~ Review: Tattooed Tears ~

PLOT SYNOPSIS: 

REVIEW:  In TATTOOED TEARS, Tanya Henderson weaves a tale of loss and love.  Having lost the man she loved in the ill-fated attack of September 11^th, Shay Bennett is convinced that it hurts too much to go on.  That is until his twin brother, Jake Masters shows up at her front door, fresh out of prison and in need of a place to stay.  Unaware that his brother, Jerome, has been killed, Jake must deal with his grief and attempt to help Shay deal with hers.

Conditioned since childhood that tears are signs of weakness, Shay is determined to find her solace in the bottom of a bottle rather than on the shoulder of a friend.  It is these tough walls of indifference that we watch Jake attempt to tear down, with hope that Shay will realize their potential for happiness together.

Jake’s character is a very sweet one.  We watch his consistent attention to the little details in Shay’s life.  He fixes dinner, washes dishes and expresses genuine interest and concern in the happenings of Shay’s day.  Readers will readily love Jake’s character because we witness his honest attempt to merely be a good friend to Shay and not rush a relationship.

Readers are also allowed to watch a very forgiving Jake attempt to reclaim his life after serving 10 years for a crime he didn’t commit. Though the idea of Jake is a welcomed concept, the rate at which he’s allowed to get out of prison, forgive his accuser, grieve his brother’s day and woo Shay is just too fast to be believable. 

The plots in TATTOOED TEARS unfold quite rapidly.  It would have been better to receive more information about Shay’s childhood, since it is her childhood that is credited for Shay’s tough-as-nails attitude.  I believe this information would help readers empathize with her more, as oppose to seeing just a spoiled woman with a bad attitude. 

TATTOOED TEARS provides many well-drawn secondary characters, which help add spice and flavor to the story.  Readers will absolutely love the way the characters don’t back down to Shay’s some times dictatorial attitude.  Ms. Henderson provides secondary characters that have us laughing one minute, shocked by their boldness the next and then totally appalled by their insensitivity.

There are, however, inconsistencies surrounding one of the main secondary characters that cause this novel not to work so well for me.  That character is Shay’s best friend, Cleo.  One moment there is a beautiful, budding, playful friendship and then suddenly readers are asked to deal with a very troubled friendship; which would certainly be believable if we weren’t asked to believe that the friends’ current problems are deeply rooted in issues that were there all along, issues that are not even remotely hinted at until the day the trouble begins.

The story concept for TATTOOED TEARS is one full of potential.  I would have liked to see readers allowed more time to get to know the characters and develop an even greater appreciate of the concept.

2002