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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