My Review:Kat Lind, an American expatriate living in London with her entrepreneur husband and their young son, attends an opening at a prestigious Mayfair art gallery and is astonished to find her own face on the walls. The portraits are evidence of a long-ago love affair with the artist, Daniel Blake. Unbeknownst to her, he has continued to paint her ever since. Kat is seduced by her reflection on canvas and when Daniel appears in London, she finds herself drawn back into the sins and solace of a past that suddenly no longer seems so far away.
When the portraits catch the attention of the public, threatening to reveal not only her identity, but all that lies beyond the edges of the canvases, Kat comes face to face with the true price of their beauty and with all that she now could lose.
Moving between the glamour of the London art world and the sensuous days of a love affair in a dusty Paris studio, life and art bleed together as Daniel and Kat's lives spin out of control, leading to a conclusion that is anything but inevitable.
I really liked the first half of this one -- it flipped back and forth between the past and the present -- between Paris and London -- and it was intriguing. And then the past and the present slam together and I was still intrigued -- a bit put off by some of the ethical dilemma and choices made by Kat but still intrigued -- and then the book just completely jumped the shark. I'm not sure if the author was just going for shock and awe at this point but, although I was shocked, I was not awed. The "twist" just seemed contrived -- like it was just mean to mess with your mind than to actually tell the story. It was also sort of a cop out ending that almost felt like it was just added because the author didn't know how to end the book. It felt severely divergent from the rest of the book and I was not satisfied.
I would recommend this one if you liked The Blackstone Affair series by Raine Miller -- some similarities between the two, for sure. The Blue Bath was released last week on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, and you can purchase HERE!
"It's just that I remember everything." Kat let the words tumble out of her. "I remember every moment. Every day. Every night. I remember every inch of his body, the way he felt, the way he tasted, the smell of his skin. But even more than all of that, and even more clearly, I remember the girl in the paintings. Who she was and what she wanted and what she knew for sure. And I don't know that anymore. Not lately, anyhow."
I liked the Blackstone Affair series, and this one looks pretty intriguing; it's new to me. I wish it had panned out a little better for you.
ReplyDeleteI had just saw this one the other day and was interested. I hatethat the twist was just for shock value and didn't add to or fit with the story. Great review!!
ReplyDeleteNothing worse than a book that starts out strong and ends badly. Sorry this didn't work for you.
ReplyDeleteI'm not into twists just for shock value so I'll pass on this one. Sorry the end wasn't as good as the beginning for you. That's a beautiful cover though.
ReplyDeleteArgh, it sounds like the author included the twist for the sake of the twist? That sucks!
ReplyDeleteoh it can be so difficult when a book takes a turn like this. Sometimes I don't care too much for when certain twists happen because they tend to take away the enjoyment of the story. Hope your next book is better!! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't even know what to make out of this one lol sounds interesting but to end it just because? And throw something in there to "end"the story? This kind of happened to me with the Nocte trilogy. I enjoyed books 1 and 2 and the novella. I expected the final book to completely blow my mind and it didn't. Well, it did but not the way it should have. I'm sorry this one wasn't better for you.
ReplyDeleteGenesis @ Latte Nights Reviews