Still Life with Strings L.H. Cosway
Still Life with Strings
Synopsis:
My name is Jade Lennon and I stand still for money.
The night I saw Shane Arthur watching me everything changed. A man in a suit always catches my eye, but it was the way he looked at me that was different. Like he knew me or something. He didn’t know me, especially not in my costume. My sobriety rests on staying away from men, but there was something about him that made me throw caution to the wind.
After all, I was never going to see him again, right?
Wrong.
Standing still isn’t the only way I make my money. I also bartend at a concert hall. Never in my wildest dreams did I think Shane was going to show up there. Not only that, but he’s the most recent addition to the orchestra. So now on a daily basis I have to resist one of the most beautiful men I’ve ever met and he plays the violin. For me that’s one hell of a deadly cocktail.
He wants me to teach him how to live. I’m not sure how much a twenty-six year old recovering alcoholic who works in a bar and moonlights as a living statue can teach a world class concert violinist, but I’m sure going to try.
Still Life with Strings is a story of music, art, sex, magical realism, and romance that you will never forget.
Review:
Okay I think I am not the best person to judge a L.H. Cosway book. After reading Painted Faces last month for book club I wasn't going to read anything else by her that is how much I didn't like the characters. The book club choice for this month? Still Life with Strings. Okay so I sat down to read it, hoping it would be better than Painted Faces, but unfortunately I have the same issues with the guy lead as I did with that book. While Shane is much better than Nicholas he still creeps me out. I know a lot of people loved him, but he just acts in such a way that makes me not like him at all. However the author writes her guys is different from anything else I have ever read. They make me think of bad times, horrible boyfriends who I never think about it. It is odd as I have never had that happen before reading this author. I don't know what it is exactly, but they creep me the heck out. I have never had that before with a book, not like this. So I don't think I am the best judge for her books as something about them that I cannot pinpoint is not good for me. So very odd.
In this book we have Jade and Shane. I liked Jade better than the lead in Painted Faces, but I still didn't see the connections. I didn't see them being in love at the end. I only ever felt like they had a lot of sexual attraction. When the book opens Jade and Shane have a quickie in the alley. Jade thinks she will never see him again only to find that he works where she works - the concert hall. He is a new violinist. She doesn't want to get involved, doesn't want to have a relationship because she has her siblings to take care of. She is a recovering alcoholic and she knows if she dates someone and it goes bad she could very easily turn back to the bottle and she just cannot do that. She needs to take care of her teenage siblings so it is a no go, no matter how much she wants to. So she tells Shane they can be friends, but that is it. He agrees, but my issue with him starts with him never really actually trying to be friends with her. I felt like he never really respected Jade's wishes and was always trying for more. I did not like that. Yes she is torn, she wants him, but she doesn't think she can. I get that and him not listening to her is just not cool to me.
The book does progress of course and they end up happily ever after. The end was a bit contrived. It just felt fake to me how everything just wrapped up perfectly. I don't know. I just didn't like most things in this book. Jade never felt that genuine to me even though you are in her head. I wish there would have been more about her busking, I wish the reveal of her big secret would have been sooner, I didn't really like the book. This author is not for me and I know I am in the minority here. That is fine, I am glad others enjoy her works as they do have different characters (like a drag queen). They just aren't for me.
Rating: 2/5
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