Raised by a pair of thieves who taught her the art of the grift-and pursued by a mobster who fell for her con-she hopes to find refuge at her uncle's farm in quiet Palm Valley, California. Ellie swears she's through with her life of crime. But before she knows it, she's right back in the game when she meets an easy mark who's too good-and too hot-to be true. His name is Camden McQueen. A master tattoo artist and a total inked stud, Camden is nothing like the awkward kid who crushed on Ellie back in high school. Now, as owner of the wildly successful Sins & Needles, he's got tats to kill for, muscles to die for, and money to burn. Ellie can't believe the transformation-and can't resist pulling off one last con. But when Camden catches Ellie red-handed, the tables are turned. The mark becomes the master. And when the ultimate player gets played, you never know who's going to end up on top . . . Approx. 100,000 words.

Sins and Needles

Ana Matti

Shawna Gavas

4.5 stars

Wow.

Con artist Ellie Watt is heading "home" to go legit. She's giving up grifting for good. Then a chance encounter with Camden McQueen, changes everything.

Camden McQueen is not the guy he was in highschool. Gone is the black lipstick and trench coat, replaced by tats, piercings and some well chisled abs. Camden is also an established, sucessful tatoo artist....and has money. Piles of it.

Ellie can't resist. You can't teach an old dog new tricks....she starts planning her scam. 

But Camden is not a fool. Not anymore.

The book continues in a wild game of cat and mouse with Ellie and Camden running from just about everyone....ex-boyfriends, drug lords, mafia.....

But as they say the past always catches up with you and Ellie is forced into a corner in order to protect Camden and his family.

The book was a fast paced adventure! I found myself rooting for Camden and despising Ellie and her selfish ways. But yet still rooting for her??? Karina Halle has done a great job of making you care about characters you should want to see rot.....

Can't wait for "Shooting Scars"!!!! C'mon May!

celeste

it was alright, interesting enough to continue with the rest of the books, but i just couldn't really connect with the characters.

First comments upon finishing this book:

Ho. Lee. Shit. 

What did I just read?

Why the hell did I wait so long to read it?

Shit. 

BRB. Off to devour Shooting Scars.

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  kimberlyfaye reads
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It's been well over a month since I finished this book and I still don't even know how to write this review. My mind is still all over the place after this wild ride. Full confession: I just finished the third and final book in the series a couple days ago and I *still* can't form coherent thoughts. When I think about this series, which I'm doing a lot because it rocked my world THAT much, all I can think is single words. Words like "wow," "shit," and "fuck." Sometimes an "incredible" or even a "mind-blowing" will pop in there. But, mostly it's profanity. Yep, this book... this series... is THAT good. 

It's difficult to pinpoint what I loved so much about this book because there are so many things that pop to mind immediately. First, it was completely unlike the books I generally read. I'm used to flawed characters, secrets, lies, manipulation, passion and redonkulously steamy sex scenes, but I don't typically read books about drug cartels and *real* con artists. I'm accustomed to tattooed bad boys with hearts of gold (and not!) but nothing prepared me for Camden. This isn't the first book with an unlikable main female character, but Ellie still stood out. Then there's the writing. Good God, Karina Halle knows how to write a story. This book was intense, action-filled and passionate, but it also came with a fair amount of emotions I didn't think I would be experiencing. By the end, I was as broken as the characters.

The characters were complex and layered and bucked the stereotypes. They were so complicated. Like I said, I didn't love Ellie right away. I grew to love her over the course of the book however. She's a con artist and she's damn good at what she does. When she returns to her hometown and finds super successful Camden, her friend and crush from high school, she can't help herself. She sees money and wants it. What begins as a huge con turns into so much more. Camden was so fucking sexy and sweet, I was furious with Ellie for trying to manipulate him. Their love seemed so real, I couldn't understand why she would want to throw it away. I wanted to reach into the pages and shake her. But then, come to find out, Camden isn't quite as perfect as I thought. They're both harboring secrets and they were imperfectly perfect together. 

If you're like me and you've seen this book around, but put off reading it for some reason, don't put it off anymore. I could kick myself for waiting so long to read it. Of course, I didn't have to sweat out the wait between books because all three of them had been published by the time I started the series. That's a huge bonus because, holy crap, I wanted to dive into the next book as soon as I finished this one. 

Oh, and one more thing. Team Camden. Absolutely no question.

Lacey

Also posted at Booklovers For Life

Holy crap. I’m not even sure what I just read. This book. Is. CRAZY. It goes all out, holds nothing back. And I loved it.

Already, from the blurb, you know that this book is going to be very interesting. The main character is a con artist! (Actually, a series I’m a huge fan of, the Curse Workers series, also has characters who are con artists, so go check that out if you’re interested in that kind of thing.) Ellie is a tough chick. All she’s ever known is conning people, having different identities, and being on the run. And you might think, what kind of life is that? Well, the thing is, Ellie’s life is entirely fueled by revenge. So she has no real friends, no real boyfriend, no normal relationships at all. All she wants is revenge on the man who ruined her life. And unfortunately, you can’t have a happy ending if all you have is revenge.

Oh, by the way, this is an ADULT book, so if you’re planning on reading this, beware that there is definitely some mature content in this book!

So. Sins & Needles. This is such an amazing book that I don’t even know where to begin. Well, first off, I guess I should say that it just blew my mind. The story is so unique and intriguing, and I couldn’t stop reading! I was so absorbed in Ellie’s story. She is a fantastic heroine. She’s cool and badass, but underneath it all, you know she has her insecurities and vulnerabilities. She had such a horrible childhood that I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. But I loved the fact that she grew so much stronger because of her difficult childhood. I thought it would be hard to connect with a character who has little morals, but it was actually easy to like Ellie. She steals, cheats, lies, and cons, but somehow she manages to her way into your heart and make you care for her. Especially since you know that it can’t possibly end well for Ellie and her quest for revenge.

Enter Camden McQueen. (I am so totally in love with his name. It’s. So. Hot.) He’s covered in tattoos (YUM), and once upon a time, was best friends with Ellie in high school and completely in love with her. Now a professional tattoo artist, Camden’s not exactly in love with Ellie anymore. In fact, he kind of hates her guts. But he needs her help with something only she can do. I LOVE Camden. He’s rough, sexy, and sometimes wears glasses! (which I didn’t know I liked in a guy until now lol). He’s hard on Ellie, but only because she was a total bitch to him back in high school and a bit of a bitch to him even now. But oh. my. god. When he is in love, he is the sweetest, most caring guy in the world. Swoon. And when he wants Ellie, he fights for her, and doesn’t let anything get in his way.

Sins & Needles doesn’t exactly have a love triangle, but it kind of does. It’s a bit complicated. One of the people Ellie is on the run from is Javier, her ex-boyfriend, who is also the right-hand man of a powerful drug lord. Yup. The people Ellie gets involved with are crazy. And Javier is certifiably insane, I swear he is. He takes ‘fighting for what he wants’ to a WHOLE other level. Because he wants Ellie back. And not just as in Oh, I still love you Ellie, please come back to me. Nope, Javier is more of a You ran away from me even though you’re mine, so I’m taking you back now kind of man. And he will do ANYTHING to take her back. Javier is mainly the reason why the book was so exciting. There were car chases, shootings, fighting, and tons of other crazy stuff going on, all thanks to Javier.

I don’t quite know what to make of Sins & Needles, since I’ve never read anything like it, but all I know is that I loved every minute of it. This book was SO MUCH FUN. It’s exciting and entertaining, and yet there are deep and heartfelt moments too. So I totally recommend reading this book.

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Sins & Needles

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