Close to the Skin by Zara West
Series: The Skin Quartet Series (# 2)
Release Date: August 18, 2017
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Pages: 360
Source: Book provided by the author for review
Never back down, never turn your back, and never fall in love. Head of a multi-million dollar criminal enterprise, Vernon Newell doesn’t let family ties or misplaced sympathy get in his way. But there is one chink in his armor—Sirena Patras, the beautiful young Greek girl he seduced and deserted eight years ago.
When Vernon discovers that Bella Bell, a prospering tattoo artist in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is actually Sirena, he sets out to woo and to win her. Despite her attraction to the fabulously sexy man, Bella wants nothing to do with a hard-headed, ruthless criminal.
But when threatening messages start arriving, and Vernon disappears, Bella must choose to abandon the man she loves, as he did her, or risk her life to save him.
Review: As the second installment in Zara West’s The Skin Quartet Series, Close to the Skin features a look into the life of the mysterious Bella Bell, the tattoo artist who has disappeared in the first story.
Her character, much like her chosen career, proved to be quite colorful. Even while she resisted her attraction for Vernon on one hand, there was no denying the intense heat. I had spent a significant amount of time casting him as a villain while reading the first installment, so I had to mentally shift gears.
This time around, it’s like the past won’t stay gone. With a real threat hanging over her head, Bella has to take action or lose the man she loves.
This was a high octane nail biter, made even better by the reappearance of characters from the first installment.
