Historical Romance published by Berkley 21 Feb 23
This is my first book by Joanna Lowell. I liked the sound of the story when I read the blurb, fun and charming. While I did get that to a point, I had to wade through a lot of super slow backstory that lasts much too long.
The story didn’t really get moving until at least halfway through, when Nina and Alan spend more time together, first as employer/employee, then friends, and finally lovers. Getting to know the secondary characters in the beginning is fine, but too much time was spent doing that, and Nina and Alan met up only a few times. I’m a reader who likes her hero and heroine to be interacting nearly from the start.
Once Alan deduces it’s Nina who was painted some of the masters’ forgeries he’s hellbent on revealing, things get more interesting. Feelings have blossomed and it’s difficult for Alan to reconcile those emotions, and Nina doesn’t want to give up her brother, who is also a forger and who pushed Nina into her criminal ways. I enjoyed all these encounters, though I could have done with a little less Fritz. That felt like a contrivance at times just to bring Alan and Nina together.
I also like the relationship between Alan and his nephew, even at the expense of the relationship with his brother, who has never believed Alan’s accusations about his treatment as a child, which reminds him of Claude’s current situation. But his growth during the story tones him down when it comes to push and shove with this sibling. The same happens when it comes to NIna and Jack, letting her brother go to deal with his life on his own.
So while the book did grow on me in the latter half, it wasn’t enough to make up for the lackluster beginning. I’m torn if I will read Ms.Lowell again.
Grade: C
Summary:
Nina Finch isn’t suited for a life of crime. Raised by her art-forger brother, she can paint like Botticelli. But she’d so much rather be baking gooseberry tarts. She finally has the money she needs to open her own bakery. Unfortunately, her brother’s carelessness lands her—and their forgeries—directly under the nose of London’s most discerning art critic, Alan De’Ath. De’Ath knows the paintings are fake. He doesn’t know that Nina had a hand in their creation. In fact, he offers her a job in his household. Accepting it is the most dangerous thing she has ever done….
Alan takes pride in seeing things other people miss. He plans to catch the forger and cement his reputation. There’s only one problem: the closer he gets to the beguiling woman he hired, the less he trusts his perspective. Nina isn’t what she seems. But despite their false start, she just might hold the real key to his heart.
As Nina and Alan’s attraction grows, divided loyalties threaten to pull them apart and shatter their worlds. They’ll lose everything or discover how powerful true love can be….
No excerpt available.
