The Artisans - Softcover

Reece, Julie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0692337326 ISBN 13: 9780692337325

Publisher: Month9Books, LLC, 2015

Synopsis

In this dark southern gothic novel, a young woman meets a man who may be more than he seems. After the death of her mother, 17-year-old Rave Weathersby gives up her dream of becoming a fashion designer, barely surviving life in the South Carolina lowlands. To make ends meet, Raven works after school as a seamstress creating stunning works of fashion that often rival the great names of the day. Instead of making things easier on the high school senior, her stepdad’s drinking leads to a run in with the highly reclusive heir to the Maddox family fortune, Gideon Maddox. But Raven’s stepdad is drying out and in no condition to attend the meeting with Maddox. So Raven volunteers to take his place and offers to repay the debt in order to keep the only father she’s ever known out of jail. Gideon Maddox agrees, outlining an outrageous demand: Raven must live in his home for a year while she designs for Maddox Industries’ clothing line, signing over her creative rights. Her handsome young captor is arrogant and infuriating to the nth degree, and Raven can’t imagine working for him, let alone sharing the same space for more than five minutes. But nothing is ever as it seems. Is Gideon Maddox the monster the world believes him to be? And can he stand to let the young seamstress see him as he really is?

About this title

About the Author

Julie Reece is a writer who loves strong heroines, sweeping tales of mystery and epic adventures… which must include hot guy romances. She struggled with dyslexia for her right to read but in the end she slayed the dragon. She lives in Georgia.

Reviews

Gr 8 Up—Seventeen-year-old Raven doesn't know what she'll find when she arrives at the doorstep of the Maddox family home to bargain for her debt-ridden stepfather's life, but she doesn't expect Gideon Maddox. The dictatorial and smolderingly attractive young master of the house offers her a bargain she can't refuse: In a twist straight from the pages of "Beauty and the Beast," he will forgive her father's debt, but in return she must spend a year living in his spooky ancestral mansion using her unique genius for design to rejuvenate his family's clothing line. Unfortunately, Raven finds that not only has she sold herself into indentured servitude, but she is also living in a haunted mansion. Stilted writing and trite expressions undermine the novel's fast-paced and engaging plot, and in spite of Raven's casual and modern narrative voice, her character and Gideon's are gothic archetypes. Her one-dimensionality causes emotional outbursts in the otherwise conversational narration to fall flat. VERDICT Although readers looking for something original will be disappointed, this novel makes the most of its hodgepodge of gothic elements to create a compulsive read for avid fans of gothic romance.—Anna Stover, Poughkeepsie Day School, NY

Edition details

• Publisher: Month9Books, LLC
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0692337326
• ISBN 13: 9780692337325
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 300