Review: Masquerade (Games #3) by Nyrae Dawn

A biker. A tattoo artist. A love to last a lifetime.

Maddox Cross has always had to be tough. When his father went to jail for murder, the teenager took care of his sister and mother. Now on his own and working security at a night club, Maddox wants to become a tattoo artist-a dream that comes closer to reality when he falls for the hottest, most tatted woman he's ever seen. She's wild and beautiful, and Maddox will do anything to be with her.

Bee Malone came to town to open up her new tattoo parlor, Masquerade. Since being kidnapped as a young girl, Bee has had trouble getting close to anyone. But when she meets Maddox, she sees that under his hard biker's body is the sensitive soul of an artist. What starts out as a sizzling one-night stand soon becomes so much more.

Bee wants Maddox to join her tattoo business, but letting him into her life means revealing all her most intimate secrets. And as the past begins to intertwine with her present, Bee fears their love may not be as permanent as their ink.

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Source: e-arc provided by Forever Publishing for my honest review

Review:
What made Masquerade stand out was Bee. She's a fantastic, heroine with a very unusual past. I couldn't get enough of that girl. She' very guarded but also strong and kind, even if she doesn't see herself that way.

She's a perfect match for Maddox, since their guarded approach to life is similar, but Maddox's pov wasn't as compelling to me. We learned part of his story already in Façade. Maddox feels like things are his fault and that he fails everyone around him. It’s valid (sort of – in his mind anyway) and I understand how difficult his life was, but in comparison to what Adrian went through in that book, and overcame, he came off a little whiny. I feel like I’ve read this so many times before. I also really started to hate his sister Laney. The brother/sister bond was wonderful but I wanted her to back off a little. That whole group (Adrian, Colt, Cheyenne, Laney – characters from books #1 and #2 in the Game series) came off very heavy handed and it felt like testosterone overload at times when the guys were going at it. Honestly, it felt true to the story – but I just wanted to smack them. I wouldn't want to go to any of those gatherings either so I could see why Maddox would bolt.

One of my favorite parts was when Adrian and Maddox had a heart to heart. It's like their story came full circle and Adrian was paying back a favor to Maddox. Very touching.

I also really loved the sexy times between Bee and Maddox. The actual sex portion of those sexy times were hot but it was the *almost* sexy times that blew me away. These two aren't good with words and they way they chose to express their feelings and trust in each other almost killed me. Very swoony and heart wrenching.

While this wasn’t my favorite book in the series, I think it will be for a lot of other readers. I would recommend this book just because of Bee, but I also love how the idea of sexuality and trust was explored. Another thing that I loved is how Dawn incorporated tattoos & piercings into the book without it becoming a *hot tattooed guy* cliché. You can tell she did her homework with this profession and didn’t just throw it out there as a plot device.