Review: Inked Armor by Helena Hunting

Title: Inked Armor
Author: Helena Hunting
Series: Clipped Wings book 2
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Published March 4th 2014
Genres: NA, Contemporary
Format Read: eARC, NetGalley

Description from Goodreads

In this follow-up to Clipped Wings, the emotional love story continues between Hayden and Tenley; two young people who desperately want to love and be loved but are afraid to completely let go of their pasts.

In the wake of losing Tenley Page, tattooist Hayden Stryker's tumultuous past is haunting him. Plagued by nightmares about the murder of his parents, Hayden reaches out again to Tenley. Having run from the man she doesn't believe she deserves, Tenley finally lays her guilt to rest. Despite their intense physical attraction, Hayden and Tenley struggle to repair their fragile emotional connection. As Hayden gets closer to the truth, he must find a way to reconcile his guilt over his parents' death in order to keep the woman who finally cracked his armor, and found her way into his heart.

My Review

The ending of Clipped Wings was heartbreaking, so I had to pick up Inked Armor almost immediately, to know what happened next. I felt so bad for Hayden, Tenley left him without any explaination, and didn't even say goodbye! Needless to say that he didn't take it well.

The book started with Tenley still in Arden Hills, taking care of Connor's estate while Hayden was falling apart, thinking that she would never come back to Chicago. I was really impatient for Tenley to figure things out, so that she could go back to Hayden, and I think that if she'd known that he was ruining himself, she wouldn't have stayed away for so long. When Tenley finally decided to return to Chicago, things didn't go as she expected. There was no happy reunion and everything started badly, and I feared that it would take Hayden and Tenley forever to work out their already-fragile relationship. 

In Inked Armor both characters were more confused than ever. Hayden was on the edge most of the time, and just snapped at everyone. Tenley was still dealing with her past, and occasionally had mood swings. But thankfully, even with all the complications in their life, the two characters were more open with each other, and really tried to work things out.

Unlike Clipped Wings, Inked Armor didn't focus much on the tattoos. There was a mystery aspect in the story, though, which I really liked; it kept me intrigued and eager to continue reading. After I finished Clipped Wings, I felt that some things were left hanging, for instance, there were unresolved issues between Cross and Hayden. So, I expected to see more of Cross in Inked Armor, and I also suspected him to play the part of the villain who would, somehow, separate Hayden and Tenley from each other. But surprisingly, it didn't turned out as I expected, things were more complicated than I thought, and I'm glad that the story wasn't that predictable.

Overall, I have to say that I enjoyed this book more than Clipped Wings. Tenley and Hayden were more open to each other, and I liked how their characters grew as they finally learned to cope with their past. 

I don't know if this is the last book in the series, I think that there's a possibility for the story to go on. And if there will be a third book I will defintely read it!

Review: Clipped Wings by Helena Hunting

Title: Clipped Wings
Author: Helena Hunting
Series: Clipped Wings book 1
My Rating: ★★★☆☆
Published March 4th 2014
Genres: NA, Contemporary
Format Read: eARC, NetGalley

Description from Goodreads

An emotional love story that follows the touch-and-go relationship of Hayden and Tenley; two young people who desperately want to love and be loved but are afraid to completely let go of their pasts.

As Hayden and Tenley navigate their newfound but slightly unstable relationship, they want to trust each other, but Hayden is hiding a dark and shameful past that he doesn't ever want Tenley to find out about. And Tenley has secrets of her own that could make Hayden run away forever. When Tenley asks Hayden to put a beautifully elaborate tattoo across her back, the two form what they thought was an unshakeable bond. But when Tenley's past shows up on her doorstep, will Hayden stand by her side...or run?

My Review

I've read so many good things about this book especially from Ella (The Filipina Booknote), so I decided to give it a shot even though I'm not a big fan of the NA genre. The premise of the book didn't truly intrigue me, and if it hadn't been for Ella's lovely review, I wouldn't have read Clipped Wings. So, definitely go check out her review!

This book is about two broken souls, Hayden and Tenley. They both want to be with each other, but it's really hard for them to open up and start a new relationship because they're hunted by their dreadful past.

Both characters are full of complexity. Hayden is a tattoo artist who may look intimidating because of all his tattoos, but when you get to know him better, you learn that he isn't a bad person. I like how this book focuses a lot on the tattoos. I've always thought that tattoos were just a type of art that you put on your skin, and I've never really gave much importance to why people put them on their body which was really silly of me. So, I really like how, for Hayden, the tattoos are more than body art, and that they have a significant meaning to him. He had a really dark past, which was unfolded as the story went on, and I liked that he could still be cute even with everything he'd been through. On the other hand, Tenley has just experienced a tragedy, and she blames no one but herself for what happened to her. So, she lived alone, pushing everyone away.  But when she met Hayden she was instantly attracted to him, and she realized that she craved to be near someone, and that she was done with being by herself.

People say that opposites attract each other, well, that's not quite the case with Hayden and Tenley. They have a lot of things in common, they are both filled with pain and guilt, and I think that's why they are drawn to each other. Well, aside from the physical attraction. Initially the two were awkward towards each other, but after a month or so of stolen glances, self awareness and burning curiosity, they finally gave in. 

Although I think Clipped Wings tells a really great and engaging story, I had some minor issues with it. The first is that I couldn't relate to the two main characters because I  haven't gone through anything so horrible in my life. I have never felt the deep feelings of loss and guilt that Hayden and Tenley experienced, and I can only be grateful for my bright and happy childhood. The other thing, is that I was a bit annoyed by Tenley. I didn't like the choices she made, and if I were her I would have done things differently. I get that it's hard for her to share her past, but I seriously wanted her to trust Hayen. 

Overall, I really liked Clipped Wings. The phasing was perfect, and I easily got involved with the characters. There are a few sex scenes which I skipped because I don't feel comfortable reading explicit scenes in general, and I'm glad I was able to enjoy the story even without reading those parts. The book ends with a cliff hanger, so I'm really curious to read the Inked Armour to know what happens next.