My edition: Kindle Unlimited
Pages:497
Series: Standalone
Rating:4.5 stars
Synopsis:
He was my boss, my brother’s friend, a Widower, and ex-felon, and a man I’d seen casually with a handful of women. But he was everything that gripped me, both the good and the bad. Worst case scenario if things turned awkward between us, I could go somewhere else. I’d gotten over epic heartbreak before, one more wouldn’t kill me.
After moving to Austin following six months of unemployment back home, Iris Taylor knows she should be glad to have landed a job so quickly… even if the business is owned by a member of the same motorcycle club her estranged father used to belong to. Except Dex Locke might just be the biggest jerk she’s ever met. He’s rude, impatient and doesn’t know how to tell time.
And the last thing they ever expected was each other.
But it was either the strip club or the tattoo shop.
…She should have chosen the strip club.
Review: This is my second book by Zapata that I have read and I loved it. Not as much as The Wall of Winnipeg and Me but I still loved it.
Iris lost her job due to cutbacks. Her only option was to move in with her older half brother, Sonny, who was in the Widowmaker M.C. He helped her land a job at a tattoo parlor who is run by Dex Locke. She is instantly in love with the way he looks, until he opens his mouth and she finds out he is a huge a-hole.
I like Iris. Some of the stuff she thinks or says is along the lines of what I do sometimes. She was very relatable to me.
It wasn’t going to be classy or snot-less, and I’d probably sound like a wheezing baboon.
I swear this is how I cry when it comes to books. I found myself laughing at Iris and the crazy things that went on in her head.
I should have been glad the cap had hidden his facial features at the bar, so I had time to take in the magnificence that was his tattooed upper body without the added distraction of a face that made my ovaries scream glory hallelujah… I was going to ask Santa for his good identical twin for Christmas.
Life was hard sometimes and there was no book or movie that could prepare you for how harsh it could be. Except maybe that zombie television show where everyone died. That was pretty accurate.
I found myself smiling like an idiot reading this.
Now Dex, I kind of wanted to punch him in his handsome face for more than half the book. Okay maybe like three quarters of the book, but I still kind of, sort of fell for him. (Okay I actually did, sheesh)
I love Zapata’s writing. I love the slow build of the relationships she writes about. More times than not I get bored with slow romances. Not with Zapata’s. It was the same as the Wall of Winnipeg and Me, so worth the wait. Granted I didn’t cry like I did with the last book. Still her writing entices me to keep reading. At work all I wanted was to go back to this book and finish it. When I got home, I finally finished it. It may have been around 11:30 by the time I finally one last chapter for the gazillionth time to find out that it was the epilogue.
I bought another one of her books, Kulti. I will be starting on that next. 
The Kansan Reader 