I’m 90% sure this is a stand-alone, but the author clearly isn’t completely sure it’s a stand-alone, and if you read it I think you’ll know what I mean.This is my exact complaint from when we read The Witch Haven and there’s some immediate “Oh, I trust this random dude I just met, sure thing!” behavior there, too. One dude shows up out of basically nowhere and you trust him? C’mon, authors – let’s give these female protagonists more credit, please. I did not buy the love triangle, at all.Olson – I know sometimes plot lines show up uninvited when you’re writing, but maybe pick one? Painter who can heal the injured? Dead guy? Sick sister and lost parents? Mysterious murders/disappearances of painters all over the city? Hidden magical talent? Love interest from the upper class while you’re basically scraping by? Hypocritical politicians? Holy wow, Jessica S. First of all, decide what the plot driver is.That said, I did have some problems with this book: I like that the relationships between the family members are complex without being totally over-the-top complicated. The main plot is interesting, there’s some representation in the form of long-term illness, and mental health challenges, and the “magic system” was an interesting twist on “magic as a religion” and quite well done, I think.

Guarding that secret is the only way to keep her younger sister safe now that their parents are gone.įor the most part, I enjoyed this book. She’s an artist whose portraits alter people’s real-life bodies, a talent she must hide from those who would kidnap, blackmail, and worse in order to control it. Olson, it was largely a “oooh, pretty cover” impulse, coupled with a little bit of “ooh, magical painting!” just for funsies. I will admit that when I put myself on the waiting list for A Forgery of Roses by Jessica S.

A forgery of roses series