Books4Tomorrow: REVIEW: "THE MAN PAINTER" (The Painter Series, Book 2)

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

REVIEW: "THE MAN PAINTER" (The Painter Series, Book 2) - by Melissa Turner Lee

“THE MAN PAINTER”

(Painter Series, Book 2)

by Melissa Turner Lee

REVIEWED BY: Ellen Fritz

OVERVIEW

Secrets can kill a relationship. But the secrets Holly and Theo keep from each other in the start of their relationship could mean the death of either of them. Fritz holds all the cards, and raises the stakes in this deadly, more adult conclusion of The Painter Series

REVIEW

Comfortably paced and a book easy to relax with, “The Man Painter” picks up the story of Holly and Theo two years after the conclusion of “The Earth Painter”. Holly is driving to a much dreaded Thanksgiving dinner with her parents when she realizes that the radio interview is about an auction of what had to be Theo's paintings. By changing her mind and driving to Charleston to go and look for Theo, she changes her entire destiny.

It appears that Theo has omitted to tell Holly an interesting, but crucial, little detail about himself. With his Hai-Ree and the science, Bio, fussing over him like a couple of broody hens; frequent illness and the ever malevolent interference of Fritz, the water painter, Theo and Holly find it difficult to get their romantic relationship going. What will Holly sacrifice to obtain the solution to Theo's problems and give him the long, healthy life he deserves?

Although “The Man Painter” is a lovely, sensitive romance, it still deals with some unpleasant issues like Holly's extremely and utterly unloving mother who picks a very inconvenient time to reveal her aversion to Holly and her father. When a friend whom she tried to help two years ago joins forces with the evil Fritz, and another more recent friend betrays her, the story takes a very realistic, but decidedly grim, turn.

Humorous moments are added when immortal science get involved in mundane activities such as wedding arrangements, and physical education, as well as teleporting the humans to places where they think said humans should be.

To make this book the excellent reading experience which it definitely is, I would recommend that readers get hold of the prequel, “The Earth Painter”, before reading “The Man Painter”.