Blog Tour, Book Review, Contemporary, Rachel's Random Resources, Romance

Art & Soul (Love in the Comptons #1) by Claire Huston

Art and Soul

ABOUT THE BOOK

There’s no problem Becky Watson can’t fix. Except her own love life…

Struggling single mother Becky Watson longs to revive her career as a life-fixer, working miracles to solve her clients’ problems, no matter how big or small. Since the birth of her two-year-old son she has been stuck preventing wedding fiascos for the richest and rudest residents of the Comptons, a charming, leafy area of southern England known for its artistic heritage.

So when semi-reclusive local artist Charlie Handren reluctantly hires Becky to fix his six-year creative slump, she’s delighted to set him up with a come-back exhibition and Rachel Stone, the woman of his dreams.

Though they get off to a rocky start, Becky and Charlie soon become close. But as the beautiful Rachel becomes Charlie’s muse, Becky is forced to wonder: will giving Charlie everything he wants mean giving up her own happily ever after?

Confetti Cake

MY REVIEW

I chose this book first of all because I love reading debut novels and secondly I was intrigued to find out about Becky’s skills at preventing wedding fiascos.  

Becky Watson is a pushy, life-fixer, a matchmaker, and a shrewd Mary Poppins type…practically perfect in every way.  However, her skills haven’t worked well in her own life. She is just making ends meet while raising her toddler, Dylan. Her love life is non-existent. And as her friend, Ronnie says she invests too much of herself in her clients and when all is accomplished everyone moves on. The semi-reclusive artist Charlie Handren and his daughter, Phoebe, are no exception. After a rocky start, she helps Charlie get back on track by organizing an exhibition of his new paintings which he hasn’t started yet, but she assures him it will happen. Her plans also include improving his love life with the snobby and patronizing Rachel Stone, art curator, and his muse. But why does it hurt so much when Charlie is with another woman? He’s her wealthy client and she is just the invisible woman trying to make everyone happy. But who and what makes her happy?  

Charlie Handren is a man of few words and when the very pushy and sturdy Becky Watson is sent by his sister Lauren to get him out of his artistic slump, he doesn’t know what hit him…literally. 

I love this slow-burning romance between a quiet artistic type and a charming and feisty life coach. I especially enjoy how the author slowly plays out Becky’s life. Especially how she became a single mom. It is a brilliant way of understanding how Becky feels about the wealthy and pompous people she works for.  Also, Charlie is a very intriguing and charming character who has a wonderful and unorthodox way of expressing his feelings through his paintings. In addition, the supporting characters are fun and quirky and give depth to the growing attraction between the main characters.

What an enchanting and winning debut novel by Ms. Huston. I was mesmerized from the very beginning and was disappointed the book had to end. If you enjoy fun romances with surprises, LOL moments, and a happily-ever-after ending, give this one a try.

Thank you to Ms. Huston for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

BUY THE BOOK

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Claire HustonMy name’s Claire Huston (pronounced as in “Houston, we have a problem”).

My debut novel – an uplifting contemporary romance – is out now in ebook and paperback. You can read more about that in Art and Soul (or head straight over to Amazon to buy it now!)

I live in the Midlands, UK, with my husband and two children. I work as a Spanish-English translator and when I’m not struggling to write, I try to read, bake, and generally keep chaos at bay.

I’m a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme.

If you’d like to get in touch, please use the contact form below or leave a message down in the comments. You can also find me on TwitterGoodreadsFacebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

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