Atlas

Hel's Ink: Extended, Book 2

By: DJ Krimmer

Narrated by: Angelina Rocca, Joe Arden

Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

"I said, marry me.”

Atlas

Lauren Locklear.

She has no idea that I would do anything for her. She doesn’t understand the mountains I would climb just to keep her safe.

That’s okay though, I’ll make sure she does.

She thinks she’s weak, and given the lack of love and support from those closest to her, I can understand why. That changes now, I will make her see the strong woman I see when I look at her.

I’ve pined for her in secret, wanting nothing more than to show her what she could have. But with my past still haunting me, I knew it would be best to stay back.

That is, until she needs access to health insurance and I see a solution to both her problem and my dilemma. All she has to do is say yes.

Ren

I’ve done something stupid.

Something reckless.

Something everyone will judge me for and I’m risking everything.

My family. My career. Myself.

I’m always too much to handle and the men I’ve allowed into my life have always reminded me of my shortcomings, even when it’s their fists doing the reminding.

No one has ever truly cared for me, loved me.

And then Atlas Hart asks me to marry him in order to save my life.

This isn’t love. It’s barely a friendship, or so I thought. But as the days go by and I see what he so selflessly risks for me, I cannot help but think that maybe… this could be more.

©2024 DJ Krimmer (P)2024 DJ Krimmer

my favorite hel’s ink man come to life

this performance is amazing. absolutely love the story but hearing the audio takes it to another level. will listen again… full review of atlas below

Atlas, the ever charming and bright tattoo artist who we got to know a bit in the first book Fox, really captured my heart in this book. He and Ren were always end game and their story was everything I hoped for and so much more.

Qᴜɪᴄᴋ ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: ᴀᴛʟᴀꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇɴ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴄɪʀᴄʟᴇᴅ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ꜰᴏʀ ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ, ʜᴀᴠɪɴɢ ᴀ ꜱᴛʀᴀɪɴᴇᴅ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱʜɪᴘ. ʙᴜᴛ ᴡʜᴇɴ ʀᴇɴ ɴᴇᴇᴅꜱ ɪɴꜱᴜʀᴀɴᴄᴇ ꜰᴏʀ ʜᴇʀ ᴛ1ᴅ ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ʟᴏꜱɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀ ᴊᴏʙ, ᴀᴛʟᴀꜱ ᴅᴏᴇꜱɴ'ᴛ ʜᴇꜱɪᴛᴀᴛᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴀʀʀʏ ʜᴇʀ. ʟɪᴠɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴏɴᴇ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ, ᴛʜᴇʏ ʟᴇᴀʀɴ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇʟᴘ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ɢʀᴏᴡ. ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʙᴜʀɪᴇᴅ ꜰᴇᴇʟɪɴɢꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ᴏɴᴇ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴄᴀɴ ᴏɴʟʏ ꜱᴛᴀʏ ʙᴜʀɪᴇᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ꜱᴏ ʟᴏɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ꜰᴀᴋᴇ ᴍᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛꜱ ᴛᴏ ꜰᴇᴇʟ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ʀᴇᴀʟ...

I absolutely loved both of their arcs. As a woman who has struggled with their own body, Ren's insecurities are depicted so well. Atlas helps Ren not only love herself but also accept love in return. It's truly beautiful.

Atlas also has his own journey, always masking his pain with a smile. I really loved that he not only allowed Ren to hold his hand through but his support from Fox, Janie and the others from Hel's Ink made my heart just melt.

This is also super sexy - might be a little bit of a slow burn but once you get to the spice, it is so good. There's such great banter that I also found myself laughing out loud, sometimes during the same scenes that were turning me on.

I just love this series so much and cannot wait for Ash's book that is coming up next!

Tropes & Elements:
💍 Marriage of Convenience
☀️ Reverse Grumpy x Sunshine
🫶 Cinnamon Roll MMC
❤️ Curvy FMC
💉 T1D Rep
🍆 Pierced MMC
🏡 Forced Proximity
🩷 Found Family
😂 Great Banter

Wow just wow

I know I just finished this book, but I want to reread it. It was so good. I cried. I laughed. I cried some more, but it was absolutely very, very good book.

Atlas

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️
3🌶️🌶️🌶️

💀Plus Size FMC
💀He Fall First
💀Marriage of Convenience

Atlas is book two in Hel’s Ink OG series. Atlas is the happy jokester at Hel’s Ink. Ren or Lauren is the sexy plus size lawyer. Atlas has been obsessed with Ren since the first time she came into the shop. Ren was in an abusive relationship with one of her fellow coworkers. One night Atlas sees the bruises on Ren and loses it. He beats up her abusive boyfriend and goes to jail. Ren gets fired from her job and is worried how she will pay for her medication without her insurance. Atlas sees this as his only opportunity to take care of. He offers to marry her. Even though their relationship started out as a marriage of convenience, it quickly turns steamy. I love that DJ makes the female leads so relatable with flaws and disabilities that they learn to embrace. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

Angelina Rocca and Joe Arden did a fantastic job narrating this book in duet style narration.

Riviting

This novel blew my mind, I laughed and cried and ugly cried. Both narrators blew this novel out of the park. The amount of emotion poured into the reading left me stunned, happy, and also heart broken. An absolute must read!

Sunflower Soulmates 🩵🌻🩵

This story does contain some TWs, so please check in with those before you listen. My thanks to Blue Nose Audio for this ALC.

Atlas is book two in the Hel’s Ink series, featuring all things Atlas Hart and a marriage of mutually beneficial convenience. When I eyeballed this book, I heard nothing but Joe’s voice for this golden retriever, cinnamon roll of a man. Atlas compensates for the trauma in his life by being the fun-loving, got your back kind of guy. When you listen you will immediately see why Joe’s voice is so pivotal as Atlas — Joe has an easygoing style that is playful, a low tone and a raspy whisper that is easy on the earbuds, and has emotional range that makes you feel the pain Atlas is dealing with internally — all while presenting himself to his world as the happy-go-lucky guy. The opening scene shows Atlas’s darker side, and if you’ve listened to Joe before, you know he carries the mental and physical intensity of action and anger with controlled and measured timing.

Enter Ren. She’s been going to Hel’s Ink for years and has been immune to Atlas’s charm…or so she thinks. This is where Angelina Rocca shines. She encapsulates Ren’s softness, and also her strength. I’ve listened to plenty of Angelina, and no other character has felt more comfortable to me in Angelina’s voice than Ren does. You can feel Ren’s overall fatigue and acceptance of the way her family treats her; all of this comes through in Angelina’s performance. Not to mention, Ren lives a full life as a Type 1 diabetic and at times has such terrible highs and lows that she becomes hospitalized. The tired and sad ache in Angelina’s performance makes you want to swoop in and take care of Ren, just as Atlas tries to.

This story would not be complete without its secondary characters. Joe and Angelina equally and iconically give voice to the male and females of the Hel’s Ink universe. Joe’s best is Derek, hands down, and Angelina has a gorgeous voice for Sunday. Once again, Angelina effortlessly gives a combination of soft, sure strength to a female who has had to find her grit. Additionally, Joe makes you despise her “boyfriend” Andrew and Ren’s father, while Angelina gives Ren’s mother a cold and distant feel that is sensed on the page.

I’ve saved Howard for last. The impression Howard will leave on your very heart and soul is indescribable. You will find out how Atlas and Howard forge their relationship, and it is nothing short of endearing and touching. Joe gives Howard an aged, witty, and longing voice as a man who has lived his 90 years through good and sad times.

Perfection

How can you possibly put into words how much you loved a book?
It's not just about a tattoo shop.
It's not just about a girl and boy falling in love.
It's about a man who thinks he cannot love. Who has been broken by the people who are supposed to love him most.
It's about a girl who is insecure about herself and doesn't believe she deserves that man's love.
It's about the kind of love that makes you so impulsive as to propose marriage to someone so they can have your health insurance.
It's about reading audiobooks so you can learn about how to best help with your new wife's health health condition.
It's about teaching your new wife that she is beautiful no matter what she sees in the mirror. That if she could see herself through your eyes, she would feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.
It's about letting go of the people who hurt you the most in your life and learning to lean on your found family even if they are not blood..
It's about letting go of those insecurities and realizing you deserve every bit of love the people around you want to give you.
It's about representation...and proving we all need love and care no matter our circumstance or condition or disease.

As with every book I read, I went in blind to this one. I had no idea this cinnamon roll with a troubled past and this brilliant but self-doubting woman would move me as much as it did. It hit me hard. How real these characters are. Their struggles. Their traumas. Don't event get me started on Howard...I'll likely cry again.
Now take those words DJ wrote and have them brought to life by the powerhouse duo of Joe Arden and Angelina Rocca. The inner monologs, the comedic delivery, the banter, the tears, and of course the spice, all together took an incredible book and made it one of the most amazing reading experiences I've ever had.
I wish I could give more than 5 stars because this book deserves way more.

Atlas is book two of the Hel's Ink Series
Interconnected standalone
Written by DJ Krimmer
Narrated in duet style by Joe Arden and Angelina Rocca
Produced by Bluenose Audio

Unforgettable Story with Outstanding Narration!

Atlas is the second audiobook in the phenomenal Hel’s Inc. series by DJ Krimmer, and this series just keeps getting better and better. DJ Krimmer is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. I fell in love with Atlas in the first book and only fell harder after listening to this audiobook. On the outside, he is a cocky, fun-loving manwhore who takes nothing seriously. But there is so much more to this character, and all of that comes to light in this story. I was brought to tears more than once from Atlas’s backstory. Lauren, or Ren as Atlas calls her, is a beautiful, strong, curvy heroine, who is battling her own health and self-esteem issues. Both of these characters fell for each other long ago, but neither of them will admit it because neither of them believe they’re worthy of the other. After a fake marriage between the two to ensure Ren gets her diabetes medication, the relationship between them grows exponentially—first as friends and then as so much more, even though they fight it tooth and nail. Watching them lose that fight is as heartbreaking as it is heartwarming, and not to mention extremely entertaining. Every woman deserves a man to love and care for her the way Atlas does for Ren, and every man deserves a woman to care for and accept him the way Ren does for Atlas.

The narration for this book is provided by the incredible talents of Joe Arden and Angelina Rocca. No male voice actor can bring me to tears the way Joe Arden can, and he certainly proved that yet again in this audiobook. His portrayal of Atlas was creative and multifaceted, displaying all the emotional depth and passion this beautifully complex character deserves. And Angelina Rocca’s impassioned performance as Ren had me in all of my feelings, flawlessly portraying this character’s inner turmoil and vulnerability, as well as her untapped strength and general badassness. And together, their portrayal of this couple is absolutely white hot! They bring these characters to life in such a way as to make them and this audiobook completely unforgettable.

Best Story & SO Well Written

I loved, loved, loved, LOVED Atlas's Book!! This is my 1st DJ Krimmer Book, BUT it will NOT be my last!!! I love that the MFC has a health condition that is CORRECTLY written & the MMC has a learning disability that again is CORRECTLY written!! Joe Arden & Angelina Rocca knocked the Narration out of the Park!!!

Atlaaaas

Atlas broke my heart, made me laugh and Joe Arden’s narration 🥵🥵. Thought I couldn’t loved the story more, than I listened to it!!

FANTASTIC

the story is funny and realistic. Joe Arden and Angelina Rocca were amazing as Atlas and Lauren (Ren).