Inked Armour (Clipped Wings #2) by Helena Hunting

From Goodreads

In this follow-up to Clipped Wings, the emotional love story continues between Hayden and Tenley; two young people who desperately want to love and be loved but are afraid to completely let go of their pasts.

In the wake of losing Tenley Page, tattooist Hayden Stryker's tumultuous past is haunting him. Plagued by nightmares about the murder of his parents, Hayden reaches out again to Tenley. Having run from the man she doesn't believe she deserves, Tenley finally lays her guilt to rest. Despite their intense physical attraction, Hayden and Tenley struggle to repair their fragile emotional connection. As Hayden gets closer to the truth, he must find a way to reconcile his guilt over his parents' death in order to keep the woman who finally cracked his armor, and found her way into his heart.


My thoughts

I really enjoyed this follow up story to Clipped Wings and gave it a 4.5 stars.

This story continues where we left off with the cliffhanger at the end of the first book. Tenley and Hayden still have problems aplenty. They both have issues that need to be resolved if they are to have a future together.

Hayden has had a very chequered past and it's the past that comes back to haunt him in this story. The events surrounding his parents death are very sketchy and he was even considered to be the perpetrator of the murder. He has an intense dislike for the policeman who was involved in the case, who for some reason has taken an interest in Tenley's life. He feels that Hayden isn't good enough for her and is always there just when Hayden would rather he wasn't.

As Tenley learns more about Hayden's past she becomes more attuned to his behaviour patterns and the relationship evolves. As his past comes back to haunt him can Hayden deal with the pressures that arise. As her tattoo begins to near it's end Hayden is reluctant to finish it as he enjoys their time together and feels that things will change once the tattoo is finished.

Will the end of the tattoo be all that he dreads? Will Hayden and Tenley stay together or will events beyond their control cause them to go their separate ways?

The story is full of angst and centres mostly on Tenley and Hayden, with a great set of secondary characters. I read this fairly quickly as I was keen to see how the story ended. I loved the relationship between Tenley and Hayden and wanted them to survive all the obxtacles that were being put in their way by others.

My thanks to the Publishers and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I will be looking out for my books by Helena Hunting and I will be interested to see if she continues with the Clipped Wing series or not.

This is a crossover YA book but definitely not for the under 16's due to the slightly erotic scenarios that aren't overly explicit or gratuitous in nature.