#BookReview: ART AND SOUL by Claire Huston @ClaraVal

Publication date: 23rd April 2020

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?

A heart-warming, uplifting romance served with a generous slice of cake.

AMAZON

You can also get your own copy of Art and Soul here: getbook.at/ClaireHustonAandS

**********

Art & Soul was a pleasant surprise. I was surprised because I couldn’t believe that this is the author’s debut novel. The story is well-written and it captures the reader and the characters are engaging, fun, and well-crafted.

Becky is a fixer and life coach. She helps people get back on track with their lives. She is also a single mother with a two-year-old son and her first client after the maternity leave is Charlie, a once successful artist, now a grumpy and struggling single father looking for his muse. I can’t say that their relationship got off to a good start, since Charlie didn’t want Becky’s help, or anyone else, but Becky is excellent at her job and, soon, their professional relationship turns into friendship and something more.

I liked the characters of Becky and Charlie, they work well together, and I liked also minor characters, like Charlie’s teenager daughter, Phoebe, his sister Lauren, and Becky’s feisty friend Ronnie (I think she was one of my favourite character).

Art & Soul is an easy, fun, enjoyable romantic comedy with likable characters and set in a world that the author clearly knows well. So I recommend you pick up a copy and it won’t be easy to put it down!

A huge thank you to the author for providing me with a copy of the novel.

**********

Claire Huston lives in Warwickshire with her husband and two children. Art and Soul is her first novel.

A keen amateur baker, she enjoys making cakes, biscuits and brownies almost as much as eating them. You can find recipes for all the cakes mentioned in Art and Soul at clairehuston.co.uk along with over 100 other recipes. This is also where she talks about and reviews books.