Joel and Shep Anderson are the owners of the tattoo shop Tonic. When presented with the opportunity to start a reality TV show surrounding Tonic, Shep is on board but Joel is against the idea. What gets Joel to agree is when the producers tell him they will just produce the shop from his ex-wife's husband. Joel isn't prepared for Annika, the girl who's heart is made of ice. He can't wait to break down her defenses. But Annika's job comes first, no matter if it ruins her chances with Joel. I wanted to take her apart, find out what made her tick. I didn't know why, exactly. I was surprised by this! I usually like or don't like this author's books (no in-between) but I had a good feeling for Tonic and the feeling was right! I loved Annika so much. Being a producer for reality TV requires not taking crap from anyone. Over the years, she has learned to be professional at work which is why she's a respectable woman. She's also a devoted daughter, amazing sister, and a very adorable aunt. When Joel and Annika meet, you just know they will argue immediately and will not get alone, mostly on Annika's part. Their relationship starts to grow and they start getting attached. These two would banter back and forth. I was definitely eating it up. The chemistry is off the charts with this one! I did think there wasn't much depth when it came to their relationship, which was somewhat of a deal breaker for me. Despite the lack of depth, the few moments that weren't all explosive were so unbelievably sweet and swoon-worthy! "I hate you, and I want you, and I hate that I want you. But I do." The reality show setting was done incredibly well and it gave lots of insight as to what goes down behind the scenes in this type of show. Being done in a tattoo shop was very interesting. I really liked all the tattoo talk and all the process. Also, I found out the most difficult tattoo to be done! It's actually a simple thing but one wrong move and it could be ruined. I didn't know this so it was great that the author added it to the story. A few times I found myself drowsing off because it would be slow, slightly dragging, and repetitive. Other than that and the lack of depth in the romance, the rest was really good. The supporting characters were great! I wish they had more dialogue in the story. I think it would have added more to it, especially on the humor side. The support of family is big on this one, which I appreciated. Annika's family is so close and supportive of her and her job. Plus, they give great advice! I wouldn't mind spending time with this jovial family. Overall, Tonic is quite an enjoyable story with a great setting that I loved. If you're into Alpha males who are sweet and girls who slowly start to shed their cold and tough exterior, you will adore this one. I received an eARC from the publicist for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Loved this book! Was a fun read with little effort

Joel and Shep Anderson are the owners of the tattoo shop Tonic. When presented with the opportunity to start a reality TV show surrounding Tonic, Shep is on board but Joel is against the idea. What gets Joel to agree is when the producers tell him they will just produce the shop from his ex-wife's husband. Joel isn't prepared for Annika, the girl who's heart is made of ice. He can't wait to break down her defenses. But Annika's job comes first, no matter if it ruins her chances with Joel. I wanted to take her apart, find out what made her tick. I didn't know why, exactly. I was surprised by this! I usually like or don't like this author's books (no in-between) but I had a good feeling for Tonic and the feeling was right! I loved Annika so much. Being a producer for reality TV requires not taking crap from anyone. Over the years, she has learned to be professional at work which is why she's a respectable woman. She's also a devoted daughter, amazing sister, and a very adorable aunt. When Joel and Annika meet, you just know they will argue immediately and will not get alone, mostly on Annika's part. Their relationship starts to grow and they start getting attached. These two would banter back and forth. I was definitely eating it up. The chemistry is off the charts with this one! I did think there wasn't much depth when it came to their relationship, which was somewhat of a deal breaker for me. Despite the lack of depth, the few moments that weren't all explosive were so unbelievably sweet and swoon-worthy! "I hate you, and I want you, and I hate that I want you. But I do." The reality show setting was done incredibly well and it gave lots of insight as to what goes down behind the scenes in this type of show. Being done in a tattoo shop was very interesting. I really liked all the tattoo talk and all the process. Also, I found out the most difficult tattoo to be done! It's actually a simple thing but one wrong move and it could be ruined. I didn't know this so it was great that the author added it to the story. A few times I found myself drowsing off because it would be slow, slightly dragging, and repetitive. Other than that and the lack of depth in the romance, the rest was really good. The supporting characters were great! I wish they had more dialogue in the story. I think it would have added more to it, especially on the humor side. The support of family is big on this one, which I appreciated. Annika's family is so close and supportive of her and her job. Plus, they give great advice! I wouldn't mind spending time with this jovial family. Overall, Tonic is quite an enjoyable story with a great setting that I loved. If you're into Alpha males who are sweet and girls who slowly start to shed their cold and tough exterior, you will adore this one. I received an eARC from the publicist for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Originally posted at Booklovers For Life I was excited for Tonic mainly because of Joel – he was so intriguing in Wasted Words, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on his story. It wasn’t quite what I expected though – I didn’t love Tonic or hate it. It was very meh for me, to be honest, and I just wasn’t feeling the romance or story at all. The romance was too superficial and not fleshed out enough for me, and the story dragged too much. That being said, it’s not a bad book. I’d say if you’ve been a long-time fan of the author and her writing, then you’ll probably enjoy Tonic. Joel and his brother are tattoo shop c0-owners, and they’ve just signed on with a TV producer to film a reality show based off their tattoo shop, Tonic. Joel is reluctant to have anything to do with being part of a reality show, so he’s not going to make it easy for the producers to film. But when he meets Annika Belousov, he might not like her job, but he’s definitely intrigued by her as a woman. He can’t stop thinking about her, taunting her… trying to get her into his bed. Annika is the total opposite of Joel – while he’s laid-back and relaxed, she’s uptight and serious about everything she does. She has an incredible work ethic, though they don’t call her an ice queen for nothing. But what happens when Joel starts to melt the walls around her heart? Can she choose between the man she’s falling for or the career she’s worked so hard to achieve? While I enjoyed Tonic on a surface level, there were things that prevented me from connecting with the book on a deeper level. Some parts felt too forced and a little awkward – the author tried to fit in too many references to pop culture that it got old fast. I really only cared about Joel and Annika, but these two took too long to sort their problems out and used sex as an avoidance tactic too often. Joel annoyed me in the second half of the novel – he doesn’t seem to know when to take responsibility and likes to blame other people for mistakes that he’s a part of. His character also didn’t feel like a 38-year-old man – he seemed a lot younger and immature, which was not a good thing. Tonic wasn’t a bad book, but’s it’s definitely one of my least favorites from Staci Hart. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to connect with her future novels more – I still have hope that she’ll write another book as good, or even better than, Chaser! Thanks to the author for generously providing me an ARC to review. Amazon Ebook: http://amzn.to/2dKXdcC Liked this review? Subscribe to Booklovers For Life for more!