This was a very nice, engaging and rather quiet story. Not at all what I expected from the blurb, which was a positive surprise. It was low on the sex, more a story about Luke's journey to finding himself. He lost his apartment, had no money but overbearing relatives. To escape moving back in with them he jumped on Cooper's offer, although fearful about the stipulations coming with said offer. Both men had problems to work through and while doing that, they found each other. Yes, I really enjoyed this story. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from this book. Parts of the blurb seemed to indicate that the reader is in for a bit of hedonistic M/M reading, yet at the same time pushing you to expect more than what is on the surface – which is exactly what Luke must do when he moves in with Cooper: look beyond the surface and see the man within. I found Ink & Flowers to be a story about acceptance – accepting oneself and accepting those around you. Luke is in a bad situation. Life has beat him down and kicked him while he’s down, just for good measure. His relatives are awful! Nothing like a collection of judgmental and controlling family members to rip your self-esteem to shreds. Seriously, who needs enemies when you have family like his? And in strolls his knight in shining armor … a tatted-up, openly gay, bad boy who offers Luke a place to sleep in exchange for sex. Luke is disgusted by the offer because he’s not gay – or at least he’s never allowed himself to contemplate it. As awful as the arrangement is, it’s not as bad as moving in with his aunts. When moving day arrives and Luke is faced with “paying rent” he cannot do it – not because he doesn’t want to, but because he’s not supposed to want to. Because Cooper is dealing with his own issues (and you’ll have to read the book to find out what they are), he decides not to collect rent that night. Rather, he goes for the stealth approach to make Luke want to be with him. While much goes on before they finally seal the deal, Luke’s first time is HOT and you cannot help but feel that everything they went through to finally get there was worth it.Ink & Flowers is a great story that shows Luke learning to admit and embrace his sexuality, while standing up to his family when they attempt to force him into their mold. Cooper has to learn to live with and accept his part in a tragic situation. Fortunately, the two are able to help one another in this endeavor and begin to build a relationship. Although there is nothing that indicates that this is the beginning of a series, I do hope that the author decides to make it one as I would love to read more of Luke and Cooper’s story and see their relationship evolve further. I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!
What do You think about Ink And Flowers (2014)?
Sweet story, but the ending was left way to open for me. What happens next?
—melissawynne
I read this last year. Not sure why I never rated it.
—pearl13md
