Tattoo Heartist: A Grumpy x Sunshine Dark Romance

by S.K. Angel

Men like me don't deserve soft things. But I kept her anyway.

Tristian Locke

I built my life around control.
Spent my life solving problems with my fists. In the ring. In the streets. In the shadows of Chicago's underground.
But I’m a man on borrowed time, borrowed money, living a life that’s not mine.

And I have nothing left to give anyone.

Then Ingrid Rodriguez walked into my shop.
She was soft in every way I'm not. And underneath all that gentleness she was carrying something dark.
Pain she won't let me touch, secrets she won't let me carry.

She doesn't trust me with any of it.
She will.

Ingrid Rodriguez

Love and pain feel the same when that's all you've ever known.
My father made sure of that.
Kept my world small, invisible, his.

Which means I wasn’t supposed to bump into Tristian Locke. Wasn’t supposed to let him drive me home, feel safe around him, or fall in love.

I was supposed to manage him. Report back. Keep him in line.

He carries scars I'm only beginning to understand. And the closer I get, the more I realize the monsters in my life were never the ones who looked like him.
He wants to know my hurt, wants to be the one to take it away.

I know the pain of what loving him could cost me.
I'm starting to think it might be worth it.

Tropes/What to
Dark Grumpy x Sunshine
Touch Her and Die
Obsessive/Possessive Tattooed MMC
Gentle Giant
Slow Burn
Angst Romance
Abuse Survivor FMC
Underground Fighter
"Who Hurt You?"
Dual POV

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Spicy

362 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 22, 2026

About the author

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Angel is an independent romance, fiction, and fantasy author, officially known as iiLoveydoveii on Wattpad. Here, you will find her published paperbacks and ebooks.

Reviews

[RachelAnyFranny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolute muck. Not the worst thing I've ever read but definately close. The writing was terrible, the characters were terrible, the storyline was messy and it was just really fucking boring.

Tristian (did she spell Tristan wrong?) gave me the ick. Not only was it a WILD choice to have every sex scene be from the male POV but the overuse of the word "little" screamed of creep. Also the whole I have a temper and smash shit up like a fucking toddler everytime someone annoys me is deeply unattractive.

This is absolutely not the one 🙄

[Dwb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read for me, I loved every second of reading this.

I loved their kinks, although I thought they would have explored one of them in particular a little more. Tristian's nickname for Ingrid was cute. They're so cute together ❤️

Parts of the story needed a little more explanation, I think 🤔 but I enjoyed the whole book.

Looking forward to the sister's book (I didn't think I would, but the epilogue got me intrigued)

[Michelle R · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a little bit of a mess. I liked the idea itself but the execution wasn’t very good. I still enjoyed it but there was a lot of loose threads, the MMC father situation didn’t have a clear resolution and his mom condition was so confusing. The FMC was getting to my nerves, I honestly at some point prefer her older sister even tho she was bitchy but she would say something. Overall, it was an okay book.

2.5/5🌶️

[Temptest Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because its exam season all books are gonna feel so tempting so this one was as well even tho it is kinda boring😋🫠

3.5 🌟🌟🌟

Tho I was so annoyed at tristian smtimes wdym you want her to share everything but when she does the same you shut her up???!!??!?!?! Also got bored during the story

[Udvita · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️