I am excited to bring you my review of Art & Soul by Claire Huston!
There’s no problem Becky Watson can’t fix. Except her own love life…
Struggling single mother Becky Watson longs to revive her career as a life-fixer, working miracles to solve her clients’ problems, no matter how big or small. Since the birth of her two-year-old son she has been stuck preventing wedding fiascos for the richest and rudest residents of the Comptons, a charming, leafy area of southern England known for its artistic heritage.
So when semi-reclusive local artist Charlie Handren reluctantly hires Becky to fix his six-year creative slump, she’s delighted to set him up with a come-back exhibition and Rachel Stone, the woman of his dreams.
Though they get off to a rocky start, Becky and Charlie soon become close. But as the beautiful Rachel becomes Charlie’s muse, Becky is forced to wonder: will giving Charlie everything he wants mean giving up her own happily ever after?
A heart-warming, uplifting romance served with a generous slice of cake.
I was very excited to read this novel – the blurb sells it well, and I liked the idea of Becky being brought in to fix Charlie’s life when her own was less than perfect.
Becky Watson is a single mother to a beautiful son. Whilst she wouldn’t change having her son, she is now struggling financially and has been forced to take on work solving problems at weddings for rich clients. Not exactly her dream job! She is a life-fixer, and she is keen to get her career (and financial status!) back on track.
Charlie Handren is a local artist who has experienced great success…until he hit a creative slump. Six years later he is a semi-recluse with a teenage daughter and sister who are very worried about him. Becky is brought in to fix his career, his love life and everything in between by any means necessary! Becky knows this is big for her – her career could really be kickstarted if she is able to fix Charlie’s life. The problem is that she gets so involved in fixing Charlie’s life that she might just want to become a part of it…
I loved this novel. I must admit that when I started reading it I was a little unsure, but the more I read, the more I loved the characters. I loved the outrageousness of the wealthy residents of Compton, but most of all I loved Charlie and Becky. Both of them were believable and relateable as characters and the way that they interacted with their friends and family was authentic. Neither aimed to be perfect, they were instead perfectly imperfect. They understood each other and what they each needed even if it wasn’t easy to give or accept.
I am more than happy to recommend this novel. Its a wonderful story about friendship, family and love. Its about making changes, however large or small, to improve your life for the better. And it’s about working out what will make it you happy and doing whatever it takes to achieve that happiness.
Thank you to Claire Huston for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
Purchase Link
Author Bio
Claire Huston lives in Warwickshire with her husband and two children. Art and Soul is her first novel.
A keen amateur baker, she enjoys making cakes, biscuits and brownies almost as much as eating them. You can find recipes for all the cakes mentioned in Art and Soul at clairehuston.co.uk along with over 100 other recipes. This is also where she talks about and reviews books.
Social Media Links
Twitter – @ClaraVal
Instagram – @clairehuston_author
Facebook – @clairehustonauthor
Chapter and Cake 