Humorous Coming-of-Age Story is the Perfect Beach Read

by Susan Roberts

In this colorful and humorous tale, a hopeful young painter finds herself embroiled in the world of art heists…and possibly responsible for the counterfeits needed to cover them up.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

July 2024; Lake Union; 978-1662518997
audio, ebook, print (255 pages); women's fiction

Throw this one in your beach bag. Veridian Sterling Fakes It by Jennifer Gooch Hummer is a perfect summer read with a bit of mystery and a bit of romance with some interesting characters.  Plus it's a book that you can easily put down and walk away from without worrying about what happens next.  It's a good fluffy book and a quick read.

Veridian is a recent graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and is trying to get her paintings into a gallery in New York City.  I don't know much about the art world but I would guess that it's almost impossible for a new artist to get into a NYC gallery.  She ends up accepting a job at a small galley as a personal assistant to Myra,  the owner -- who really reminded me of Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada.   Veridan has school debt to repay and when she hears Myra on the phone discussing the impressive finder’s fee for a lost Van Gogh, she decides that she'll find the painting and have enough to repay her school loans and her mother.

Her search gets noticed by other people like a famous art dealer who may be less than honest in his dealings.  She has to make some big decisions to stay out of trouble (and possibly out of jail) and ends up getting involved in things that she sure didn't learn about at art school.

Veridian is an interesting character.  She seems very well trained on things in the art world but is pretty naive when it comes to problems in the real world.  It was interesting to see her learn how to deal with unscrupulous people after the sheltered life she's led.  She did have a good heart and was willing to take chances to get herself out of trouble.  There's some mystery and a bit of romance as she learns her way around the art world in NYC.  My favorite person was Myra,, the gallery owner.  She had a real attitude and was a bit of snob and some of her comments made me laugh out loud.

Overall, I found this to be an interesting book and I did learn a bit about art.  Go ahead and give it a try.

Buy Veridian Sterling Fakes It at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is two hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

  

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