Tonic

I have so many books on my TBR, and I just got word that I have an ARC coming on Monday, so while this book was very good, it felt like it took me forever to finish because I am just so excited about all the books I have on my to read list right now. As usual, Staci Hart did not disappoint, and I just love her writing. 

Joel Anderson doesn't take anything seriously. Not his relationships, which have been few and far between since his brutal divorce. Not the drama of working in a tattoo parlor, which seems to be around every corner. When things get him down, he smiles and cracks a joke. But he's not the kind of man you cross, or you'll find yourself at the wrong end of his fists. Annika Belousov takes everything seriously. Like her job as a reality television producer, given that she typically has something to prove. Or her love life, which is defined by a series of requirements--affluent, ambitious, accomplished, to name a few. Definitely her family, who worked their whole lives to afford her every opportunity, a sacrifice she doesn't take lightly. When she's tapped to produce a reality show at Joel's shop, she doesn't think twice, just goes in for the kill, as if there were any other way. The second Annika walks into Joel's shop, he makes it his mission to crack her open, but she's not having it. He's all wrong--too crass, too hairy, too unserious. But it doesn't take her long to find out there's more to him than smirks and tattoos. And what she finds could put her career and his heart on the line. Not that Joel cares. Because for the first time in a long time, he's found his tonic. 

"Heads and hearts are connected by threads impossible to cut completely."

Annika is an ice queen, and there is no other way to describe her. At first, I didn't care for her. For some reason I felt like I needed to protect Joel, and I just had a bad feeling about her. It's not like me to immediately dislike the female lead in a book. Usually they have to annoy me for a while, but right off the bat I was turned off by her. Just her coldness rubbed me the wrong way, and I had a feeling that the drama that was sure to happen was going to be caused by her. She had a huge wall built up, and while it didn't take her long to let Joel in, it also didn't take her long to help everything come crashing down around them. 

"Transparent, translucent, like the ice that I was. Freezing him out would never work, not when he could see the fire in my heart."

I immediately loved Joel. He seemed like a big teddy bear to me, and I just felt protective of him. I had a feeling that Annika was going to hurt him, and it just hurt my heart to think of that. After you learned about his back story, you wanted him to be happy, you wanted him to finally find some peace, and I was afraid Annika would just rip him to shreds. He loved fiercly, he loved his shop, his brother, his coworkers, and eventually Annika, and I was terrified for him. 

"Like I was fire and she was crisp, clean air, and if I couldn't breathe her in, I'd disappear."

While Annika rubbed me the wrong way in the beginning, I did eventually come to like her. She was just an independent woman who wasn't used to lettting herself give in to feelings. She had worked so hard to make something of herself, and it was hard for her to let all that go for a man. Annika and Joel were like fire and ice, but they were so perfect together. When they both finally let their guards down and let each other in they really did have a beautiful love story. It was fast and furious, but it was obviously meant to be. 

"Snow was cold, fire was hot, and I couldn't walk away from Annika like I'd promised her I would. The facts were as black and white as math, with no room for debate. I wondered fleetingly if we would ruin each other. If my fire would melt her ice until it evaporated. If her ice would snuff my fire out of existence."

I appreciated that the angst and drama in the story wasn't brought on by a third person. Right from the start of the story I already knew where the drama would start, I wasn't sure how it would come about, but I knew it would happen. When it finally did I understood why Joel was so hurt, but I also felt for Annika. I felt like Joel should have seen that coming, so I really wanted him to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I understand that heat of the moment anger, and what that can bring out in a person. 

"His lips never spoke, but his hands told me everything. He would give me anything I wanted, if I were true, if I were real. But I wasn't. I was a liar. Cruel. And I'd fallen in love with a man I couldn't protect from myself."

"So I turned to leave, and there she was, standing in the doorway, pale and beautiful. And I hated her more in that moment than I've ever hated anything in my life."

I was happy with the ending. I was happy with the way things happened, and the way the story had to go to get everything straightned out. I loved all the side characters in the story helping the both of them through their sadness and heartbreak. Annika's cousin and her daughter were fantastic characters. They helped breathe life into her when she felt like she was dying inside. Joel's whole tattoo parlor rallied around him and fought for him when his heart was breaking. I liked that the story showed these characters at their most vunerable, and showed you how they let their friends and family rally around and help them get their shit together and figure out what they wanted in life. 

"Joel Anderson was at my doorstep, holding a kitten, smirking at me like a beautiful, hairy bastard."

Overall, I'm giving this one 4 STARS. I liked the story, I liked the characters, and I appreciated that it wasn't a third party person that caused the angst. The only issue I had was that I kind of felt like Joel jumped the gun with his anger at Annika, when he knew what he signed up for, and she had been completely honest with him about everything up until the point that she wasn't. He was really angry and he said some really cruel things, and I just think maybe if he kept his anger in check he would have realized that maybe he overreacted a bit. But I also get that his character was a bit hot headed, so that would have been his natural reaction.