Sins & Needles by Karina Halle (The Artists Trilogy #1)
January 25, 2013
Contemporary/Romantic Suspense
Metal Blonde Books
Reviewed by Mandi
Thanks to the girls at Fiction Vixen for recommending this book. It’s a book that I don’t feel like I can do justice in this review. So much happens, there are so many twists and turns and secrets that I can’t reveal. So I’ll do a basic set-up and maybe ramble for a bit about how much I loved this book.
Ellie Watt grew up with con-artist parents. At one point, they made her help with pulling off a con and it went very bad. She ended up with severe scarring on her leg and a bad limp. This injury plus just being a teenager with criminal parents made her the laughing stock at school. There was one boy though who could understand her pain. Camden McQueen was also made fun of because he wore black lip stick and stuck out. They became friends, but the hurt inside Ellie was so much – the hurt to fit in just once, that she one day turns on, making fun of him, and this devastates Camden.
Now in present day, Ellie who is estranged from her parents and hates everything about him, has ironically taken up their lifestyle and has been pulling con after con, and has gotten herself into a bit of trouble. She flees back to her hometown to take refuge at her uncle’s house. He isn’t thrilled she is there, but tells her she can stay for a few days. By chance she runs into Camden – but this is a new Camden. Gone is the goth look, and here is the gorgeous, tattooed look. He actually owns a tattoo shop in town and they get to talking. One look at all of the cash in his register, and she decides to get a little friendlier with him, hoping to be able to sneak in and steal that cash she desperately needs and be on her way. As they start hanging out, she starts having feelings for him again, and thing escalate between them. But inside she is still a con artist, and goes in for the robbery. And the way Camden reacts – whoa.
At this point the book takes a big turn. I honestly thought the whole book would be Ellie falling in love with Camden and trying to decide if she should go through the with the theft. But at the 40 % mark things change. We learn new things about Camden. We learn new things about Ellie. Circumstances change and I became totally intrigued. From that point until the end of the book the action never lets up and I couldn’t put this book down.
There is definitely a romance that develops, but this does end in a cliffhanger. The author has stated that this will be a trilogy and book two comes out this May.
Some things that really stood out for me in this book:
– There are a few short chapters that go back to Ellie’s past, where we get to experience the pain of what happened to her and how her relationship with Camden started and ended. This is pivotal to the story and I’m glad the author included it.
– The pain Ellie experiences, both physically with her scarring and mentally with a messed up childhood and how she harbors such anger and refuses to let it go is well done. You believe that she would totally pull the con on Camden. Camden himself has pain too, but the author reveals it so slowly. You have no idea what kind of person he will turn into. The author takes chances with Camden’s behavior and it pays off really well.
– The book goes from what I thought would be a darker contemporary romance to more of a romantic suspense. The action is really packed in and made me fidget.
– My favorite thing about the book is how much pain these two are in and how they both continue to hurt the other because that is the only thing they know. Once they reach rock bottom, they have to learn to trust each other again (I’m not sure we are even there yet) and learn to let go of their past (definitely not there yet). I can’t wait to see how they will overcome this.
I anxiously await May to continue this story. I really like this author’s voice and found this book to be surprising and a well told story.
Rating: B+
Recent Reviews:
Fiction Vixen – A
Under the Covers – 4/5
Reading Books Like a Boss – 5/5
Little Read Riding Hood – 5/5
Goodreads
Author Website l Series Listing
** $.99 on kindle through March first.
Great review Mandi! I loved this book and I am now going on a rampage to read everything this author has written. Just finished THE DEVIL’S METAL.
Oooh…I need to check out her backlist for sure
This looks really good. Just went to purchase it on Amazon and the Kindle version is $.99 until March 1.
Cool! Thanks for the heads up!
This book was a big surprise for me. My eyebrows shot up more than once while reading lol.
My eyebrows had a workout! ;)
I am still so confused about this book. I don’t think I ever liked Ellie and Cameron yet the story was good. I haven’t even rated it on GR yet and it has been over a week since I read it.
I don’t know if I love Camden yet…but I really enjoyed Ellie.
But did you like Cameron?? LOL. I am ridiculous will titles and names lately.
I love the idea of a con-artist heroine! You’ve got me so intrigued by this review, I’m really excited to read the book.
I hope you enjoy!
Just bought it!
Yay!
Reading your review made me immediately buy it! Thanks for another fab recommendation.
I hope it works for you!
I’ve seen this at a few blogs and have to say that your review sold me. The next time I need a great romance with suspense elements, I’ll download it to my Kindle and get started. :) It sounds so cool, with a really fresh concept.
Fresh is a good word for it. I hope book two lives up to my expectations :)
I stayed up til 4am to finish this book earlier this week. I was anxiously waiting to see what happened at 40% (based on your tweets) I was completely surprised and I loved that. I love a book that can catch me off guard even when I am expecting it. I will probably reread it before the second one comes out. Can’t wait!
I like the direction Camden took. Made it more…gritty. I’ll probably be rereading it too!
Sold :) It’s been getting some attention from several bloggers I trust, so I’m going to give it a go!
Good! Hope you like!
Great review! I’ve seen it around and finally bit the bullet and bought it. Can’t beat the $0.99 price tag!
Great Review!!! I just love the sound of this one…I just love a good conflict!!!
I am REALLY looking forward to reading this!!!!!! but as you mention, it ends in a cliff hanger, so I’m just going to wait a little longer and closer to May to pick this up. But it’s a sure purchase :) Thanks for the review!
I have finally read this book and thought it was a real roller coaster ride. Ups and downs, twists and turns – every time I thought things may start to go right for Ellie and Camden they would go oh so wrong! The ending really does leave you hanging! Am looking forward to their continued story (now delayed ’till July) and really hope they get their HEA eventually (have to have an HEA!). Have just downloaded the prequel ‘On Every Street’…
I still need to read On Every Street! I forgot!
Ok. Scary. Dark and sometimes hot but Javier – totally scary.
” But you can’t just hand over your virginity to me, Eden. I have to take it from you. I have to make you surrender to me, to everything, in every way possible. I want your heart, your soul, and your body. I want the you that you’re hiding deep inside. I must have her”.
This was Date 2!
It made quite uncomfortable reading at times and there were no answers as to why he did what he did at the end but mostly Javier just freaked me way the hell out. Poor Eden/Ellie …
Yikes. So he is def the bad guy…no redemption for him it sounds like
Definitely a bad guy – and über-possessive, but whether somewhere inside he is redeemable I guess we will have to wait and see …. This is absolutely worth reading before Shooting Scars comes out – even more makes you want to know what happens next!
“I told you I’d follow you”
“Was that sweet? Or was that creepy? Or was that just Javier?’
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