4.5 SMOOCHES!
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SYNOPSIS:
An irresistible connection, a desire that won’t let go…
When aspiring antiques dealer Eleanor Cole is handed the chance of a lifetime to work for the Hunt Corporation, the renowned antiques dealers, she doesn’t think twice. Only to discover she’ll be working up close and personal with the notorious and insanely irresistible Becker Hunt. He is a man famous for getting what he wants, and Becker wants Eleanor.
But as Becker pulls her deeper into his world, she discovers there’s more to him than meets the eye.
And falling for Becker goes from being foolish to dangerous…
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REVIEW:
Jodi Ellen Malpas captured my attention with her debut novel, This Man. That series was one of the first ones that I read in the post-Fifty Shades days when I was just starting to explore romantic fiction. To this day, that series is one of the ones I read in those early days that I credit with being responsible for creating the romance reader I am today. I’m not alone in that either. That series made a huge impression on readers, and even now, several years after its release, I’m not the only one who still lists both the This Man series and its hero, Jesse Ward, as top favorites. With each new release, Malpas has continued to blow her readers away with her grandly romantic storytelling and heart-pounding love stories.
Artful Lies kicks off a new duet from Malpas, and I was drawn into the story right away. Crackling sexual chemistry and an intriguing suspenseful arc, Artful Lies had a Thomas Crown Affair meets Indiana Jones vibe that grabbed my attention just as much as Eleanor and Becker’s budding romance did. Becker Hunt, an uber-wealthy Brit and renowned art dealer, has got some baggage, and his preferred method of dealing with it is by keeping his heart and emotions closed off and cycling through women like a painter does brushes. Eleanor Cole dreams of a career in the art world. She longs to immerse herself in the history and magic of the pieces she’s only studied about so far. The daughter of a local antiquities dealer in her small, rural hometown on the English countryside, she’s a bit naïve and innocent when she arrives in London to pursue her dream job.
Artful Lies had it all: deep, dark secrets, cloak-and-dagger style intrigue and a steamy, banter-filled, enemies-to-lovers romance. I was on the edge of my seat, tapping my Kindle furiously, as one surprise after another popped up on these pages. Malpas definitely left me hungry for more, and I’m eager for the second book in the Hunt Duology, Wicked Truths, due out in November. Artful Lies by Jodi Ellen Malpas gets 4.5 smooches from me!
~Danielle Palumbo
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