Overview

New York, 1924. Twenty‑four‑year‑old Jenny Bell is one of a dozen burgeoning artists invited to Louis Comfort Tiffany’s prestigious artists’ colony. Gifted and determined, Jenny vows to avoid distractions and romantic entanglements and take full advantage of the many wonders to be found at Laurelton Hall.

But Jenny’s past has followed her to Long Island. Images of her beloved mother, her hard-hearted stepfather, waterfalls, and murder, and the dank hallways of Canada’s notorious Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women overwhelm Jenny’s thoughts, even as she is inextricably drawn to Oliver, Tiffany’s charismatic grandson.

As the summer shimmers on, and the competition between the artists grows fierce as they vie for a spot at Tiffany’s New York gallery, a series of suspicious and disturbing occurrences suggest someone knows enough about Jenny’s childhood trauma to expose her.

Supported by her closest friend Minx Deering, a seemingly carefree socialite yet dedicated sculptor, and Oliver, Jenny pushes her demons aside. Between stolen kisses and stolen jewels, the champagne flows and the jazz plays on until one moonless night when Jenny’s past and present are thrown together in a desperate moment, that will threaten her.

Review

Jenny is a talented artist with a huge secret. She moves to NYC to escape her past. But as you can imagine, her past comes back to haunt her in very unusual ways. Jenny is a complex character. She only paints in monochromatic. She refuses to paint in color. When she is chosen to be an studying artist at the Louis Comfort Tiffany’s artist colony, she opens her mind and her heart to color and to love.

I love everything about this story. The history surrounding Tiffany, his mansion and his glass company is captivating and unique. I love a book that has me googling! I also enjoy the way M.J. Rose always weaves mysticism in her stories. This time it is with Ouija boards and Thomas Edison’s spirit phone and yes…I googled that too and it did exist!

Toward the end of this book, I just kept reading faster and faster. Some jewelry came up missing. Well, of course they blamed Jenny, because of her past. She was in a reform school for a crime she did not commit. See! You have got to read this book to find out! So, I could not let her suffer again…I had to read faster to get her out of this mess. I so enjoy books that keep you moving and gasping for air.

M.J Rose has out done herself with this book. I never thought she would come close to The Book Of Lost Fragrances . She is very skillful in her storytelling. She weaves history, mystery, love and family into a tangled web of intrigue and complete enthrallment!

She is one author I would love to sit down and have a cup of coffee and pick her brain. No telling what stories she can tell.

I received this novel from Atria Books via Netgalley for a honest review.

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