Atlas

Hel's Ink: Extended, Book 2

De: DJ Krimmer

Narrado por: Angelina Rocca, Joe Arden

"I said, marry me.”

Atlas

Lauren Locklear.

She has no idea that I would do anything for her. She doesn’t understand the mountains I would climb just to keep her safe.

That’s okay though, I’ll make sure she does.

She thinks she’s weak, and given the lack of love and support from those closest to her, I can understand why. That changes now, I will make her see the strong woman I see when I look at her.

I’ve pined for her in secret, wanting nothing more than to show her what she could have. But with my past still haunting me, I knew it would be best to stay back.

That is, until she needs access to health insurance and I see a solution to both her problem and my dilemma. All she has to do is say yes.

Ren

I’ve done something stupid.

Something reckless.

Something everyone will judge me for and I’m risking everything.

My family. My career. Myself.

I’m always too much to handle and the men I’ve allowed into my life have always reminded me of my shortcomings, even when it’s their fists doing the reminding.

No one has ever truly cared for me, loved me.

And then Atlas Hart asks me to marry him in order to save my life.

This isn’t love. It’s barely a friendship, or so I thought. But as the days go by and I see what he so selflessly risks for me, I cannot help but think that maybe… this could be more.

©2024 DJ Krimmer (P)2025 DJ Krimmer

Wow just wow

I know I just finished this book, but I want to reread it. It was so good. I cried. I laughed. I cried some more, but it was absolutely very, very good book.

This book is AMAZING!

I love these books! The witty banter and internal monologue from Atlas is hilarious. The writing is great! The performers were the best!

my favorite hel’s ink man come to life

this performance is amazing. absolutely love the story but hearing the audio takes it to another level. will listen again… full review of atlas below

Atlas, the ever charming and bright tattoo artist who we got to know a bit in the first book Fox, really captured my heart in this book. He and Ren were always end game and their story was everything I hoped for and so much more.

Qᴜɪᴄᴋ ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: ᴀᴛʟᴀꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇɴ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴄɪʀᴄʟᴇᴅ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ꜰᴏʀ ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ, ʜᴀᴠɪɴɢ ᴀ ꜱᴛʀᴀɪɴᴇᴅ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱʜɪᴘ. ʙᴜᴛ ᴡʜᴇɴ ʀᴇɴ ɴᴇᴇᴅꜱ ɪɴꜱᴜʀᴀɴᴄᴇ ꜰᴏʀ ʜᴇʀ ᴛ1ᴅ ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ʟᴏꜱɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀ ᴊᴏʙ, ᴀᴛʟᴀꜱ ᴅᴏᴇꜱɴ'ᴛ ʜᴇꜱɪᴛᴀᴛᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴀʀʀʏ ʜᴇʀ. ʟɪᴠɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴏɴᴇ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ, ᴛʜᴇʏ ʟᴇᴀʀɴ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇʟᴘ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ɢʀᴏᴡ. ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʙᴜʀɪᴇᴅ ꜰᴇᴇʟɪɴɢꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ᴏɴᴇ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴄᴀɴ ᴏɴʟʏ ꜱᴛᴀʏ ʙᴜʀɪᴇᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ꜱᴏ ʟᴏɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ꜰᴀᴋᴇ ᴍᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛꜱ ᴛᴏ ꜰᴇᴇʟ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ʀᴇᴀʟ...

I absolutely loved both of their arcs. As a woman who has struggled with their own body, Ren's insecurities are depicted so well. Atlas helps Ren not only love herself but also accept love in return. It's truly beautiful.

Atlas also has his own journey, always masking his pain with a smile. I really loved that he not only allowed Ren to hold his hand through but his support from Fox, Janie and the others from Hel's Ink made my heart just melt.

This is also super sexy - might be a little bit of a slow burn but once you get to the spice, it is so good. There's such great banter that I also found myself laughing out loud, sometimes during the same scenes that were turning me on.

I just love this series so much and cannot wait for Ash's book that is coming up next!

Tropes & Elements:
💍 Marriage of Convenience
☀️ Reverse Grumpy x Sunshine
🫶 Cinnamon Roll MMC
❤️ Curvy FMC
💉 T1D Rep
🍆 Pierced MMC
🏡 Forced Proximity
🩷 Found Family
😂 Great Banter

Atlas is A+ Book Husband Material.

This is the second book in the series, it's the first book I've read from this author and I had no issues at all following the story and characters. I *will* be be going back and listening to book 1 at some point soon.

I loved this story. It grabbed me from the very start and I could not stop listening. I connected with Ren's inner self consciousness as a bigger gal, I felt the realness of the little moments that were woven into the story. I was emotionally invested in this couple. They both came from emotionally unstable situations and found strength. Atlas falls so hard for Ren he will do anything to make her happy and even though he messes up along the way, he recovers every single time.

The journey these two went on together was just beautiful. And I think everyone deserves an Atlas in their life. He heard stuff that wasn't directed at him, he listened to what was going on and then retained that information to use someday to make Ren's dreams come true. That fictional man is utter perfection.

The audiobook was performed in duet by Angelina Rocca and Joe Arden. They were so beautifully cast for these performances. I wanted to jump into the book and make things better when they both showed their vulnerability in confronting demons from their past. The intensity I felt in the emotional peaks left me wanting to hug both the characters and the narrators.

I requested and was provided with an advanced copy of the audiobook. These are my honest opinions.

I melted

The narrator’s chemistry really brought the book to life. The story was well written, it definitely drew you in and the spice was top notch.

Ultimate book boyfriend

This was a reread in audio form for me, and I loved it more this time than last time. Atlas is one of my favorite characters, and Joe brought him to life so well. And JEESUS the mouth on that man. Angelina did wonderfully as Ren, I love the character so much. Angelina is a new narrator to me, but very quickly becoming a favorite. 


After Atlas defends Lauren from an abusive relationship by beating the shit out of her abuser, Lauren loses her job, which also means she loses her health insurance. Which for someone who has Type 1 Diabetes, that is a bad thing. To combat this, Atlas has the great idea of Lauren marrying him so she can use his insurance. The problem? Atlas is a huge flirt and Lauren has a crush on him, but how could anyone like her? She has all these issues. But little does she know, Atlas is head over heels for her. 

This should be a win-win for everyone involved. Absolutely nothing will go wrong.

Fantastic Story, Characters & Narration🎧

Prepare to Be Swooned & Amazed! DJ Krimmer pens another fantastic novel set in her “Hel’s Ink” series, and it is great to be back in this amazing world she created, with this book featuring Hel’s Ink Tattoo artist Ash Hart and lawyer and friend Lauren “Ren” Locklear. Atlas was a riot in the first book, Fox and Janie’s story, and I was looking to learn more about him and I was curious about Ren, who he crushed on. Their story is not your average or even ordinary marriage-of-convenience friends-to-lovers romance, it is so much more and it blew me away, the story, its depth and the complexity of the characters. Atlas’s childhood and backstory, one he does not share with many, is not the grandest, not even close to it. In fact, neither one hit the lottery with parents, despite the two coming from different worlds, hers a world of affluence, his a world of trouble, yet both were dysfunctional in different ways. I am not sure which parent I despised the most, ok, maybe I do, but you can come to your own conclusion. Their parents did a number on them and each broken in their own way, battling inner demons and insecurities which were absolutely heartbreaking to watch. I thought these two were great together and for each other, their broken selves fit perfectly and they make each other whole and gave each other strength to move past their inner and outer demons. With non-stop drama, some angst, heartfelt emotions and steamy romance, there is never a dull moment, and the story pulls you in, grabs your attention and holds it hostage the entire time. Like the first book, the writing, plot and world building are fantastic, as are the character growth and development, which was a pleasure to watch as they came into their own. DJ Krimmer, thank you for another amazing story and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 And for the exceptional narration, Angelina Rocca and Joe Arden deliver an outstanding performance, one that elevates this already amazing story to another level. Their character voices are fitting and believable, sounding just as I imagined the characters to sound. Rocca was spot with her portrayal of Ren, showcasing every aspect of her personality and demeanor, from her insecurities to her fierceness in the end. Arden slayed it as Atlas, also showcasing his personality and demeanor, from his caring and protective side, to his goofball side, to his insecurities, and hearing that side of him slayed me. These two could move mountains with how well they project the characters’ emotions into their performance, an incredibly moving performance. They are entertaining storytellers and their versatility and talent truly shined in their performance. Thank you for another exceptional listen.

All the Feels

DJ Krimmer has been such an unexpected surprise! This series is full of heart, swoon, banter and spice.

Joe Arden and Angelina Rocca brought these characters to life so beautifully.

Atlas is the Golden Retriever easy-go-lucky guy in the group but underneath he is struggling with anxiety and demons he hides so he isn’t a burden.

Lauren with body image issues along with the daily responsibilities that come with being a diabetic.

They are both harboring hidden crushes and when an opportunity arises for Atlas to be in Lauren’s life he jumps at the chance to be her hero.

And amongst this incredible love story, we have Howard. IYKYK

The amount of times I went from laughing to crying…

This book and this series as a whole is wonderful!

Obsessed

Loved it when I read the ARC. Now I’m obsessed with this audio… Atlas is my fav from this amazing series… can’t wait for the others

Atlas

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️
3🌶️🌶️🌶️

💀Plus Size FMC
💀He Fall First
💀Marriage of Convenience

Atlas is book two in Hel’s Ink OG series. Atlas is the happy jokester at Hel’s Ink. Ren or Lauren is the sexy plus size lawyer. Atlas has been obsessed with Ren since the first time she came into the shop. Ren was in an abusive relationship with one of her fellow coworkers. One night Atlas sees the bruises on Ren and loses it. He beats up her abusive boyfriend and goes to jail. Ren gets fired from her job and is worried how she will pay for her medication without her insurance. Atlas sees this as his only opportunity to take care of. He offers to marry her. Even though their relationship started out as a marriage of convenience, it quickly turns steamy. I love that DJ makes the female leads so relatable with flaws and disabilities that they learn to embrace. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

Angelina Rocca and Joe Arden did a fantastic job narrating this book in duet style narration.