Mace Fox (Masonry Ink: Tattoo romance series) (2024)

Couldn’t finish

Had to dnf this one when the hero kept sleeping with other women . Also when the heroine just randomly decided to give him a bj in the tattoo parlor office. I didn’t feel any chemistry , no build up of their relationship, and it seemed random at that point in the story. I did like the heroines back story and it kept me interested but not enough to get past the dislike and disconnect I felt for the hero.

I wanted to love it… but had to DNF ::update::

Oof. I really wanted to love this. And parts I did. Mace started off this tortured complex guy after his baby sister’s abuser and k!ller gets the “good ole boys” treatment and they basically say she asked for it 🙄 Flash forward and he’s now running a tattoo parlor and some vigilante justice club. At first, I wasn’t put off by his personality. He was grouchy and rough, but I knew he had a heart in there. But then he crossed the line from simply abrasive to a D- bag. And I just didn’t want to continue the ride to pretend he redeems himself.

Nancy/True is two days postpartum when she stumbles across the tattoo shop in need of help. She’s running from a vile ex and his father, and I only got a glimpse of how depraved the situation was before the point that I quit. But it’s enough to know it’s bad. With very little money or options, she’s desperate and almost falling over with fatigue, not to mention bleeding all over herself. Mace is not kind, but does ship her off to someone else to take care of. Someone he makes out with in front of her while ignoring her existence and never bothers introducing her to before he abandons her there. Just dumps her and leaves. So he’s this weird jerk who also takes care of people. There’s very little interaction between the two of them in the weeks that follow, and on the rare occasions when he does have any interactions with her, he treats her poorly. In fact, he treats his coworkers and teammates pretty badly as well. They finally face off with him to tell him he’s out of control, so he has a big toddler tantrum saying he runs the show- so get over it or leave. He’s basically a grade A jerk to even those who have his back. He seemed to progressively get worse, and less redeemable, which was the opposite of what I was looking for. I guess the idea of fighting for justice for those victims helps him rationalize his abhorrent behavior. 🤷🏻‍♀️

The end for me was when True confronts him, saying she wants a job at his shop. Saying she won’t be a charity case or rely on a man. He’s horrible to her, I mean completely awful, but then tells her he’ll give her a two week trial but she needs to pack up and leave town after. (How it’s a “trial” when he tells her to disappear after the two weeks is whatever I guess). Then he tells her to sit down and wait for him…. And she does… But he LEAVES and the goes to a hotel to spend the next 48 hours banging a waitress. 🤬🤦‍♀️🙄. REALLY??? Come on. They’re not a couple, I get it. They’re barely even acquaintances, and he barely tolerates her, and isn’t EVER nice to her (aside from financially bankrolling her care). I’m not sure I can stress that enough- he’s NEVER nice to her. But we know they’re going to wind up together, so I don’t need to see that. As if him being an impossible D- bag wasn’t enough, now we have to see him banging randoms to “get his head back on straight”? Nah, I’m out. Honestly that was the nail in the coffin. Tell her to sit and wait and leave for 48 hours? You don’t come back from that. She deserves a better guy. She was treated like trash by her husband and his evil father, and apparently hasn’t learned her worth since she winds up with this loser at some point. I skimmed the last few pages, and naturally they’re all coupled up and happy. I just refuse to believe it based on the actions in the first 20%.
******
I went back and finished it, against my better judgement. While I will say I did enjoy it the closer we got to the end, I stand by my initial opinions. I didn’t believe the connection between them until the last quarter of the book. At the point she started getting up in the feels for him, they had very little interaction and the vast majority of it wasn’t good. He was literally never ever nice to her. Never. She became attracted to him after seeing him **black out in a rage** and almost end a guy… because, you know, that means he’s so strong and can protect her 🙄🤦🏻‍♀️ He screamed at her, told her to leave, called her a wh0re like her momma, then said her baby would follow in her footsteps and be a wh0re too. Anyone that said that would be dead to me. She chooses NOT to leave, but to sit down and cry. But those tears must be magic, because they suddenly make him care. Then when he approaches her and says “forgive me?” with an oh-gosh shrug… HER. HEART. MELTS. Classic abuse victim behavior. “But he didn’t mean it and he is sorry. Maybe if I’m better he won’t have a reason to hurt me” 😡 She latched onto him and obsessed over him when he was nothing but cruel to her repeatedly, and that made it hard for me to carry on. She jumped from one toxic abusive relationship to another. Ugh.

Eventually the story improved once it got closer to the end and I could ignore how they supposedly started their “relationship“, though editing got worse. I would have appreciated it more if he’d been the marshmallow he is when he’s with the baby, and just a rough and tortured guy on the outside. Unfortunately he chose to cross way over into d bag territory way too many times.

Pretty good!

Story: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Trope: heroine in peril
Angst: 😱😱
Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Mace Fox was the first book I've read by SH Richardson and ill likely be coming back for more. There is something a bit different about her writing style that didn't work for me and made it a bit hard to get into at first, but I was glad I stuck with it. Loved the FMC and the MMC totally grew on me. The side characters were true "characters" and provided a lo of comedic relief, lol. The storyline was interesting and definitely held my interest all the way to the very climactic ending.

“Are we safe with you, Mace?” she asked.
“No, True.” I ran a single finger over her lips before kissing her softly.
”You’re home with me.” End of…"

Part of me really wanted to rate this book higher. The plot itself was A+, but there were things I really struggled with! Mainly the Authors writing style, especially when it came to conversations between more than two characters. I would find myself getting so lost and having to go back and reread! Towards the end of the book, it did get much easier, but there were still scenes that I got lost in!

One massive pet peeve I had was Mace's use of "End of." I'm not sure if this is some odd slang. But his use of it was OFTEN! It was literally his last words in the book!

Mace was honestly a TOTAL a*s 85% of the book! Like almost unredeemable! But the last 15% he did make up for most of his wrongdoings! And his love for sweet Kayla was so adorable! Especially when he admitted to his visits with her!

True/Nancy was a kickass heroine! And she's who kept me reading this book! (Also Kaden!!! But 🤣😍) Her ability to put Mace in his place even with her past was 🤌🤌!!! I love that even though she's been through so much she pushed so hard for the life she thought her baby girl needed and deserved!

"Walt Whitman said, “Peace is always beautiful.” Now that I’d found some of my own, I believed that wholeheartedly.

KADENNNNN!! I need a Kaden and Sal book so badly!!!! Kaden was hilarious!! The Evern scene with him was so good! And would have me

"D*ck lives matter, my guy. Raise your hand if you agree.”

“Uh-uh… you flinch, and it’s gonna be chitty chitty bang bang, f*ck stain"

I really did LOVE the plot of this book!

▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️

•Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
•Plot:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
•Humor: 🙃🙃
•Emotional: 😭😭
•Spice:🌶🌶
•Relationship pace: Slow
•Ending: HEA

•Tropes: Grumpy H, wounded h, single mom, boss/book keeper, h in distress running from past, tattoo shop, OTT MMC, touch her and die, found family

•TW: abused FMC, SA, loss of family member, crooked cops, abuse of power, manipulation

End of

Tough Chick

So the story was good, loved the storyline! The characters were lovable. Although the one guy was a bit over the top acting like a freaking 12 year old jonesing for his first girl. But the excessive use of the term “tough chick” was really weird. Like some of the slang and sayings were newer and American. But that tough chick came from left field. And I am not a fan. I probably need to go back and read Dread, but I’m not sure if I’ll like it as much since True and Baby Kayla won’t be in it. Anywho, it was a good stand alone MF romance. Be on the look out of scenes where you don’t know what the heck is going on. It’s almost like the author intended to elaborate on what was happening but maybe deleted the scene by accident? And it does get a bit wordy, I had to skim and bypass a lot of it. And you don’t really get Trues entire story, just heads up. References to her crappy mom and conversation that eludes to what the villain in the story subjected her to. So at this point I’m not even sure if there was any scrap of truth to the rumors in her hometown or it was just fabricated to make her look bad.

If the author had used a proofreader and/or copy editor, I would have rated it higher.

2.5 stars. Could have been a good story but it took a sharp turn to suckville fairly quickly

I finished it but Wow...it was rough. Really, REALLY rough.

By the end I felt like I had testosterone poisoning.

I am an avid reader of many genres. I love well crafted characters and an immersive storyline.

The author did a great job crafting the villain. I was ready for that character to have Karmic Retribution the first time they were introduced, which I was very pleased how that turned out by the way.

The characters were jaggedly illustrated portraits of intensely fractured souls.

The tattoo shop was more of a front for the clubhouse of vigilante justice that Mace put together to satisfy his deep seated need for retribution and justice. Personally I was disappointed at the lack of tattooing, art, creativity, etc that I was hoping to find with the title of the book being Masonary Ink and billed as a tattoo romance series. Hopefully the series can be rebranded as Watch Me F*&^ S%@# Up!: Here's Why Universal Mental Healthcare Should Be A Thing.

Don't get me wrong. I am not against a good Karmic Retribution/Avenging Angel story line. John Wick was great until the end by then I think we were all relieved that he went home.

There is a saying that I think really applies to this book, "When you are going through Hell keep going."

Personally I walked out of that book and don't plan on going back. I absolutely get why some DNF. It is an intense, painful, bitter, depressing, and demoralizing read. The characters get used and abused, on all levels, by family, friends, lovers, and found family. I didn't see any trigger warnings but there should be LOTS of them.

Good luck to the characters (and the readers) I have a feeling they are all going to need it.

I was excited to read this. I saw a blurb somewhere and ran to the Zon to get it on KU. The cover? Gorgeous. Tattooed guys with muscles? Yes please sign me up. Single mom on the run with baby in tow needing help? Yes!

But Mace was so freaking rude! Too rude. So mean in fact that I was at 60% and still hated him. he was banging some skan* he picked up in a hotel to stay away because he didnt even want to be near True. Eeeeew. Besides being hot, I didn't feel any chemistry. When he started spending time with the baby I thought, here we go he's turning into a big mush!! But it never really happened. He never gave True the benefit of the doubt even though he helped people on the DL. its what he did. Many times I almost DNF. but I battled thru to the end. I kind of want to continue because the side characters in this story were better than Mace and I want to know more about them but Idk if I can survive more books like this.

Oh man, what a tale!!!....

Oh man, what a tale!!!....

I'm gonna be honest - several times I seriously disliked Mace Fox! I adored him in the previous book Dread (definitely should read it too!) He was just so alpha and caring and straight and just so darn tasty 🤤 but in this book, he peeved me off, several times!
And yet at other times, I could easily fall to my knees!

Then we have True (what a strange but cool name!) she's running on empty, literally just give birth and ison the run - that is one determined mamma bear right there, I love her!
She's had a horrendous time, is truly alone and has not one iota of trust, my heart hurt so bad for her.

Attraction, repulsion, love, hate, peace, fear, twists and danger, it has it all.

Thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm off now to read more of her work!!

Long

There’s a sweet HEA but the trip to get there was long and painful. I almost set it aside a few times but didn’t have anything better read so decided to just push thru it. I liked True and her growth in this story. She was damaged and had low self esteem but she’s a survivor and a tough chick. I didn’t really like Mace for about 99% of the story. He was mean and rude and just a horrible man-child and he didn’t deserve True and Kayla. The side characters were great and had good storylines that I would’ve liked to pursue. Overall, it was an ok read but if there’s more in the series, Im not interested in finishing them.

The excuse I gave Corrine that first time was that I was there to check in on Dread, make sure he was following all her rules while living in the guest house. Since I was the one
who asked her to rent out her space, the lie was easily believable. When she left me alone with the kid to go check on a bottle in the warmer, I focused on her deliberate smile meant only for me. It was as if she’d recognized me from before and started to make cooing noises. One squeeze of her tiny fingers, and all the pressure that was suffocating me seemed to evaporate into thin air.

Not for the faint of heart when it comes to cursing as I swear each sentence had a curse word in it. (Not really, but there was a LARGE amount of it). Some triggers of abuse in it, but I loved reading the story and only had one tidbit that seemed unusual/far out there for the characters.

If you like over the top white knights and damsels in distress getting strong and independent, this is probably for you. I read the entire thing in just a couple of days absolutely needing to know how it ended. Overall, great read for anyone who likes HEA and sassy characters.

3 stars

3 stars
Much of the story was good. Very brutal.
The attitudes toward women that this bunch of tattoo artists and vigilantes have, is really degrading. Until they find “ the one”.
The horrors that True endured?. Twisted.
I got tired of the sex scenes and skimmed quite a bit through those.
We see Mace’s real character unfold in this book. Most of them really. Dead Man needs a story.
Kaden needs a story most of all.

So badly written and boring I couldn't get through even a handful of pages. Tjerez not many revuews, Like 18 I think, but still some said it didn't get any better. The hero treats the heroine and all his workers like crap and while I don't usually pay heed to other reviews, the fact I found this so boring and depressing it had me checking the reviews before the first chapter ended was enough for me to stop reading and deleting this from my kindle.

I read the books in this series out of order. Although it can be done and enjoyed, I think it would be more enjoyable to read them in order. Mace was more pleasant and easy going in the first book. He is struggling with his own personal demons in this book and it definitely shows up in his personality. So far, all the male characters are often verbally abusive and it is hard for characters to come back from that for me. Fortunately for them, the female characters are much more forgiving.

the characters

The characters were very blah to me. The main chick was boring and had no spark. They didn't mesh well and it was also confusing as to why he would black out so much when angry. I understand his sister was murdered but he was crazy. His adopted sister is the worst character could not stand her. Karen and Sal were weird as heck. It had so much going on in this book that I could follow the characters made it boring and awkward.

Great story!!

This is a well written emotional roller coaster, which is action packed, with danger, suspense, intrigue, twists, family, friendships, challenges, humour, witty banter, romance, secrets, and love which all leads to an entertaining, haunting, unpredictable, and steamy addictive page turner. I look forward to reading more from this talented author whose work I highly recommend.

New to me author and I was enjoying the story and writing style until Mace gets so brutal and vicious to True by saying such cruel things. A few paragraphs later, after she is devastated, he laughs it off and lightly apologizes, says he has had a lot on his mind. WTF!!! DNF right there. No reason for this in this story; how does it help us understand these characters? Mace is a dick and she should have left. I doubt I'll read anything else by this author.

This is a must read series and I hope to see more

You never think about man's or women's inhumanity to another until it happens to you! The damage caused is beyond belief and yet if your fortunate to meet people who have experienced that or worse and want to help you be able to start a process of back to some normalcy I hope you meet a group of people such as theses characters who sometimes run the gray lines and beyond but are loyal to you

Her Savior and Hero

Made Fox lives a hard life and doesn’t need or want a woman and future because he couldn’t save the one thing he loved so much his little sister. But in comes a woman and her child needing a place to call HOME. Can he find happiness and settle his heart and soul. Made and True’s story is hardcore and heartfelt all wrapped in one.

Good Story, Missing Info

Love the characters. Good story. However, it felt like Mace had a book 1 before this. Missing information and characters who don't make sense.
Also, there were many misused hom*ophones that pulled me from the story. Spell check doesn't catch this issue, which is why a good book editor is so important.

Damn good book

Goodness gracious this book.....Mace was yummy like a sexy warm out of the oven chocolate chip cookies and I absolutely loved True. This whole story was so good and I cannot wait for the next books in this series and hoping each character gets their story. Definitely recommend this series!

Read in a day

I loved this book so much. I had to read it all at once. True had to escape a horrible life with many secrets. Alpha Mace was there to help her in her time of need and that was it, or so he thought. It took True a little bit to find herself but when she did, the payback was perfect. Don’t mess with mama bear! Highly recommend this book.

End of

This was my first book by this author I think this should've been categorized as a series I was a bit confused for about the first 25% of the book with the characters and back stories. The dialogue was sometimes hard to follow but this was an interesting spin. I wish there was a little bit more of a conclusion with a certain mysterious character but not bad.

Didn't notice any typos

Even though this book is marked for having typos I really didn't notice any. This was a great book. I loved Mace even though he had his moments of being a douche towards True in the beginning and basically throughout the whole book but towards the end I'm glad he came around.

Good men

Yes, these men aren't sparkling white but they hold to a code that benefits all. Mace had taken care of everything as much as he could. It's not even a savior contract It's just putting good in the world and taking bad out. He found his own redemption and chose love over revenge.

Fantastic!!

Wow, ok .. I totally enjoyed every page of this book. I don't want to give any spoilers, so will say that when you get this book, sit down with your coffee or whatever your drink is and sink into the best book I have read this year.

Didn't finish

First book was OK and looked forward to this one but so many spelling mistakes and 1 part his dad is in the Army and later in the marines.
Attitude towards all females is awful.

🔥🔥🔥

I actually over both this and the previous book in the series, Dread. The stories are compelling, spicy, and great plot lines. I feel like Ms. Richardson could use a better proofreader, but putting that aside, I am looking forward to more books in this world!