The Strongest Steel

Second Circle Tattoos Series #1

By: Scarlett Cole

Narrated by: Laurel Wilson

Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

Harper Connelly never expected to find herself outside of a tattoo parlor at one in the morning. The scars that decorate her back are just one more reminder of things she'd rather forget, the past she wants to leave far behind her. Running was the only thing that saved Harper last time, but each session at Second Circle Tattoos brings her closer and closer to Trent Andrews. His lingering touches seduce her, making her believe in a life without fear, where she can be happy, whole, in love. But when cryptic messages start appearing on Harper's phone, strange deliveries arrive at her door, and Second Circle is vandalized, Harper is convinced that her ex-boyfriend has tracked her down and, worse, that he knows about Trent. She ran from her past once before, but this time will she have the strength to fight back?

©2015 Scarlett Cole (P)2015 Tantor

A BEAUTIFULLY PACED & SIGH-WORTHY LOVE STORY

Harper has been through Hell and is now a living shell of what she once was... after the abuse, the heartbreak, the blood and the scars that were all dished out to her by her crazed ex boyfriend. She is reminded daily by the physical scars that his angry handwork left behind but now, 4 years later, Harper wants to change that and her dream is to have a full back tattoo done by the talented Celebrity Tattoo Artist the handsome, sexy and charismatic Trent Andrews whose skills might just cover up the physical reminder. But can she overcome all the emotional torment that'll come with it because Harper can't physically cope with being touched and will Trent be willing, or able, to take on the challenge. So, courage in hand, she walks into his shop... but nerves, shyness, trepidation, anguish and fear accompanies her.

Trent has seen the beautiful yet haunted looking woman before and he's lusted and called out to her but she's never acknowledges him but then she walks in and blows him away by her vulnerability, her inner strength and her emotional heart felt request. But what really pulls him in is the brutal words that have been carved into her back and that tells him so much about the bravery and courage of the woman that is there ready to face so much pain and turmoil in order to be free. However, it isn't until he slowly hears Harper's heartbreaking story, through hours and hours spent under his tattoo gun, that he becomes totally entranced and vows to change this emotionally damaged (but not broken) woman.... and in doing so Trent changes their futures too.

What a beautiful and touching love story this is as Trent slowly, patiently, carefully and lovingly transforms, not only Harper's back, but also her whole demeanour as his tender touches and heartfelt words slowly penetrates and transforms, not only Harper's mind and spirit, but also her heart too. There was a great connection between them from the very start which resulted in banter, a slow seduction that was so sweetly, skilfully and sensually achieved. Then came a deep understanding, trust and acceptance followed by passion, romance, steam, angst, suspense and drama as Harper's ex is released from Prison meaner, crazier and more vengeful than ever before and he isn't going to stop at just taunting, scaring and scarring Harper. No, his retribution is far more sinister. It was instant attraction between Harper and Trent but it was the way that Trent earned Harper's trust and loyalty that was so beautiful to witness along with their character development and the simmering chemistry that was paced so well into true love and a HEA. Dual POV's, good secondary characters and the narration was ok.

Worth a credit? This wonderfully patient and sexy Hero is one I'll remember (huh, and I thought I only liked Alpha bad boys), the plot's addictive, enjoyable, delicious and very very very creditworthy.

Good for passing the time

I'm a sucker for tattoos and hot romances, so of course I wanted to read Strongest Steel.

I liked the book, it was just missing that something extra to make it stand out. It had a really good plot, but I feel like there was a whole lot of build up and a short climax... So much more could have been done to make the story amazing.

I understand that after a traumatic event your going to be vulnerable, but I feel like it was a bit extreme after four years to still be jumping every time something touched her, and then in a matter of a few weeks she's pretty much cured of that.

All in all I enjoyed the book.

Nothing stronger than steel!

Would you listen to The Strongest Steel again? Why?

I would definitely listen to the story again. There is so much heart and soul in this novel.

What did you like best about this story?

The strength and bravery of he heroine!

What about Laurel Wilson’s performance did you like?

Excellent.... There are many emotions in this novel...Laurl gave a beautiful voice to every one.

Any additional comments?

This was one of my top ten novels of 2015... The audio version is equally entertaining.

Maybe the tattoo needle was strong

Spoiler - by the end of the book Harper kinda, sorta, has a backbone, but it takes a l-o-n-g time for her to get one. I just got tired of waiting and thinking, "Why don't you get a dog? Take self-defense? Yell at your parents?" Otherwise, Trent was fine - cute, noble, etc. I just didn't love it enough.

Good Book - Not Great

This book was good, but not as good as I expected based on the reviews. It was fine, and I probably would have continued the series on Audible Escape, but didn't like it enough to buy the books for my Kindle. The storyline was good and the characters were likable, although became TSTL to introduce some unneeded (IMO) drama. I just never felt a real connection to or between the characters. Part of it was because in most ways they both acted like they were closer to 20 than late 20s/mid 30s, which is fine for a NA book, but the author kept reminding us how old they were, so it emphasized how immature they were for their ages.

Overall, I don't regret the time spent, but wouldn't recommend it as a purchase. If you can get it as part of the Escape package, go for it.

Loved the story but the narration was a let-down.

I have been wanting to read this one forever. I'm glad I finally had the time - plus it's enrolled in the Romance Package on Audible so I grabbed it. As always in my audiobook reviews I start with the narration, which influences the enjoyment of the story. In that regard I have to say it was subpar. There were weird breaks and the narrator has a weird speaking pattern going down with the voice at the end of a sentence and dragging out the last syllables. Adding to that was a screeching and squealing voice that almost did in my eardrums. I've listened to this narrator under another alias and that wasn't too bad so I figure it was one of her early works.

What drew me to this story was that it is about a hot tattoo artist. And the cover. I mean just look at it. Yeah, I'm shallow like that. Trent Andrews and his Second Circle studio are well known among tattoo artists. He specializes in inking over scars which I found intriguing and way cool. When Harper Connelly enters his studio he is instantly attracted to the sweet, shy and sexy woman. Harper wants a tattoo on her back, covering hideous scars she has to thank her ex-boyfriend for, who is incarcerated for what he did to her. The extent of her scars ensure that over the course of the next weeks Trent and Harper get to know each other.

Trent was the most patient, sweetest man with a healthy dose of alpha-ness. Over the next couple of weeks he became Harper's rock. He was there for her, especially after learning her history he wanted nothing more than to protect her and take her pain away. He gave Harper the confidence and the tools to come to terms with her scars. He was just the best.

Harper had gone through hell, and while that left her marked, inside and out, she wanted to get out of the loop that she let her ex-boyfriend's actions define her. With Trent's help and love she found her sass and backbone again. She was cute, feisty sometimes and so so brave. I loved to see her opening up and trusting Trent.

The Strongest Steel was a complete winner, story-wise and character-wise. It has action, suspense, an insta-love that actually works and some steam. I'm definitely continuing with this series and I hope that the other books will be made into audiobooks as well, however, I hope that they'd choose another narrator.

Very entertaining

I enjoyed this audiobook very much. The characters and story were well narrated by Laurel Wilson this bringing the story to life.

I Enjoyed hearing this great book!!

such a cute story. always love a book where love and strength over powers the danger

LOVED IT

I lived every thing about this book. The characters were well developed and the story was rich. It was easy to understand both characters point of view and thus easy to love both characters throughout the entire story.

Great story!

I became so engrossed in this story that I listened in one sitting. Just couldn't tear myself away. Definitely "my kind of story" as I cannot resist a great HEA! This was my first listen to a book by this author but I will definitely purchase more of her work. This story had it all - wonderful characters, sweet romance and gripping suspense!