Inked Obsession

Montgomery Ink: Fort Collins, Series Book 2

By: Carrie Ann Ryan

Narrated by: Emma Wilder, Aaron Shedlock

The Montgomery Ink saga from NYT best-selling author Carrie Ann Ryan continues with a second-chance romance sure to tug at your heartstrings.

When men in uniform showed up on Eliza Wilder-Strong’s doorstep, she knew her life would be irrevocably altered. She not only lost her husband but the future she’d carefully planned. A year later, she’s looking to start over - beginning with a solo healing vacation. Only she never expects to see a familiar, tempting face along the way.

Beckett Montgomery refuses to want his little sister’s best friend - especially because she’s a widow. Yet there’s no stopping the connection between them. As the temptation to give in intensifies between them, so do the reasons they shouldn’t stay together.

Painful ghosts from both of their pasts stand in their way, and sometimes it’s the living that can haunt you when you’re not looking.

©2021 Carrie Ann Ryan (P)2024 Carrie Ann Ryan

Great addition to this series!!

This second book in this series was a good read that I enjoyed throughout. In this book we get Beckett and Eliza's story and it was an emotional read on from the beginning as both characters have some heavy issues to work through.

Eliza, a widow friend of the Montgomery clan is trying to work through her grief a year after her husband's death. She finds out that her husband had a long going affair with a former high school girlfriend and fathers a child with the other woman who in turn is looking for money from Eliza for the child. Eliza chooses to keep the news of the affair from her friends that have been there for her since the time of her husband's death.

Beckett has been harboring a secret from his family about being a victim of a mass shooting. During the shooting he was inured and one of is friends was killed. He has spent the last year keeping those close to him in the dark and trying to deal with his feelings and fears from the shooting.

The pair find themselves at the same resort on vacation. They spend a lot of time together and then act on their attraction. The pair have chemistry that is off the charts and once they accept that they have feelings to go with their attraction they then must deal with the secrets that they have kept from others.

This was a well written story and the grief as well as the issues that both characters was palpable. The characters were believable and easy to relate to. I enjoyed the return of the characters from the first book as well as the other supporting characters. In the audio version of this book, the narrators Emma Wilder and Aaron Shedlock did a great job bringing this story to life making it an entertaining listening experience. Overall, this was a good book that I would recommend to others.

Another Winner!

I loved it! It had so much in it that I almost forgot how much I lover her Montgomery book series! I can’t wait for the next one and I hope she never stops writing more of them. Even of the kids and grandkids when they are done!

Definitely worth the listen.

My first listen by this author and I really enjoyed it. A slow burn with hot chemistry that kept me captivated all the way through. Fantastic narration. Definitely worth the listen.

Back in the Montgomery world

In the Montgomery world, there is always a lot going on. And here there’s no difference. Beckett is fighting through memories of a horrific event he lived through, while keeping it a secret. And Eliza is living through the death of her husband in the military almost a year ago. Until she finds out there was even more then his death that she has to deal with. But soon, they find out they can work through their problems together. Aaron Shedlock and Emma Wilder do a great job of bringing Beckett & Eliza to life as you listen to them narrate this.

Really enjoyed these two

Eliza and Beckett are friends and have hung out with their other friends and his family. She is a widow and not looking to be out in the dating world again. Beckett has felt an attraction for her but with her recently being a widow he doesn’t feel the timing is right. When the anniversary of her husband’s passing starts to bear she ends up on a vacation planned by one of her brothers. Beckett needs some so time to unstress and goes on a week away. Fate steps in and they end up in the same area on their separate vacations. These two have good chemistry and the friendship first helps to build that. Can a new relationship work for the two of them? These two help each other a lot with the secrets that they are keeping from theirs families. Another great Montgomery family story. The narrators did a great job on this story and bringing the characters out.

Twists and secrets

I wasn't sure whose book I was anticipating more: Beckett or Asher. And I'm still not sure. But Carrie Ann Ryan delivers all the drama and feels in Beckett and Eliza. Oh the twists and secrets being kept in this book. I did not expect some of the happenings, but it was quite the ride to watch them play out.

It is so hard to write this review. I want to tell you so much, but I don't want to give away any spoilers. So I'm just going to leave it at this.

As for the narration, I wasn't sure if I would like Aaron Shedlock as a Montgomery, but he can play them with the best of them. He spoke to me as Beckett. He can definitely be considered a Montgomery brother/cousin. Emma Wilder always does a fabulous job on any of her narrations, but I really enjoyed her outrage as Eliza. She's not scorned, but she is definitely hurt and heartbroken.

Super good Narration

Emma Wilder and Aaron Shedlock knocked the performance of the story out of the park. I really enjoyed this latest Montgomery Ink. It was a very touching story that centered on Beckett and Eliza. I love that they both were resistant, but that the attraction was so strong.

Eliza and Beckett

Eliza and Beckett have known each other for some time as she's one of his sister's best friends, but Eliza was married so a friendship was all they shared. But then Eliza's husband was killed and now she's a widow.

Beckett has tried to deny the attraction he feels for Eliza, mainly because she’s a widow but there’s a strong connection between them one which could easily become more than friendship. As the temptation to give in intensifies between them, so do the reasons they shouldn’t be together.

Almost a year after her husband's death she learned he wasn't the man she believed him to be and she begins to doubt all she thought she had and wonders if the new life she's building is what she wants. Both Beckett and Eliza are desperately in need of space and independently go away to spend time at a luxury resort arranged by their families.

They meet at the resort and agree to eat together etc., but before they leave their feelings for each other deepen and they take the next step and spend the night together. But they are going home tomorrow and agree there can be no secrets but how do they tell their friends and family?

Once home the time comes for them to commit, but will they?

I loved the story, the characters worked so well together and are, as you would expect, very well developed and drawn.

The narration of the book by Emma Wilder and Aaron Shedlock do a wonderful job of bringing this book to life.

I was given this audiobook as a gift and am voluntarily writing my review

Taking a chance

Beckett Montgomery and Eliza Wilder have a lot of the same friends and never even thought of the other one that way, until they shared a dance.
Both have been keeping secrets and on an off chance break from life, they meet up and things begin to happen for both of them.
I enjoyed the story and the narrators bringing it to life.
I would definitely recommend.

Wonderful hurt/comfort romance! Amazing narrators!

Loved this one even better than the first book in the series. It builds slowly with Eliza and Beckett both trying to find themselves and figure out what direction to take in their lives after suffering heartbreaking loss. Beckett was such a surprise. He’s truly adrift, needing to connect with his friends and family, including Eliza, but he finds it very difficult to open up and seek help. Eliza is a great character! She seems to be slowly finding her way again after losing her husband, but then she is hit with the worst kind of revelation, which really alters her perception of her life, forcing her to make some difficult choices. Eliza and Beckett are thrown together by fate and feelings that had been simmering below the surface can no longer be denied. I loved the scenes where they started to flirt and fell in love. There’s definitely some emotional upheaval to go through, with the pacing and intensity of the story picking up suddenly near the end … which I so enjoyed! Good plot twist. There’s quite some introspection, but also insightful dialogue and funny banter. The secondary characters are well-rounded and leave you wanting to get to know all of them better. So on to the next book!

Narration: Emma Wilder and Aaron Shedlock did a wonderful job with their moving performance of this story. Both are very talented narrators. Very much enjoyed listening to their interpretation of the characters and story.