***The Artists Trilogy is a dark and sexy contemporary ride about three flawed individuals caught in a world where it’s so easy to justify the bad things we do. This is a pure adult read (Not YA or NA).***
From goodreads: Ellie Watt is used to starting over. The daughter of a grifting team, Ellie spent her childhood being used as a pawn in her parents’ latest scam. Now she’s much older, wiser and ready to give her con artist life a rest. But returning to the dry desert town of Palm Valley, California means one more temptation than she bargained for – Camden McQueen. Once known as the high school weirdo, Camden is bigger and badder than the boy he used to be and a talented tattoo artist with his own thriving business. Ellie’s counting on Camden still being in love with her but what she’s not counting on is how easily unrequited love can turn into obsession over time. When Camden discovers Ellie’s plan to con him, he makes her a deal she doesn’t dare refuse, but her freedom comes with a price and it’s one that takes both Ellie and Camden down a dangerous road.
Where do I start with this book and how can I possibly describe how much I loved it? This book is perfect in every sense of the word. This story is passionate, exciting, frightening, moving and incredibly heartbreaking. By the time I was done with this story I was a mess, not a blubbering mess but a mess nonetheless. I couldn’t stop thinking about this painful yet colorful story even days after I had finished reading it.
Karina’s ability to write a unique story with complex characters that have depth is astounding. What impressed me the most was the way she weaved the past and present together; the present is told in first person and the past is told in third person. Bravo Karina. Bravo!!! There wasn’t one blessed thing about this story that I didn’t love. Sins and Needles will take you on the most heartbreaking joyride of your life and you’ll find yourself wanting so much more of all these shady characters. They aren’t all shady but they are certainly wrapped-up in some seriously shady business!
grift•er [grif-ter] noun Slang. 1. a swindler, dishonest gambler, or the like.
Welcome to a world filled with grifters and mafiosos. And for those of you who love the dark and twisted plots laced with betrayal and deceit, please step to the front of the line because this is your story!!! But it goes a little deeper than all of that because it’s a story about redemption, forgiveness and possibly even hope.
“Spite was the fuel to right all your wrongs. And like any fuel, it could consume you.”
I loved everything about Ellie. She’s so fierce and one auh-mazing con-artist!!! She’s far from perfect because she’s incredibly flawed and she’s a product of her upbringing but some of her choices will make you cringe!!! She’s like a train wreck that won’t crash because she’s so damn resilient!
Ellie’s love interest is Camden. Beautiful Camden. Camden who is a gothic kid in high school and yet he transforms into the most interesting tattoo artist as a man. His life is far from perfect and is equally as flawed at Ellie but when these two get together the push-and pull begins and it’s beyond intense. Ellie and Camden have history and it’s a painful one filled with heartache and regret.
“You’re a con artist. A liar. A thief. An unredeemable soul. You can’t be reformed. You can’t be saved. You’ll die trying to make the world pay for what it did to you. And you’ll die alone.”
My final two cents: a flawless story written by a brilliant author…this book needs to be #1 on your TBR! 
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