Legal Artistry

Holy cold snap Batman. I don't know why I am surprised because last night was the first night of fall baseball so of course it's going to be cold. Fall is one of my favorite times of the year, I love the cooler weather after a hot summer but come March I will be wishing for the hot weather....Hey I am a woman I can change my mind!I love the color changes in the leaves and of course college football!!! But what is up with the all of the weird uniforms(Maryland...nuf said!)? The cooler weather also makes me feel like it's OK for me to spend the day snuggled under my soft blanket reading a steamy book. I am behind on a few series that I read and I need to take a couple of weekends and play catch-up with the yummy Lords of the Underworld and those too serious Carpathians and those oh so very bad Archangels.

This week we have been spotlighting Andrew Grey and if you haven't read one of his books you should really take the time to pick one up. His character's are so real and you walk away feeling like you've made new friends. I had the pleasure of reading Legal Artistry which is the 5th book in the Bottled Up series and it comes out on September 23rd.



Legal Artistry, Andrew Grey, Dreamspinner Press
Years ago, Dieter Krumpf’s grandmother died and left him everything, including a photo album containing pictures of the art collection she left behind when her family fled the Nazis. Now, Dieter is calling on the services of a lawyer, Gerald Young, to determine whether his family’s legacy might be returned to him.
Gerald doesn’t hold out much hope that the paintings will be returned, but Dieter’s earnestness speaks to him and he agrees to help. At first he concludes that while Dieter has a case, suing in Austria isn’t practical. But Gerald is a good lawyer, and as his feelings for Dieter develop, so does his determination to win the case. Together, Gerald and Dieter navigate research, hearings, and a dysfunctional family in the pursuit of fine art—and discover the art of love along the way.

Dieter is devastated over the loss of his Grandmother,so he takes some time before he decides to clean out her house. While going through the attic with an antiques dealer friend he finds her old photo album. Tyler recognizes a painting that is hanging in the background of one of the pictures and when he learns that it is of Dieter's Great-Grandmother he sets Dieter on a path to reclaim his family's legacy.

When Gerald hears the story of the Lady in Blue he is intrigued by the case but doesn't think anything will come of it. After meeting Dieter and hearing more of the story behind the painting he finds himself wanting to help Dieter reclaim the painting for more reasons the the prestige of winning an international case.

The odds are stacked against them, but they aren't going to give up without a fight.

Andrew Grey weaves a beautiful love story around an intriguing complex storyline. While this book started out slow I felt the background information gave the overall story much more depth. The amount of research that must have gone into this story gives it a very personal feel and made the story come alive for me. I found Dieter's vulnerability sweet and Gerald's sense of integrity refreshing. Most lawyers are written as villains so this was a nice switch. Watching the relationship grow over the course of the book instead of the often used insta-love was enjoyable and a nice change. It was great that there are cameos from all of the character's from this series, and they added to the continuity of the book. Since Dieter had no family and Gerald's family is dysfunctional with a capital "D" the addition of the secondary characters gave it a sense of community. So if you like captivating story lines and sensuous loves scenes and are looking for a real love story then you need to purchase this book. I give Legal Artistry 5 chocolate dipped strawberries and a bottle of Malbec cause wine makes everything better.