ARC Review: Savior by Rhys Ford

From The Blurb:

A savior lies in the heart of every good man, but sometimes only love can awaken the man inside the savior. 

The world’s had it out for San Francisco firefighter Mace Crawford from the moment he was born. Rescued from a horrific home life and dragged through an uncaring foster system, he’s dedicated his life to saving people, including the men he calls his brothers. As second-in-command of their knitted-together clan, Mace guides his younger siblings, helps out at 415 Ink, the family tattoo shop, and most of all, makes sure the brothers don’t discover his darkest secrets. 

It’s a lonely life with one big problem—he’s sworn off love, and Rob Claussen, one of 415 Ink’s tattoo artists, has gotten under his skin in the worst way possible. 

Mace’s world is too tight, too controlled to let Rob into his life, much less his heart, but the brash Filipino inker is there every time Mace turns around. He can’t let Rob in without shaking the foundations of the life he’s built, but when an evil from his past resurfaces, Mace is forced to choose between protecting his lies and saving the man he’s too scared to love.

Karen's rating:

Hot, sexy slightly broken men with tats created by one of my favs... all this means I'ma happy, happy girl.

'Savior' is the second book in 415 Ink by Rhys Ford.  I'll be totally up front here I'm fan of this author...she's at the top of my 'must buy' list and for whatever reason her writing just speaks to my heart and it works for me pretty much without fail. Off the top of my head I can honestly say there's not a  book of hers that I wouldn't  happily enjoy over and over again either in book or audio format.  These stories are totally one of my happy places.

I loved 'Rebel' which gave us Gus and Rey's story. For that matter one of the things that I've come to look for in pretty well any book I read is the character's background...it's like watching a puzzle come together. Finding out how that character went from the child they were to the adult they become...what shaped them gave them their strengths, their weaknesses, their passions all the things that make them who they are and it's stories like these where that background for me is such an integral part of everything.

415 Ink is a series about 5 men all of them failed by the system in one way or another and yet they manage not to fail each other coming together as a family and this time around we get a look at Mason's past. It's not a past that I would wish on anyone and it's left Mason struggling with his sense of self worth. Mason doesn't do relationships because he's pretty sure he's not good relationship material. But try as he might he can't seem to keep himself from being drawn to Rob one of the tattoo artist that work at 415 Ink the family business and the fact that Rob's equally drawn to him doesn't help his determination...sometimes resistance really is futile.

Mason for me was honestly the brother that held the least interest...or at least that's what I thought...but apparently still waters do run deep. The more I read the more interested in Mason I became and the more I realized that he was so much more than the character we'd been given in 'Rebel'. Add in the fact that while we met Rob in 'Rebel' we really weren't given any information about him in that story and I got a book that I enjoyed a lot more than I had anticipated.

Compared to Mason, Rob's had a life of leisure. While Rob never wanted for material needs like so many kids now a days what he lacked was the time and attention of his parents but abuse was never an issue. Rob walked away from the life his father had planned for him to find his own way in the world and while this left things strained between him and his father. It was never a hopeless situation just one that would need time and compromise on both parts to fix.

While I enjoyed the relationship that developed between Mason and Rob. I loved seeing Mason come to terms with and get closure on the part of his life that haunted him and kept him from truly opening up to both his brothers and the man he would come to love.

'Savior' took Mason from being 'just one of the brothers' to not just a brother but an individual and solidified his place in this self-made family for me making him someone that I look forward to getting more of in future stories but for now I'm holding out for what we were teased with at the end of 'Savior' and that's Ivo's story...I can't imagine it's going to be anything less than out there, in our faces and totally flamboyant just like the man  himself and maybe, in the meantime I'll get to go to another happy place and hear get my hands on the audio book for 'Savior' when it's available...please, let there be an audio book.

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An ARC of 'Savior' was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.  (Mason Cooley)

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