Reviewed by JustJen
Title: Permanent Ink
Authors: Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn
Series: Art & Soul #1
Heroes: Poe/Jericho
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 256 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: August 7, 2017
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: At twenty-three, Poe Montgomery is going nowhere. He still lives in his father’s basement and spends most of his time tagging with his friends. When an arrest lands him in debt, Poe accepts the front desk job at Permanent Ink, the tattoo shop owned by his father’s best friend, Jericho McAslan. Jericho is nearly twice Poe’s age, but with his ink and prematurely graying hair, he quickly takes the starring role in Poe’s hottest fantasies.
Jericho is known for his ability to transform poorly designed tattoos into works of art, but he was once as aimless and misdirected as Poe. Wanting to pay it forward the way someone once did for him, Jericho makes Poe his apprentice and is determined to keep things strictly professional. Easier said than done when Poe makes his interest—and his daddy kink—abundantly clear.
Jericho can’t resist Poe or their intense chemistry for long. But between the age gap, tension with Poe’s father, and Poe’s best friend calling him a sellout, they’ll need to ensure they’re both on the same page before they can rewrite their rocky start into something permanent.
Review: Poe’s life is going nowhere fast. Regularly getting caught “tagging” with his graffiti and living in his father’s basement with a dead end convenience store clerk job, is not a very promising future. Luckily, his father has a best friend who wants to give Poe the chance that someone gave him to turn his focus into something more productive.
As Poe works his apprenticeship under Jericho, he learns to channel his energy and art into something he can make a career of. At the same time, he shows Jericho a new side of what art means and a different way of looking at life through his art of tattooing. As they move their relationship into something more personal, they discovery a mutual like of daddy kink. I was a little disappointed in this aspect. While it was fun and more dirty talk than anything, it didn’t really capture the dynamics as much as I had hoped. There is plenty of dirty talk and smexy times, and these two definitely had great chemistry.
I’m a bit torn on this book for a few reasons. I love the idea of the sexy older bearded tattoo artist with a side of daddy kink. However, I always have trouble believing in a relationship with such a big age gap (almost 20 years). I usually, though not always, find it hard to grasp the mentality and maturity levels being enough in sync to make it work. Unfortunately, that was the case here, though I did understand Jericho’s reasoning for his attraction to Poe. Funnily enough, when they were in the bedroom is where I felt they most connected and went well together. Much of the rest of the time, Poe came across as a young guy without much direction (until Jericho gave him some). He didn’t want to give up his graffiti, even though it didn’t seem to bring anything positive to his life, other than being able to express himself.
However, I did enjoy much of the story setting those issues aside. The writing was well done and it moved along at a good pace, keeping me engaged to the end. I enjoyed the interactions with Jericho and Poe’s father and was totally lured in by that sexy cover! I’m curious to see where this series is going, though I am a little afraid the next one will be more of the same if it is about Blue, who seems even more immature than Poe.
Overall Impression: I liked it
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for a fair and honest review.*
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