A Painted Life (A Magical Historical Romance)

HISTORICAL: She awakens in painted form, an artistic creation. Slowly she gains consciousness and a name: Saffron. Emmett Charles, a wealthy scion of a Boston family, is haunted by the death of the woman he loved from five years ago; a woman he failed. He is stunned to find a painting of Saffron and cannot resist buying it. Saffron senses a connection to the man as she watches him work in the cotton mill his father owns. She catches wisps of memories and life returns to her limbs, yet she is trapped in a portrait. Can Saffron and Emmett find a way to reclaim the love they lost before the tragic events unfolding around them claim another victim and end any hope of a new beginning?

Like a painting, "A Painted Life" builds layer upon layer of emotions and captures the reader with a compelling tale of love! Set in 1890s Boston, the details surrounding the running of a cotton mill are both fascinating and heartbreaking. Because Saffron is a painting, it takes time for her to become human, so she is an observer for a substantial part of the story. At the same time, the author deftly intersperses memories to bring Saffron's past to life. Mr. Charles is honorable, but his subservience to his father makes him less of his own man. The pace picks up in the latter half of the book, and readers will be engrossed in the outcome. The magic makes it possible, but we are never sure how or why it came about. Even so, "A Painted Life" gives readers a touching romance that they won't easily forget!

Tricia Hill