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The Bleeding Heart
Brooklyn is a talented artist with an obsession for blood; one that she satiates at her uncle’s tattoo shop. It’s here at The Bleeding Heart that Brooklyn practices the art of dispensing pain onto others. Yet, nothing can dull the desire running through her veins, especially since the man she really wants to torture rots in jail for murder.
When Daniel comes into her life, Brooklyn’s obsession with tattoos and blood quickly turns into desire for him. She dreams about getting him on her tattoo table as her first official customer, marking him as her own. But Daniel has a different idea as to what they should be doing with their bodies.
As Brooklyn spirals out of control, her sanity begins to slip right along with whatever is left of her humanity. Daniel may be the only one left to save her, if she lets him in. In the end she will have to choose between exacting vengeance, staying alive, or loving Daniel.
When Daniel comes into her life, Brooklyn’s obsession with tattoos and blood quickly turns into desire for him. She dreams about getting him on her tattoo table as her first official customer, marking him as her own. But Daniel has a different idea as to what they should be doing with their bodies.
As Brooklyn spirals out of control, her sanity begins to slip right along with whatever is left of her humanity. Daniel may be the only one left to save her, if she lets him in. In the end she will have to choose between exacting vengeance, staying alive, or loving Daniel.
316 pages, Nook
First published May 21, 2015
About the author
Amy Giuffrida
2 books10 followersAmy Giuffrida grew up reading Stephen King and sleeping with a light on in fear. She now purposely watches horror movies and has recently gotten over her fear of clowns.
She is a Buffy the Vampire Slayer enthusiast, which has influenced her writing--there are no sparkly vampires here.
When not writing, you can probably find her watching missed CW shows, hanging out at her kids' sports practice, reading for her literary assistant position at Holloway Literary Agency, or inhaling the latest YA or NA read. THE BLEEDING HEART is her first novel.
You can find Amy at her many haunts on the web: http://midnightsocietytales.com and
She is a Buffy the Vampire Slayer enthusiast, which has influenced her writing--there are no sparkly vampires here.
When not writing, you can probably find her watching missed CW shows, hanging out at her kids' sports practice, reading for her literary assistant position at Holloway Literary Agency, or inhaling the latest YA or NA read. THE BLEEDING HEART is her first novel.
You can find Amy at her many haunts on the web: http://midnightsocietytales.com and
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 27, 2015
As the author of The Bleeding Heart, of course I'm biased in my rating:)
May 18, 2015
This book, guys, this book.
Brooklyn hasn't had it easy. She went through a traumatic experience that no one should ever have to go through and it hasn't left her without scars. Visible and invisible. She's finally learning how to cope with what happened and who she is and then Daniel comes into her life, spinning it all out of proportion.
That's all you need to know about this story, because you need to experience it for yourself. It's not a book for weak-hearted. It's not a book for people who like light and fluffy love stories. It's a book about darkness and pain and figuring out who you are after you've been undone.
I don't want to give too much away of the story or anything, but I can tell you that I loved it. Amy has a way to tell her stories that I love because she's not afraid to take chances, to explore the darker side of human nature. It's that courage to write stories that aren't often told that I love about Amy's books and am so excited that the world can read them now too!
In case you missed it, The Bleeding Heart is now available on Kindle and I think you should pick it up! I can't wait for you guys to read this book!!!
Brooklyn hasn't had it easy. She went through a traumatic experience that no one should ever have to go through and it hasn't left her without scars. Visible and invisible. She's finally learning how to cope with what happened and who she is and then Daniel comes into her life, spinning it all out of proportion.
That's all you need to know about this story, because you need to experience it for yourself. It's not a book for weak-hearted. It's not a book for people who like light and fluffy love stories. It's a book about darkness and pain and figuring out who you are after you've been undone.
I don't want to give too much away of the story or anything, but I can tell you that I loved it. Amy has a way to tell her stories that I love because she's not afraid to take chances, to explore the darker side of human nature. It's that courage to write stories that aren't often told that I love about Amy's books and am so excited that the world can read them now too!
In case you missed it, The Bleeding Heart is now available on Kindle and I think you should pick it up! I can't wait for you guys to read this book!!!
May 23, 2015
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian I Dig Good Books, I was gifted this copy by HEA BookShelf in exchange for my review.
I'm not gonna write a blurby bit, just jumping straight in with my review.
There I was merrily reading away, loving, I mean loving the way this was going, then....its gone. Finished, just like that! I was loving the way Brooklyn was growing into the person she was, with Daniel, and the way we could she that she maybe, just maybe, might get over that trauma she had when she was twelve. I was loving it, even if it was first person AND single POV AND in the present tense. Not my favourite, you'll know if you follow my reviews, but I did not mind it here. I was loving that we get told some of said trauma, although we didn't get the WHOLE picture, just snippets, hints and nasty man come back for more. I was loving the whole supporting cast Brooklyn had backing her, her uncle, the tattoo shop team, bar one. And I was loving that previously mentioned nasty man was getting his just desserts.
THEN it was all over. No build up, no indication it was coming, noting, boom! Just done, and while I did actaully like the ending, with that teeny tiny bit of Daniel, I also hated it, and this is why it gets 4 stars and not five.
This is not a fluffy romance, people, not by a long chalk. Brooklyn had a diffifcult and almost deadly upbringing, and her mind is *somewhat* warped to that upbringing. It makes for some difficult reading, emotionally, not because it badly written.
Because it is stunningly written, I have to say! And the author profile page on Goodreads states this is her first novel. If that is the case, I'm so sorry I can't stretch to 5 stars, really I am, but you should be very proud of this work, you really should. It really was that unforeseen ending (cos not at all while I was reading did I see THAT one comin!) that stops me from giving it a 5 star rating.
4 stars
**same worded review appears on Goodreads, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk**
I'm not gonna write a blurby bit, just jumping straight in with my review.
There I was merrily reading away, loving, I mean loving the way this was going, then....its gone. Finished, just like that! I was loving the way Brooklyn was growing into the person she was, with Daniel, and the way we could she that she maybe, just maybe, might get over that trauma she had when she was twelve. I was loving it, even if it was first person AND single POV AND in the present tense. Not my favourite, you'll know if you follow my reviews, but I did not mind it here. I was loving that we get told some of said trauma, although we didn't get the WHOLE picture, just snippets, hints and nasty man come back for more. I was loving the whole supporting cast Brooklyn had backing her, her uncle, the tattoo shop team, bar one. And I was loving that previously mentioned nasty man was getting his just desserts.
THEN it was all over. No build up, no indication it was coming, noting, boom! Just done, and while I did actaully like the ending, with that teeny tiny bit of Daniel, I also hated it, and this is why it gets 4 stars and not five.
This is not a fluffy romance, people, not by a long chalk. Brooklyn had a diffifcult and almost deadly upbringing, and her mind is *somewhat* warped to that upbringing. It makes for some difficult reading, emotionally, not because it badly written.
Because it is stunningly written, I have to say! And the author profile page on Goodreads states this is her first novel. If that is the case, I'm so sorry I can't stretch to 5 stars, really I am, but you should be very proud of this work, you really should. It really was that unforeseen ending (cos not at all while I was reading did I see THAT one comin!) that stops me from giving it a 5 star rating.
4 stars
**same worded review appears on Goodreads, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk**
February 26, 2015
Review to come.
May 24, 2015
Hmmmm where to start, where to start?? This book has me all over the place right now. While I liked the dark aspect of it, the subject and characters, the writing seems a bit choppy and the ending rushed, although surprising.
Brooklyn has been trying to overcome a traumatic experience from six years ago all on her own. Due to what happened to her, she has become obsessed with blood and making others feel her pain. To get control of her situation, Brooklyn is apprenticing at her uncle's tattoo shop, waiting until she turns eighteen to start manning the gun herself. When she finally gets to put her art on her own customers, Brooklyn is in for a real surprise.
"I clean his skin first, wiping not only dead skin but his past as well. This is the future, his and mine." ~ Brooklyn
Daniel is a drummer in a band and thinks Brooklyn is pretty cute in her no-nonsense kind of way. He senses there is something going on with her, but could never in a million years guess what it actually is. Daniel sees how talented Brooklyn is and agrees to be her first, not knowing she was going to push his limits for pain.
Once what she's doing is realized, Brooklyn has to try harder than ever to control her darkness (which reminded me of Dexter and his Dark Passenger) especially when the man she has it trained on ends up dead. This sends Brooklyn into a total downward spiral that not even Daniel can get her back from.
"We're meant to be together. We fit, Brooklyn." ~ Daniel
Ah if it were only this easy. Like I said, I was on the fence with this rating, but felt Amy Guiffrida has a great story line here, it just needs some polishing up. Written in various points of view, the book is a stand alone with no cliffhanger ending.
Reviewed for Renee Entress's Blog.
Brooklyn has been trying to overcome a traumatic experience from six years ago all on her own. Due to what happened to her, she has become obsessed with blood and making others feel her pain. To get control of her situation, Brooklyn is apprenticing at her uncle's tattoo shop, waiting until she turns eighteen to start manning the gun herself. When she finally gets to put her art on her own customers, Brooklyn is in for a real surprise.
"I clean his skin first, wiping not only dead skin but his past as well. This is the future, his and mine." ~ Brooklyn
Daniel is a drummer in a band and thinks Brooklyn is pretty cute in her no-nonsense kind of way. He senses there is something going on with her, but could never in a million years guess what it actually is. Daniel sees how talented Brooklyn is and agrees to be her first, not knowing she was going to push his limits for pain.
Once what she's doing is realized, Brooklyn has to try harder than ever to control her darkness (which reminded me of Dexter and his Dark Passenger) especially when the man she has it trained on ends up dead. This sends Brooklyn into a total downward spiral that not even Daniel can get her back from.
"We're meant to be together. We fit, Brooklyn." ~ Daniel
Ah if it were only this easy. Like I said, I was on the fence with this rating, but felt Amy Guiffrida has a great story line here, it just needs some polishing up. Written in various points of view, the book is a stand alone with no cliffhanger ending.
Reviewed for Renee Entress's Blog.
May 25, 2015
I have received an ARC copy of this book from the Author in exchange for an honest review.
I'm not rally sure where to start.
I have to admit it was a bit hard for me to get into reading. Not because of the writing style or that it did not grab my attention. It did. Straight away. But the editing made me cringe. The words sometimes were divided into two and it wad hard to follow. Not always, but sometimes it made me put the book away and walk due to frustration.
But the story...
The story is told from POV of the main character, Brooklyn. A damaged girl, just before her 18th Birthday. She is not a normal girl, where shopping, boys and partying are all she can think off. No she is different. She has demons that consumes her. Making her find pleasure in something, that other people would think as sick. Different. Forbidden.
Brooklyn, since she was 12 and after a tragic night, which left her scarred both inside and outside, lives with her uncle Jonathan. A guy, who knows what is she struggling with, but loves her regardless.
Brooklyn, is a strong heroine. She knows what is wrong with her and she knows that she needs to keep her demons hidden from everyone. Even from her Uncle. To hide them away and to give in to her pleasure, she decides to be a tattoo artist. By doing it she can let loose her imagination go wild by drawing things and satisfy the hunger by transferring them to an art on human body. And life was perfect. Even if she was not perfect. And then she met Daniel. Sweet, handsome drummer from a band, who fell for her even after learning about her past, about her ugly second self. And she thought life cannot be better. Until the past comes back, roaring into her face and making her life miserable once again.
I liked the book, LIKE REALLY liked it. But the end left me feeling a bit meh. I didn't have the catharsis I expected to have. What took it away? I think the rushed ending, that there was no build up and the BOOM! where everything just goes either well or not. I missed that. Maybe it was me only. TO be honest with the way it was going I was HOPING for a cliffhanger. But then it was there. A small paragraph telling me it is over.
But overall I would recommend the book. It is well written, characters are amazingly well developed and the story line is grabbing your attention. But even with all this I liked the book. It was different, refreshing.
it deserves full 4 stars. Well done!
I'm not rally sure where to start.
I have to admit it was a bit hard for me to get into reading. Not because of the writing style or that it did not grab my attention. It did. Straight away. But the editing made me cringe. The words sometimes were divided into two and it wad hard to follow. Not always, but sometimes it made me put the book away and walk due to frustration.
But the story...
The story is told from POV of the main character, Brooklyn. A damaged girl, just before her 18th Birthday. She is not a normal girl, where shopping, boys and partying are all she can think off. No she is different. She has demons that consumes her. Making her find pleasure in something, that other people would think as sick. Different. Forbidden.
Brooklyn, since she was 12 and after a tragic night, which left her scarred both inside and outside, lives with her uncle Jonathan. A guy, who knows what is she struggling with, but loves her regardless.
Brooklyn, is a strong heroine. She knows what is wrong with her and she knows that she needs to keep her demons hidden from everyone. Even from her Uncle. To hide them away and to give in to her pleasure, she decides to be a tattoo artist. By doing it she can let loose her imagination go wild by drawing things and satisfy the hunger by transferring them to an art on human body. And life was perfect. Even if she was not perfect. And then she met Daniel. Sweet, handsome drummer from a band, who fell for her even after learning about her past, about her ugly second self. And she thought life cannot be better. Until the past comes back, roaring into her face and making her life miserable once again.
I liked the book, LIKE REALLY liked it. But the end left me feeling a bit meh. I didn't have the catharsis I expected to have. What took it away? I think the rushed ending, that there was no build up and the BOOM! where everything just goes either well or not. I missed that. Maybe it was me only. TO be honest with the way it was going I was HOPING for a cliffhanger. But then it was there. A small paragraph telling me it is over.
But overall I would recommend the book. It is well written, characters are amazingly well developed and the story line is grabbing your attention. But even with all this I liked the book. It was different, refreshing.
it deserves full 4 stars. Well done!
June 11, 2015
The premise for this book intrigued me! And I wasn't disappointed. Brooklyn's character is messed up, in a way that fascinated me. Her background, her obsession makes her a unique and complex girl. It was a pleasure to be allowed in her twisted mind. Driven to get to the end to see how the story played out, I read this one pretty fast.
The book is well-written, despite a few spelling mistakes and missing words... oops, mistakes happen. *shrug* At the beginning of each chapter is a paragraph in italics that made me weep for joy at the gorgeousness of the words. Weep, people. I reread many of them numerous times to soak in the pretty, pretty words.
Not a romance lover, I enjoyed the love story, but the lusty scenes did bother me. Brooklyn's sexual past wasn't exactly clear, I thought she was a virgin... but the way she went after Daniel seemed very experienced and adult-like and I never can connect with lusty scenes, they always seem unrealistic to me (probably just me). Also with her terrible past, I didn't quite buy that she'd be so willing to be that intimate with a guy. The sex scenes did happen off camera.
The underlying feel of danger lurked through the story and when it finally struck I was captivated... I was frightened.
The end left me wanting a bit more. After so much of dealing with her obsession, I wanted that to rear its ugly head in the final scene to tie in with the rest of the book. I wasn't sure how I wanted the story to end, it teetered on the edge of a few different directions then BAM... *gasp*
Overall I really liked it! Can't wait to read more of her work.
The book is well-written, despite a few spelling mistakes and missing words... oops, mistakes happen. *shrug* At the beginning of each chapter is a paragraph in italics that made me weep for joy at the gorgeousness of the words. Weep, people. I reread many of them numerous times to soak in the pretty, pretty words.
Not a romance lover, I enjoyed the love story, but the lusty scenes did bother me. Brooklyn's sexual past wasn't exactly clear, I thought she was a virgin... but the way she went after Daniel seemed very experienced and adult-like and I never can connect with lusty scenes, they always seem unrealistic to me (probably just me). Also with her terrible past, I didn't quite buy that she'd be so willing to be that intimate with a guy. The sex scenes did happen off camera.
The underlying feel of danger lurked through the story and when it finally struck I was captivated... I was frightened.
The end left me wanting a bit more. After so much of dealing with her obsession, I wanted that to rear its ugly head in the final scene to tie in with the rest of the book. I wasn't sure how I wanted the story to end, it teetered on the edge of a few different directions then BAM... *gasp*
Overall I really liked it! Can't wait to read more of her work.
May 27, 2015
I think this book was well written, but needed some help with the editing. That aside, Brooklyn is a young girl who has had a rough past that has left her with demons to fight. She is living with her uncle and finds an outlet for her obsession; she works in his tattoo shop. Brooklyn is very well written and I thought the author did a good job with her working through her issues. When Daniel enters the picture, things become even more intense. This is not a make you feel better read, it is a dark read. However, it is a story that is very good.
December 29, 2015
Another one I kept starting and stopping. There are some bits that were lovely, and I liked the dynamic Brooklyn and Daniel had with the push-pull of their relationship. But the plot itself meanders and then ends abruptly, in a way that didn't end up feeling satisfying to me, and Brooklyn's character arc didn't really seem to develop in a natural way.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews