Hannah is a talented young artist who has lost her dearest friend and mentor, her grandmother. In grief and at the insistence of her mother, she sets asides her dreams of being an artist to work in a stable job, but she's miserable. When she catches her boyfriend cheating on her, meets two very sexy men, her job goes belly up, and her best friend goes after her own dreams, Hannah must reevaluate her choices and decide whether or not to take a chance on her dreams and in love.
Impression: I generally do not like romance--there have been a few I've liked, but most have another plot that drives the story and don't let the romance take over. The "romance" books I like are the ones where the romance makes sense rather than ending up the end all be all of the book. The sexual tension comes in at appropriate times rather than being forced into the situation, no matter what that situation is. In my experience, most romance books are not like this. Every now and then, I pick up and try another one (usually by some well recommended author), only to get the same old stuff (and, yes, I do understand that the romantic/sexual element is the main part of the genre; honestly, that's not my beef--it's that the element too often overrides common sense--well, that and the language often used that is really silly when you think about it). I'll keep trying, but I pretty much expect the same old same old.
So it's always a surprise when I run into a romance novel that I enjoy, and I really enjoyed The Still Life of Hannah Morgan. The romance elements do not overwhelm the rest of the story, the main character is someone I could relate to as a reader, and the plot very solid. I literally could not stop reading it. Still Life is funny, romantic, and very real. It's a book that I'm enjoying editing, and a book I would buy if if I found it on the shelves at B&N. And, for someone who doesn't like romance, that's saying something.
Unless otherwise noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by me.
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I will no longer be linking to Amazon and no longer recommending Amazon as a place to purchase books I review. Amazon has repeatedly used bully tactics to reinforce its policies, even if those tactics cause harm to authors or limit customer choices. Amazon usually apologizes for the events after the fact, but that they continue to use the same methods makes those apologies hollow. I will not purchase from or encourage others to purchase from a business that chooses to take from the pockets of authors (who as a whole earn a lot less than general public realizes) and decide what the public should and should not read.
