RELEASE DAY REVIEW: Fallen Ink (Montgomery Ink: Colorado Springs #1)

Fallen Ink (Montgomery Ink: Colorado Springs #1), by Carrie Ann Ryan
Publish Date: April 17, 2018
Publisher: self-published
Format: e-ARC, provided by the author
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: 4.5 STARS

(Synopsis) The Montgomery Ink series continues with a spin-off in Colorado Springs, where a familiar Montgomery finds her place in a new tattoo shop, and in the arms of her best friend.

Adrienne Montgomery is finally living her dreams. She’s opened a tattoo shop with her brother, Shep, and two of her cousins from Denver and she’s ready to take the city by storm with her art—as long as she can handle the pressure. When her new neighbors decide her shop isn’t a great fit for the community, however, she’ll have to lean on the one person she didn’t expect to fall for along the way… her best friend.
Mace Knight takes pride in two things: his art and his daughter. He knows he’s taking a risk by starting over in a new shop with the Montgomerys, but the stakes are even higher when he finds himself wanting Adrienne more than he thought possible.
The two fall fast and hard but they know the rules; they can’t risk their friendship, no matter how hot it is between the sheets and how many people try to stand in their way.

The Montgomery cousins are open for business at Montgomery Ink Too, which is nothing but awesome for we readers, since that means that the well of stories based around this amazingly close-knit family hasn't even come close to running dry. 

The first book in the Montgomery Ink: Colorado Springs spin-off series, Fallen Ink, centers around Adrienne Montgomery, one of the two new owners of the satellite tattoo shop (she owns it with her older brother Shep). Adrienne and Shep only have a small staff right now which includes tattoo artists Ryan and Mace. Mace happens to be Adrienne's best friend, and after some opening day stress and a rainy night, things between these two escalate to seriously hot heights. 

It seemed as if Mace and Adrienne were poised to take that next step, even if both of them were in total denial about it. No one was surprised when it finally happened. It reminded me so much of Maya Montgomery and Jake Gallagher's relationship (Ink Enduring). It is a good thing they have that strong basis as friends, because stress is coming at them from all sides, and it makes starting a new relationship with your best friend all that more challenging. 

First, the new shop is targeted relentlessly by someone who doesn't appreciate people with tattoos in their otherwise idyllic white bread neighborhood. The vandals become increasingly violent and hateful, and it's difficult to find out who's behind it all. 

On top of that, Mace suddenly has to care for his daughter on a more permanent basis, so he has to balance work hours, quality time with his daughter and personal time with Adrienne - who also happens to technically be his boss. It's crazy and dangerous and the whole time I was reading I kept thinking that, if anyone can make it, a Montgomery can. 

The one hold-over from the original Montgomery Ink series is the presence and importance of family - both by blood and by heart. It's my favorite part of this series. I love how close the Montgomery siblings are and how they're always there to watch each other's backs and to meddle when necessary. 

Fallen Ink is a well-thought out spin-off of a beloved series and is rife with tons of plot bunnies just waiting to take off and make the Colorado Springs series just as amazing as the original.