When art brings love on your path, but what if it all starts with a lie?

Synopsis

He hates lawyers. So I’m a lawyer pretending to be an artist. Forgetting one tiny detail: I can’t paint.

Tessa: There’s something about the way the blond guy laughs and leans in to listen. My gaze keeps returning to him.

The only problem is, we’re at an art gallery after work, and I’ve swapped my lawyer suit for a paint-splattered shirt. I’m pretending to be a struggling artist, acting as bait to entice a scammer who conned my friend out of thousands of dollars.

I look pathetic. But still, I approach Hot Guy.

Our glances meet, and an awareness shimmers across.

He offers to buy me a drink–we’re definitely flirting–and then he asks me what I do.

Just when Scammer Guy is in earshot.

I have no choice but to say I’m an artist. I can tell Hot Guy later that I’m not.

But then he says he hates lawyers.

Now what?

Zeke: She’s the worst artist I’ve ever seen.

And I hate that that makes me suspect that she’s lying to me. After my ex-girlfriend cheated on me, trust is in short supply.

She makes me laugh, and it’s one adventure after another with her. Definitely different from my workaholic lawyer ex.

Maybe it’s time to give love a second chance.

All is fair in love and litigation, but when truth and deception clash, can you trust your heart?

*The romcom books in this series are interconnected standalones set in the same world. Each can be read as a pure standalone with a guaranteed happily ever after.

My review

Tessa is very dedicated to her job as a lawyer. Unfortunately, her dedication came at the cost of her relationship with Wyatt, who only saw her as a workaholic.
At an art gallery, Tessa is pretending to be a struggling artist, trying to turn the attention of a scammer on her.
And looking at her worst, she meets Zeke. The attraction is immediate! If only Tessa didn’t discover that there is one thing that Zeke truly hates, and that is lawyers…
With the scammer nearby, how can Tessa tell Zeke the truth? But the more Tessa is keeping the truth from Zeke, the harder it gets. Especially as Zeke still finds it difficult to trust people, as his ex – girlfriend cheated on him…
But with Tessa feels everything so right, even if she is the worst artist Zeke ever met. So perhaps Zeke is ready to give a second chance. But what when the truth comes out?

There are stories that you want to read even if the characters couldn’t be further away from your own life.
Both Tessa and Zeke have stressful jobs, and jobs that I have no idea how exactly everything works, beside from what I read in books or see on TV.

I truly liked Tessa. Not only is she a very loyal and even committed friend, but she also wants to do good in the world, to make a difference for those who need any (legal) help or whatsoever.
There isn’t literally a thing she wouldn’t do to help, even if that means to pretend to be an artist, while she hasn’t an artistic bone in her body.
And her sense of right of wrong was truly admirable, and her reasons for becoming a lawyer only made me like her even more!

We also see a vulnerability in her. She has been burnt by love before, and that has made her very wary of a new chance at love.
Yet she finds that special connection with Zeke and that was truly lovely to see! But finding love, or finding that connection with someone isn’t enough for her to stop from doing what she believes to do is the right thing. Falling in love with Zeke won’t stop her from doing her job, or trying to lure the scammer.

And she knows that not telling Zeke the truth of what her job is, is the wrong thing to do. But I could understand her, as each time she found the courage, something happened turning the perfect moment in the most imperfect moment.
I could understand how difficult it was for Tessa, but I could also comprehend Zeke, as the truth and honesty is very important to him.

In a way I understood why Zeke was so against lawyers, but on the other hand, it was also rather unfair of him, to see all lawyers in the same negative light. It’s not because your ex, who was a lawyer, did betray you, that everyone is like that.
But like I said, I could understand his general mistrust, as he truly believed that it was endgame with his girlfriend, only to end up heartbroken.
And reading about his past, and how it hurt him and still affects him, made me want to give him a hug and tell him that everything would be okay.

Zeke is also the kind of guy who wants to do things the right way, or no way. Even at his job, when he notices something strange, he wants to figure out the truth, even if it may turn out in his disadvantage.

There were moments in this book that truly swept me away, like the painting that Tessa and Zeke created together, or their biking together. Those bits for sure made me believe that both Tessa and Zeke would be able to put their negative thoughts aside and quickly believe and trust in love again.
But, and even if it was sometimes frustrating, there were also moments where doubts take the overhand, or even the presence of those that hurt our main characters the most.

And it’s those switches that perhaps prolonged the story, having twist after twist. Yet it was also mandatory… even if we read a book where we want that happily ever after, here we see the reality.
Because trust doesn’t just grow overnight, and wariness doesn’t disappear into thin air after just meeting someone that we may like.
For some it may be easy to put it all behind them, but I think it’s fair to say that for most of us, it takes time, patience and courage to allow love back in our lives. It’s a matter of trial and error, there will be misunderstandings, but nothing ventured is nothing gained…

This was a lovely story to read, how two people find each other in an unexpected way. But with their pasts, they have to find the courage to take that dive.
Perhaps a more fitting title would have been ‘Love Is An Artwork’, as love for sure is an art, as it is something beautiful and wonderful. But love is also work, as it’s to learn to give and take, talk and listen, and not jumping into conclusions as it will only give unnecessary understandings.
I truly enjoyed reading this book, as it shows all the aspects of love, how easy it can be, but also how difficult it can be…