Make Me

Milwaukee Men at Work #3

by Eliza Madison, Liz Lincoln

When it comes to guys, I don't do repeats. I'm too messed up to do more than a one night stand. Until Josh.

He got a second chance on a technicality. He's got more tattoos than I do, and I want to lick every one of them. Suddenly he's there to help me pick up the pieces after I call the cops on my dad. He rescues me from myself on Halloween. And always with that lazy smile and bone-melting kisses.

But he's getting tired of my excuses about why I can't give him more than sex. Maybe it's time to put my past behind me, and let myself give someone more than my body. But will Josh stick around long enough for me to find the courage to do that?

Previously published as Ink or Treat under the name Eliza Madison. For content warnings, please visit the book's page at lizlincoln dot com

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Adult, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance

183 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 12, 2015

About the author

Liz Lincoln has been concocting stories as long as she can remember, and from the beginning they involved two people falling in love. She also writes under the not-even-a-little-bit-secret identity of Eliza Madison.

When she’s not writing, Liz spends her time rooting for the UW Badgers and the Green Bay Packers (or yearning and embroidering for the return of football season), cross-stitching sassy sayings or nerdy characters (Wonder Woman is her favorite), and drinking too much Diet Coke.

She lives in Milwaukee, WI, with her husband, two kids, two cats, and a turtle.

Reviews

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF
Writing is good, but I can’t stand STI stigma/shaming.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (10/27/2019)! 🎁

[Jacque · Rating 4 out of 5]

wooOOooow❤️

I really don’t know what I expected when I read this book, but damn. It was incredible! The perfect balance of very steamy sex& excellent chemistry, and raw emotional growth🙏🏻 more please!!!!

[Brandy Schratter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet & sexy

I wouldn't classify this a Romantic Comedy, but I still enjoyed it. There's a lot packed into this novella. Grace's struggles with her parents a heart breaking, and it hurt my heart to watch her fighting so hard not to fall in love because of the number her parents did on her. The groveling at the end was top notch and so sweet. The story is very grounded in realism, which I appreciated. This definitely piqued my interest and made me want to read more of this series.

[Sahara Bylund · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the back and forth between the two main characters. I think it was super sweet to see her slowly come back and take back her life even though her past was trying to pull her down. I personally related to the crappy parents in this book and seeing her overcome that and take back her life was empowering. I know it's never easy leaving them behind and officially closing that door, but I thought it was amazing that Josh stood firm in being true to himself, but was also super understanding of her past.

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I freaking loved this book! Josh is everything we want in a book boyfriend. He was the perfect mix of charming but sweet and compassionate too. Liz Lincoln is really good about incorporating conflict into her books in a tasteful way that doesn’t feel like filler. I like that Josh called Grace out on her shit. He was also so romantic with her and just there for her during the hard stuff she went through. Also those steamy scenes were 🔥

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

CW: parental abuse, drug abuse spoken about, violence

This was a quick, little read. I liked that Grace was accepting of herself including her flaws. Josh was a hopeful character. As this is told from Grace's point of view and a novella, we didn't get to learn too much about him. This was very much Grace's story and it was a good story.

[Melissa Cutler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow what a drag this book is. At 60%, with less than an hour left in the book, the heroine is still getting drunk off her ass and self-sabotaging like crazy in a way that isn't fun to watch AT ALL. I don't know why Josh, the hero, sticks around. I mean seriously. She needs therapy STAT and he needs to run in the other direction.

[Sharon Faurot · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really good I couldn't put down. A girl had horrible parents and bad life as a kid doesn't risk her heart until she meets the tattoo artist who changes her thinking with much encouragement . Now need to read the rest.

[Jessica Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it

This was humorous with several hot moments, and I dug it. I got a little wary at the stuff with Grace's dad because I thought it was going to be too heavy for a rom-com but it thankfully wasn't. I could appreciate Josh's candor with Grace, too.

[Tina Welsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I missed the first two books in the series. This book was a quick, fun read. Hunky tattoo artist are always interesting.

[Kayla Cook · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pass.

[Autumn Denise Harris · Rating 1 out of 5]

This might have been one of the worst books I have ever read. 😕

[Joni Heath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kyo8ijl

[Wife · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t get passed first chapter. STI shaming and transphobia right out the gate.
DNF

[Adwoa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very slow burn. Not even spice.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short storyline talking g about foster care, abusive father drug & alcohol mom. Parents in and out of jail. You trying to move on

[Dr. Stephanie Douglass · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one to me was the best of the series. If the author had developed the storyline a bit more, it would have a been a pretty good book.
Rounding up to 4 stars from 3.5

[Claudia Muafeca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Same story different people.
Spicy and likeable but I can't stand the back and forth indecision, bickering and self loathing. Make the story disinterestin and irritating.

[Welcome To My Escape · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this!! It was cute, and hot lol, but still had character development and chemistry! Definitely looking into this author more!

[Bell Sansone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Libro con personajes mediocres y una historia mediocre. Al principio pense que iba a ser funny, pero enseguida me aburrio.

[Alex (HEABookNerd) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been enjoying the MEN AT WORK series but this one didn't really work for me for several reasons. As a note for other readers, the cover of this book might say it's a "sexy romantic comedy" but there is nothing funny about INK OR TREAT. While it is sexy, it's also filled with drama, pain, anger, and a lot of self-destructive behavior.

Grace is deeply scarred from growing up with her drug addicted and flighty mother and her abusive, drug dealing father. Grace doesn't let anyone close, trusts no one, and lashes out when she's angry and hurting. Because of this it made it very hard for me to connect with Grace since she resists connections like they're the plague. Only her best friend, Becca, and her step-brother, Brady, are allowed close to her and I really hurt for how much Grace sabotages herself. She's never let go of her past and with her father still showing up and harassing her it's not surprising that she hasn't been able to move on.

It was tough to believe that Josh would continue to pursue Grace considering the crappy way she treats him. Grace deserves someone to love her, don't get me wrong, but I just couldn't figure out why Josh would keep coming back when Grace keeps ghosting him and treating him terribly. Without Josh's POV it's honestly hard to see what's keeping him around. All that being said, Grace is aware she has a lot of problems and needs to work on them, but it takes her almost the whole story to truly acknowledge that.

While INK OR TREAT didn't work for me I do plan to keep going with this series because I like Eliza Madison's writing.


Content Warning: Grace’s parents are abusive and her father attacks her (on page)

[b.andherbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

A social worker/sexual assault advocate breaks her "one night only" rule with a sexy, kind of Jesus-y, tattoo artist.

Novella length with a Halloween theme and Princess Bride costumes, plus lots of sexy-times, this was a fun read most of the time, but also veered into somber territory regarding why Grace has her one night only rule. I really loved Josh and it was nice to see the hero fall so fast for the heroine and pursue her.

I'll definitely be reading more, but do want to include a content warning about some STD shaming and a kind of trans-phobic joke. In the first scene, Grace is about to hookup with someone but when she takes his pants off she discovers he's wearing essentially a condom that covers everything down below. He's having a herpes flare-up and she reacts badly, which makes sense because he didn't tell her about it before hand, but also veers a bit into okay, lots of people live with this issue so let's not shame them territory. Her friend makes a joke asking if Grace found out he wasn't "a man down there" when Grace is retelling the incident.

Other than that, I overall enjoyed!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Book 3 of the Milwaukee Men at Work Series!

Grace doesn’t do repeats—she’s all about one-night stands, keeping things simple and detached. That is, until Josh comes along. He’s irresistible, tattooed, and persistent in ways that make Grace question everything she thought about love, intimacy, and second chances.

Josh enters her life at the perfect, chaotic moment—helping her pick up the pieces after calling the cops on her dad, rescuing her on Halloween, and constantly teasing her with that lazy smile and bone-melting kisses. Their chemistry is off the charts, fiery yet tender, and their dynamic is addictive from page one.

What makes this story more than just a steamy romance is Grace’s journey. She’s forced to confront her past, her walls, and her fear of vulnerability. And Josh? He’s not just there for the sparks—he’s willing to fight for something deeper, if only Grace can trust him enough to let him in.

This is a slow-burn romance packed with heat, emotion, and characters you’ll root for until the very last page.

⭐️ Slow-burn romance
🔥 Sizzling chemistry
💔 Healing + second chances

(Previously published as Ink or Treat under Eliza Madison.)

[S.C. Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real treat.

In this, the third of her Men at Work series, Madison veers away from the pizza parlor and into the tattoo parlor. Once again deeply broken people find their happy ever after. Though a quick read, the story is deep and at times dark, but the sex is steamy and the ending so rewarding. Such a great read.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it took me a while to get through this (other stuff interrupted reading time), I enjoyed this. It was short and the characters don't know each other long before they hook up (as the heroine, Grace, does), but the hero, Josh, is smart enough to string it out a little and they develop a connection that keeps them going back to each other. I liked that Josh was dedicated and persistent.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.