Thorn & Thistle

Quiet does not equal weak... Leaving a dependable job to apprentice as a tattoo artist was a drastic step after surviving breast cancer, but Cassie Whiteaker is nearly five years cancer-free. Nearly. She's not ready to go out on her own until she clears that all-important hurdle. Also off-limits are relationships and sex-something Cassie is sure she'll never want again. Struggling tattoo shop owner MJ Flores doesn't give a damn what people think, but losing Thorn & Thistle would mean losing everything. When her former mentor's protégé arrives at her door, MJ hires her out of obligation...at first. Cross-stitching goody-goodies are not her type, but Cassie's business background might just get the shop back on solid footing. They strike a bargain: Cassie will enact new marketing plans and MJ will teach her to find her inner bitch. Only when clients request to see Cassie-having learned of the beautiful, compassionate tattoos she creates for survivors and their families-does MJ realize all Cassie has endured. And as Cassie's fears fade, she finds it harder to keep her admiration for her bad-girl boss from reawakening all she'd feared was lost.

Tattoo artist Jamie Winston is used to caring for others. Between her assistant manager position at a tattoo parlor, single-parenting her twelve-year-old daughter, and supporting her alcoholic parents, Jamie rarely prioritizes her own needs—unless Sierra Clark is in her chair. The bubbly, younger woman somehow manages to make Jamie feel like the carefree teenager she never got to be, making anything seem possible. For Sierra, time with Jamie is a much-needed escape. She takes her work as a social worker seriously, but with budget cuts threatening her job, there’s a lot riding on the fundraiser she’s planning with Jamie. The fact that it means working closely with the sexy, older tattooist is a bonus—a deliciously tempting bonus. Sierra isn’t one for relationships, but she’s never felt such a strong desire to mix business with pleasure. Sizzling chemistry quickly erodes Jamie’s fears of being too old for Sierra, but navigating a romance with someone who’s at such a different stage in life is no easy task. They’ve each come to rely on themselves more than anyone else, but having a future together will mean letting their guards down, and accepting each other as a safe place to fall.

Survival is only the beginning in a novel that "blends a delightfully nuanced opposites-attract romance with real-world issues of health and healing" (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Leaving a dependable job to apprentice as a tattoo artist is a drastic step after surviving breast cancer, but Cassie Whiteaker is nearly five years cancer-free. Nearly. She's not ready to go out on her own until she clears that all-important hurdle. Also off-limits are relationships and sex-something Cassie is sure she'll never want again. Struggling tattoo shop owner MJ Flores doesn't give a damn what people think, but losing Thorn & Thistle would mean losing everything. When her former mentor's protégé arrives at her door, MJ hires her out of obligation . . . at first. Cross-stitching goody-goodies are not her type, but Cassie's business background might just get the shop back on solid footing. They strike a bargain: Cassie will enact new marketing plans and MJ will teach her to find her inner bitch. Only when clients request to see Cassie-having learned of the beautiful, compassionate tattoos she creates for survivors and their families-does MJ realize all Cassie has endured. And as Cassie's fears fade, she finds it harder to keep her admiration for her bad-girl boss from reawakening all she'd feared was lost. . . . "Emotionally intense and searingly sensual." -Booklist "Davids tackles a tough subject with grace . . . and leaves readers curious to find out what will happen next at the Thorn & Thistle Tattoo Shop." -Library Journal One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you're looking for with an HEA/HFN. It's a promise!