Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 333 pages
Author: Kelly Siskind
Publisher: CD Books
Release Date: April 22nd, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads
BOOK SUMMARY:
She wants to steal his Van Gogh. He wants to steal her heart.
Some people would call Clementine Abernathy a criminal. She considers herself a modern day Robin Hood, who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Not exactly on the up-and-up, but she knows what it’s like to lose everything. Her latest heist involves swiping a priceless Van Gogh from its owner, who’s supposed to be an egotistical trust-fund brat.
Turns out Jack David is a sexy, kind-hearted man…and Clementine is in trouble. Falling for her mark would make her the World’s Dumbest Conwoman, but Jack is charmingly persistent, always singing sweet songs in her ear.
And that earth-shattering kiss? She never stood a chance.
Now she’s imagining a fresh start with this dashing man, but that means telling Jack about her past. And other nefarious sorts are after the same painting. Too soon, Clementine learns what it means to risk it all for love.
Thank you to Kelly Siskind and Netgalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own!
BURNING LOVE.
I didn’t know that I would love an Elvis, tribute artist, as much as I did. But Jack swooned me away with those hips and voice [which unfortunately had to be totally in my head] BUT STILL. Ultra-swoonworthy Not-Maxwell Jack is a lovely romantic interest.
Clementine was a solid heroine. I thought the way she approached her past was heart-breaking, but what she thought was best (at the time). I loved seeing her learn to accept love and trust in her life. It was a long time coming for Clementine to get a break for once. The way she gave up what she was doing, knowing it was wrong, was the kind of changes I love seeing. Especially the fact that she communicated with Jack.
Now, the communication was great for 95% of it. Then, the critical moment when she honestly should have just said something to Jack, she decided it was best to go in the complete opposite direction? WHY. Clementine spent the entire time learning to open up, and when the test came, she failed. And it bothered me. I thought it at least worked out better than I’ve seen in familiar moments in other books. It let to a bigger reveal that I hadn’t quite realized was happening.
I thought the story was cute and playful. The idea of Clementine being a Robin Hood-type criminal was different than my usual romances. Add in the fact that Jack loves dressing up as Elvis and I have definitely never read a book like this! I love its uniqueness factor. Kept me interested and flipping pages. The small town vibes and sub-plots were great. There was a good amount of steam and innuendo throughout. You can feel the slow burn between them (even as the time is short), for a more insta-love, it was written so well I hardly noticed. I was cheering on Clementine and Jack.
The ending was a bit abrupt. After the big ending, it skipped to a year-later epilogue. While that kind of jarred me, I did love the epilogue. It was perfectly cute and the best happily ever after. I can’t wait to read her next story!
Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary romance
- Language: some
- Romance: kisses/make-outs, innuendo, a few very detailed love scenes
- Violence: guns, physical, knives
- Trigger warnings: mentions of Clementine’s parents suicides (at different times, methods mentioned); abusive foster family situations
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