ARC Review: Written on my Heart by Cole Gibsen

Title: Written on my Heart 
Author: Cole Gibsen 
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance 
Source: NetGalley 
Publisher: Entangled Embrace
Publication Date: July 28th 2015
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Summary: 

It's been six months since Ashlyn Daniels was kicked out of her home. Six months since she stood up to her abusive stepfather and got a busted rib—and seeing all her things set ablaze in a backyard bonfire—for her trouble. Never going back. She doesn't need trouble...especially if trouble is tattoo artist Lane Garrett, who's six-feet-plus of tattooed hotness and a complete ass. Lane has spent the last decade fighting to support his family. To protect them. There's no room for romance, even with a fragile (yet amusingly feisty) stunner...even if she somehow manages to invade his world and his heart. But while some secrets are as visible as ink on the skin, others must remain hidden at all costs...

Review:  

That cover is stunning, the typography, models and colors all go together so well and draws your eyes too it. Originally that is what caught my eye, then the tattooed guy. I LOVE tattoos. Some covers seem very cheesy when a guy has tattoos but this one was anything but cheesy. Now that I talked about the cover (I am sorry, I had to!) let me move on to the story. Holy crap. So many emotions went through me as I read this. I finished it in a little over two hours, and with my current attention span that is a very good thing. 

Ash hasn't had an easy life. When she was a young girl who mother remarried and her new step-father wasn't a decent human being at all. For years Ash was abused both emotionally and physically, shaping her into the girl she is now. Six months ago her step-father kicked her out of the house and burned all her belongings in the backyard as her mother watched on. Ash is desperate not to go back, sleeping in her car, eating Ramen almost every night and now renting a crappy apartment with a roommate who parties every night. At work she meets Emily, a feisty twenty one year old that insists that it is time for Ash to get her tattoo of a guys name covered, a bit hesitant Ash agrees and lands herself in Lanes shop. Lane is an ass. At a very young age he had to learn to be responsible. He can't help the undeniable attraction to this shy but beautiful girl that walked into his shop to get her tattooed covered. But due to his responsibility to Harper he knows he could never have her. 

Written on my Heart switched between Ash's and Lane's POV. When we first meet Ash she isn't in the greatest place. She is finally off the streets but it doesn't mean she is happy. After years of emotional abuse the tiniest things set her off. Cleaning especially. That is how her and Emily meet, there was a mishap at the coffee shop she worked out and Ash nearly had a panic attack before Emily intervened on her behalf. I know I always talk about character growth in my reviews but this book is a big one on it. I am not joking at all. Ash from the beginning of the novel to the end are two different people. Thanks to both Lane and Emily. She started out with no friends to now having Emily. Basically Lane is a gigantic asshole, but we get to see through that. He is rough on the outside but he is a beautiful person on the inside. 

I loved the romance. It felt a little fast to me, but there are so many other things to actually consider that make the speed of the romance understandable. Any scene with both Ash and Lane was beautifully written. You can see that both of them are trying to come to terms with their pasts and trying to move on with their futures. There was one part that I had to stop and take a deep breathe, I wasn't sure how it was going to play out AT ALL. I was a bit afraid of it taking on a 50 Shades twist (Don't worry, it didn't) in the end we saw what Lane was going for and how he did it. It actually made sense. 

I won't lie. This book will make you tear up, the last twenty or so pages I had a few tears streaming down my face. But Written on My Heart was a beautiful romance, and I'm not kidding you when I say I wish there was more. 

When I was reading this book two songs kept standing out in my mind that reminded me of Written on my Heart. Photograph by Ed Sheeran and Fight Song by Rachel Platten, if you haven't heard them I really suggest you do. They are beautiful! 

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