Monday, August 7, 2017

Monday Book Review: Passion's Palette, by Peggy Jaegar

Passion's Palette, MacQuire Women Book 5, by Peggy Jaegar
Published August 2017 by The Wild Rose Press

About the Book:
Talented and witty portrait artist Serena MacQuire is successful in everything but love. Her gift for capturing people on canvas is rivaled only by her fiery and legendary temper. A tragedy from the past keeps her heart securely locked away, preventing any man from getting close enough to claim it.

But Seamus Cleary isn’t just any man. After he left his professional football career to become a veterinarian, his bitter wife ended their marriage. Now, as he starts his life over in a new town, love is the last thing he's looking for. The more he tends to Serena’s horses, though, the more he realizes her own heart needs tender care and healing as well.

Will he be the man who finally unlocks and claims her heart?

My Take:
Okay, first I need to gush a little about the cover - LOVE! The joy it depicts is undeniable. The horse in motion, the lush green background of the farm setting, the obvious leap the heroine just took into the hero's ready arms - the cover obviously says HEA and that's just what I need at the moment.

The promise of that lovely cover does not disappoint.

Peggy Jaeger is a master at writing emotion -  heartbreak, longing, and the pure joy that bubbles up with love's redemption. Each of her books only gets better, the writing stronger, the characters even more believable as they tug on the reader's emotions and drag us along for the journey.

Right up front, I'll say that although this is the fifth book in this particular family saga, it easily reads as a standalone and you can start right here to enter the world of the MacQuire women that Jaeger lovingly creates. A world of strong women who have each gone through pain and loss and deserve a shot at happiness.

Serena MacQuire is the younger sister, an extraordinary artist who moved away from the rural Connecticut suburbs of her youth into the Big Apple to hone her art and seek her fortune. With the help of her sassy and talented agent, she found success but not love and decides love isn't something she needs. Focusing on her art, she returns home for a visit and to focus on a newly commissioned project for a hospital wing. The cute-meet with Seamus Cleary is a case of mistaken identity, where she assumes he's the mover she hired to help her reorganize her studio. He's captivated by her and boldly steals a kiss, rocking both their worlds in its wake.

The story alternates points of view, mostly between the two main characters, and Jaeger does a wonderful job of making each voice distinct as well as compelling. The conflicts each faces feel real, as does the emotion swirling throughout. I devoured this book in a matter of hours and totally recommend it for your summer reading list - maybe not in your beach bag, unless you don't mind tearing up in public. But totally a curl up on the couch with a cup of tea or glass of wine and indulge like you would with a new Nicholas Sparks. Five out of five well-deserved stars for Ms. Jaeger.

Grab your copy on AMAZON


13 comments:

  1. So, when I stopped crying after reading your review, I knew I had to stop by and thank you personally for such kind and wonderful words, my dear writing friend. Bless you!!!

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  2. On my TBR list, and I LOVE the cover too!

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  3. Great review and from just reading the excerpt, well-deserved. This book is on top of my To read list for my upcoming break. Congratulations!

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  4. Fabulous review. I'll want to read the whole series.

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  5. Wow! What a wonderful review. No wonder you cried, Peggy. A review like this is what we authors live for.

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  6. I love this, and I love the cover too. I may have just found my next read!

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  7. Awesome review! I was just out at a horse ranch the other day doing research for my new series and I'm all about the horses! Love the cover too. On my teetering TBR pile now...:)

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  8. Wonderful review. Spectacular cover. Best of luck with promotion!

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  9. Wow! Beatiful review! Nicholas Sparks better watch out!!!

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  10. Wonderful reiew, congratulations! And I too love the cover - anything with a horse gets to me every time!

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