‘Old Ink’, the third book of Ali Lyda’s ‘Get Ink’d’ romance series sees tattoo shop owner Reagan finally accept, and act on, his feelings toward much younger college student Channing. I requested and listened to a free review copy of this audiobook, but didn’t listen to Book 2 beforehand. While these books are definitely connected and Reagan and Channing’s story started in the previous book, I never felt like I was missing crucial details. The book stands alone well, in my opinion.
In this book, the reader is treated to a slow-burn, age-gap romance. At the start of the story, the older character, Reagan, is spending a lot of time with internal thoughts of how it’s a terrible idea to start a relationship with someone so young. Channing has been in love with Reagan for over 3 years and feels it’s time to show Reagan that he is now a mature and experienced adult capable of a grown-up relationship. Most of the first half of the book deals with Reagan’s internal, cyclical thoughts about his skewed reasoning why a relationship with Channing can’t happen. It seems a bit repetitive at times. This type of slow-burn is not my favorite way an author creates tension in a romance, and once the characters start to communicate their feelings, I began to enjoy it more. Overall, It’s a solid, believable romantic story.
This is my first listen with Connor Brown as narrator. He does a nice job with exposition. His delivery of dialogue, however, at times seems stiff and rushed. Maybe this was a deliberate choice on his part, but it didn’t always convey a natural flow of speech. These minor quibbles won’t prevent me from listening to other performances of his.
The previous comments are a representation of my honest and voluntary opinion of ‘Old Ink: Get Ink’d, Book 3’.
Recommended.