I’m a huge fan of Michele Shriver’s books. In her newest release, The Art of Love, she switches genres from contemporary women’s literature the romance.

The Art of Love did not change my opinion of her ability to create characters I’d like to have as friends and others I love to hate. In her other works, the strong female leads are closer to my own age, but in her newest novel she creates two characters about to graduate from college and made them come alive on the page.  This work of contemporary romance works on several levels. The two main characters, Chelsea and Hayden, are both artists but with very different goals in mind for their future careers. In fact, as artists go, they’ve chosen almost opposite paths and even worse, paths that the other despises. So despite the attraction between Chelsea and Hayden, they clash often and loudly in their choice and neither can imagine being with a person who strives to be a “gallery” artist (Hayden) and a free spirit who wants to do art shows, traveling around the country selling custom-made jewelry (Chelsea).

Ms. Shriver’s main characters are likeable, if not stubborn and short-sighted. The romance between them sizzles, and the reader has no idea how they’ll work out their differences.

The relationship with Chelsea and her mother was sweetly drawn. I liked the easy camaraderie between the two. However, Chelsea and her father have quite the opposite relationship. It’s this father/daughter feud that fuels another layer of the conflicts within this sweet romance. Throw in an evil art gallery owner and a wise brother and the plot falls into place with lots of twists and turns on the way to finding true love.

Congratulations to Michele Shriver on creating a romance that is its own work of art.

Click here to see an interview with Michele Shriver on Author Wednesday.

Click here for my review of Michele’s After Ten.