Veena’s review of Breathless by Celeste Bradley & Susan Donovan
Historical Romance published by St. Martin’s Griffith 12 Jun 18
These two authors have done a masterful job of blending two love stories and two time periods flawlessly. Our modern-day protagonists, Brenna and Fitch, have an off-the-charts chemistry and a strong dislike of each other. Brought together by their search of the love story behind the erotic paintings by Le Artiste, they set off on a journey of discovery that will take them from America to England and then the Spanish Coast of Catalonia and a love story for the ages.
Swan was a courtesan in the regency period and who embraced her profession until she fell foul of her current lover’s wife, who vowed to get her revenge. So Swan found herself fighting for her life on board a pirate ship where a fortunate storm and mutiny caused her to be washed ashore on a beach in Catalunya. Rescued by an artist, she becomes his muse in a series of erotic paintings that show the progress of her love story. A few of these paintings have been recovered and now sell for obscene sums of money. Brenna wants to use these paintings to write a thesis and help progress her professorial career, though the subject matter and the “siren” herself calls to her. Fitch loves the money he earns from finding these paintings for his rich patron, but at heart it’s the art that appeals to him.
A series of circumstances put the buttoned-up professor and the easy-going art hunter on the same quest and cause them to pool their resources, leading for an interesting journey for both the protagonists and the readers. I enjoy how the authors alternated between Swan’s story and the present-day quest. Fitch has friends everywhere and enjoys a hedonistic lifestyle, where Brenna is all work and frugal at best. It’s great to see Brenna gradually opening up to bad boy Fitch.
I didn’t realize that the authors have a prequel book to this story, but they do an elegant job of bringing in those threads which had first spawned Brenna’s interest in the “siren” paintings. While I did find the story slow in parts and found myself impatient to skip ahead, I did enjoy the overall story.
Grade: B
Summary:
n Breathless, bestselling authors Celeste Bradley and Susan Donovan will sweep you away—across continents and centuries, combining the best of all worlds in one unforgettable romantic saga.
She was “the Swan.” London’s premiere courtesan. Men want to be with her. Women loathe her success and yet admire her beauty, her riches, her independence. But when the jealous wife of her lover moves to have the Swan banished from her home on the high seas, she winds up crashed against Spain’s rocky coast with no shoes, no clothes—and no name. Taken in by a tortured, sensuous man known as The Artist, the Swan comes to know the woman she wants to be—her artist’s siren.
When Art Professor Brenna Anderson is in danger of losing her post at Harvard, the rule-following, prim professor is at a loss of how to salvage the shreds of her life. But when a new painting in the mysterious Siren collection is discovered in a dusty old house in France, Brenna does the unthinkable—hops on a plane to uncover the identity of the beautiful, enigmatic woman who is the subject of the paintings.
There’s just one hitch—the frustrating, irritating, bold and beautiful art hunter Fitch Wilder is also looking for the Siren. He’s been a thorn in Brenna’s professional side for years, but when their individual quests lead them to team up despite being enemies, a whole new sumptuous world of art and culture opens up for the two of them. And with it, they enter a realm of passion and love…
