Book Info
Dark Ink by Lainey DelaroqueSeries: Dark Things #2
Rating:
Book ratings explainedGenres: Dark Romance, Romantic Suspense
Pages: 264
ASIN: B0B42V5SSH
Published: 25/07/2022
Available on
Purchase at: Amazon | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon AU
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Tanya
I escaped a cult. I helped bring down a depraved club. I’m a survivor.
I thought I put all the ugly behind me—I was wrong.
I can’t forget Ben, despite his betrayal. Now the cult is back, and my enemies have dragged him into danger.
I can’t let him be hurt. This is my fight.
Ben
I don’t know why Tanya is upset with me. I want to see her smile again.
If I confront her, I will somehow make things worse, so I throw myself into work. Blowing up things is easy.
Except when a random teenager follows you home after.
Jenya survived the raid, and she wreaks havoc from the moment I met her.
Yet as she opens up, I realize her bizarre past might be just the thing needed to bring me and Tanya back together.
Jenya
My world was destroyed. My protector abandoned me.
The only way out I see is to follow Ben, a man I just met. He will take me back to my people.
And if not, the Darkness will claim us all.
The three are forced to face the same terrifying enemy despite their different backgrounds, but will they succeed when past feelings pit them against each other?
Dark Ink is a dark romantic suspense novel featuring steamy scenes. It has a HEA, no cliffhanger, no cheating. It is a second-chance romance and comes with a warning for strong language, descriptions of psychological trauma and violence.
Cozy up with Dark Ink now to discover a dark Chicago underworld like you’ve never seen before.
Dark Ink is part of the Lavender world. It can be read as a standalone, but to grasp the bigger story it is advised to read Dark Rings first (Book One in the Dark Things series). If you enjoy Easter eggs and crossover characters you may also enjoy reading the Club Lavender Duet which takes place in the same world and before the events of this book.
Dark Ink - My Review
I’m going to start out by saying that Lainey Delaroque‘s Club Lavender world is pure brilliance and expanding that world into the Dark Things series was the perfect way to continue with the stories of the supporting cast. No, you don’t need to have read the Club Lavender Duet to get into Dark Ink, but your experience will be so much richer if you do. The story explains so many things that weren’t in those two books and shows how both Tanya and Ben met Damien and came to be in Lavender. Both books are in Kindle Unlimited so you might as well hit pause while you go and read them.
After only a few pages I knew that I loved the version of Tanya that we were being shown. Her past appearances had proved she had a bit of badass in her, but I now wanted her to be my new feisty BFF. I really understood her anger towards Ben and the emotions that both Jenya and her grandfather stirred in her, but I couldn’t help feeling that they could’ve been better exploited to really pull on the readers’ heart strings.
I went into this book completely blind (other than knowing that Tanya and Ben would star) and Jenya’s first chapter completely threw me. I wondered if I’d stumbled into a fantasy or sci-fi novel and, although this radically different point of view was fascinating, keeping on with the story was an exercise in trusting an author and the journey they’re going to take you on. Although it’s challenging to read from the point of view of a person who knows nothing of normal life, Delaroque merges the real world with Jenya’s in a way that makes it feel like you’re on a voyage of discovery while still surrounded by the familiar.
From his appearances in the previous books, I’d assumed that Ben would be a tough guy. This book shows a more vulnerable and less confident version of him but it works and softens the harsh edges that Tanya and Jenya provide.
If you’re looking for all the steam this book is definitely dialled down compared to Dark Rings. Readers who loved the kink in Delaroque’s previous books will find that it’s pretty much missing in this one. I think I wanted more steam but it wouldn’t have fit with the story. There’s no winning that battle.
While Dark Ink is a fab read I don’t think it compares to Dark Rings. The storyline is unique and gripping but it lacks the emotional depth of its predecessor, and I’m all about emotional depth. Whether you’re a sucker for plot or character development you won’t regret reading it.
About Lainey Delaroque
Lainey Delaroque started writing poems when she was stuck in hospital with pneumonia. She was 11 years-old then and hasn’t stopped writing since. She loves dangerous, fantastical worlds and morally grey characters. She writes diverse romantic thrillers packed with action, danger and sizzling tension. When the suspense is too much for Lainey, she takes a break by writing contemporary romance stories with kinky twists.
