Watermelon Tattoo

Watermelon Tattoo is a love story, a thriller and a suspense novel, all rolled into one. It’s also an LGBTQ+ novel. Watermelon Tattoo is also one of the most original stories I’ve read in quite some time. I was completely hooked.

The story follows the plight of Jaqui Benderman as she graduates from high school and embarks on an adventure that ultimately reveals who she really is. Set in the Texas Hill Country, Jaqui leaves her life on the country farm where her dad raised her and travels to Austin in hopes of igniting a singing career.

Over the following months a number of varied characters fall in and out of her life. One special character, Katrine Boneta, a petite Romanian musician, becomes much more than just a friend, as Jaqui discovers something new about herself. Jaqui makes the right contacts and it seems her career is about to take off, but then her friends start being murdered. Her new world begins to spiral out of control, and Jaqui tries to hang on and keep everything going in the right direction.

I suppose most people would consider this a dark novel, but I just can’t. Sure, it has severe alcohol and drug abuse. Okay, it has an LGBTQ+ relationship, but it was handled in a very natural way. And then there are the grisly murders. I think Jaqui’s character pulled it out of the darkness for me. She’s pretty resilient. Further, the musical backdrop helps to keep the storyline above the waterline.

Watermelon Tattoo also includes maybe a handful of sex scenes. I didn’t think the sex was gratuitous, but the author didn’t hold anything back, either. I won’t say that these scenes were my favorite parts of the story, but I got through them okay.

“The fact is, some kids grow like weeds; left alone, they make it, but don’t amount to much. Some kids grow like orchids; beautiful and talented, but require a lot of care and maintenance. Then there’s the wild roses, the ones that grow up beautiful, fragrant, and hardy, pretty much on their own. Jaqui was a wild rose.”

I thought the characters—particularly Jaqui—were well-developed. Her character arc was somewhat unusual in my view, but I wouldn’t consider it bad or anything. It does swing a number of ways, though.

I think the one area where this novel rises above the competition is in originality. It contains such a variety of circumstances that it has something for everyone. Adults only, please.

This could have been a five star review, but the SPAG (spelling, punctuation and grammar) errors were numerous. I don’t know if formatting falls under SPAG, but I’m lumping it all together. I don’t normally mention SPAG errors, but considering that the copy I read is the same one for sale on Amazon, I have to mention it. It’s truly a shame when multiple SPAG errors detract from a brilliant storyline.

Despite the errors, I enjoyed the story. It was well constructed, well paced, and had a wonderful ending. I encourage you to give it a go, regardless of your preferred genre. (Adults only, please.)