Wednesday, April 5, 2023

The Art of Love and Lies Book Review

 


 

A free-spirited artist teams up with a no-nonsense detective to capture a thief who has stolen a priceless Michelangelo painting

Manchester, England, 1857 

Rosanna Hawkins is one of Manchester’s finest artists, even though no one knows her name. She reproduces “parlor versions” of classic masterpieces with near-perfect precision, which her employer then sells to the emerging upper-middle class families of Manchester.

When the largest art exhibition ever to be held in Manchester opens, Rosanna attends, excited by the chance to sketch such famous works. When she meets the handsome Detective Martin Harrison, who is head of security for the exhibition, she is immediately intrigued by his charm, confidence, and canvas-worthy good looks. The two spend many a flirtatious afternoon exploring the exhibition hall, discussing art and sharing their secret hopes. Rosanna dreams of painting something original and meaningful, and Martin hopes to one day shed the shadow of his father’s notorious past.

The couple’s blossoming summer romance takes a strange turn when Rosanna recognizes her own works on display in the exhibition hall. Someone is stealing paintings and replacing them with her parlor version reproductions. When the evidence casts suspicion on her, Rosanna must convince Detective Harrison of her innocence and proposes a plan to capture the real art thief.

It is a daring race to catch the criminal before he disappears with the most priceless piece in the collection—Michelangelo’s Manchester Madonna. If Rosanna and Detective Harrison fail, not only will the painting be lost forever but so will their chance to rekindle their romance and paint their own happily ever after. (Goodreads)

 

 

Releases August 8th! Pre-Order Here!


My Thoughts

 

 This is an interesting book. The main character is Rosanna and she is a delightfully unique character. Her attitude and personality I did like quite a bit. I really enjoyed this first part of this story and getting to know Rosanna. Her painting skills might be a tad far fetched it did take me out of the story a little bit. I know this is all fiction, but I REALLY changed my thinking on this one to just have fun with it and use my imagination because so much of it was unrealistic. I had a really hard time loving Martin and to be honest this was just a tough book to finish. The first half I was fully invested but as the story continued it seemed a bit disjointed. The romance seems very rushed and thrown together and the mystery part of it didn't really draw me in. This simply was not the book for me. I know others will enjoy it! 


Three Stars. 


" I received this book from Shadow Mountain Publishers for free. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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