Blog Tour Review: Breathless by Celeste Bradley and Susan Donovan

From the Back Cover:

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…

My Thoughts:

I signed up to review Breathless on impulse and then chastised myself because I needed another review commitment like I need a hole in my head, but I'm so glad I did! This will end up being one of my favorite books of the year. I'm not going to delve much into plot because the blurb does a good job of teasing you and I want everybody to be able to discover the story for themselves and savor every minute of it, like I did.

I was instantly drawn into the story with the discovery of a painting in an old Paris apartment by a handsome hunk of a cowboy who has a passion for art. Fitch's sense of amazement and excitement at finding an unknown painting in the famous Siren series was palpable, and I loved how the story of the Swan (aka the Siren) and her lover, the Artist, was teased out as Brenna and Fitch hunted down clues to her identity in the hopes of finding more paintings. And I loved watching enemies turn to lovers as these two became so wrapped up in the mystery, in the adventure, and in each other.

It's rare that I end up liking both the past and present storylines equally in a book with dual timelines. Usually the balance tips in favor of the past, but in this case I really enjoyed reading both. In both storylines the heroine is forced to reinvent herself, and I thought the Swan's rediscovery of herself particularly poignant. In order to find herself again, she had to lose everything, including her memories.

One of the best aspects of this book is the setting. Barcelona and the Catalonia coast are so atmospheric and so central to the story that the setting becomes a character itself. The lush descriptions of architecture, scenery, the simple yet delicious food, the infectious joie de vivre of the locals, the music, the dancing . . . well let's just say I HAVE to visit that region now!

There are a few little things I could quibble about in regards to the story, but I so thoroughly enjoyed it, was so swept away by the ambiance and the mystery, and was so battered by the emotional wringer (seriously, I sobbed buckets; no spoilers, but be prepared for the absolute unfairness of fate before the happily ever after) that those quibbles aren't worth detailing.

I could not put this book down, wanting desperately to see how it would all play out yet not wanting it to end. I savored the mystery and the love stories and completely lost myself in Catalonia. Breathless is a fabulous reading experience for fans of romance, art, history, and the heady magic of the Mediterranean.

My Rating:  5 Stars out of 5

Amazon Barnes & Noble Books-a-Million IndieBound Powells

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway