Not his relationships, which have been few and far between since his brutal divorce. Not the drama of working in a tattoo parlor, which seems to be around every corner. When things get him down, he smiles and cracks a joke. But he’s not the kind of man you cross, or you’ll find yourself at the wrong end of his fists.
Annika Belousov takes everything seriously.
Like her job as a reality television producer, given that she typically has something to prove. Or her love life, which is defined by a series of requirements — affluent, ambitious, accomplished, to name a few. Definitely her family, who worked their whole lives to afford her every opportunity, a sacrifice she doesn’t take lightly. When she’s tapped to produce a reality show at Joel’s shop, she doesn’t think twice, just goes in for the kill, as if there were any other way.
The second Annika walks into Joel’s shop, he makes it his mission to crack her open, but she’s not having it. He’s all wrong — too crass, too hairy, too un-serious. But it doesn’t take her long to find out there’s more to him than smirks and tattoos. And what she finds could put her career and his heart on the line.
Not that Joel cares. Because for the first time in a long time, he’s found his tonic.
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My emotions ran from angry to deeply depressed and then bawling my eyes out in a sad way to bawling my eyes out in a happy way. My love for these characters was so deep I think I cried for majority of this book just out of pure love for them and the hope I was struggling to hang onto. I really thought I was not going to like Annika by the first couple of chapters because I immediately fell for Joel and his charm, but by the end of the book I understood where she was coming from and why she did the things she did throughout the book. I felt many different things about each character in Tonic from the new characters and even a familiar face had my stomach in knots by the end. Whether you meant to make me cry or not Ms. Hart this was one amazing cry for me and I will be feeling this one for a while. Congrats on this heartwarming 5 star read!