Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Art of Scandal

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Art of Scandal by Regina Black

11 reviews

this_momma_is_booked's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I freaking loved this book and I think about it often. A few notes I wrote on my phone while I was reading it:

The scene where Mia tells Rachel the story of her daughter's obsession with lions and she mentions how she learned that lionesses take their young for weeks at a time to a different place to keep them away from danger but then bring them back to that same place of danger. Mia asked her why a mother would do that to her baby and she responds with "because she's not a mother, she's a lioness." The deeper discussion throughout the entirety of the story that women have been conditioned to give themselves up for others, particularly their children.
We teach our kids t be self-sufficient, empowered, confident - but we lose that in ourselves in the process. Sometimes it takes them throwing it back in our faces to realize we are our own person (when Nathan shows up at the photography studio and Faith tells Rachel it's okay to love him and do this for herself).
Finding yourself is a lifelong journey and it's never too late to start again.

The audiobook was great and I cannot wait to see this on the screen!

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fungirlreads's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This is a great story of love, guilt, forgiveness, and finding yourself. The MC's heal multiple relationships as they find their way to each other. It's a messy love story but so is life.

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sdupont's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Fans of Kennedy Ryan will love this book- it packs drama, depth, and emotion in a similar style as she does. This books is like if Scandal had a crossover episode involving the art world. I enjoyed this book and am kicking myself for not having read it sooner. While the romance isn’t completely central to the plot you get to see how Rachel and Nathan’s relationship unfolds. You definitely find yourself rooting for them from the jump despite the circumstances standing in their way. Regina’s debut novel is excellent and I’m intrigued to see what she writes next. I for sure would recommend this book if you are looking for a romance that delivers complexity and drama.

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warlocksarecool21's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Overall, I did enjoy this book. I thought the characters (specifically Rachel and Nathan) were well-written, they had strong personalities and good character development across the story. I enjoyed their relationship, they had great chemistry and passion. I also thought Rachel's personal growth of taking back her life and living for herself was really powerful. The representation in the book was really important as well, it's great to see and read Black stories, especially in the romance genre. I definitely recommend this book if you like romance. The reason I didn't rate this higher was completely on me, it had nothing to do with the book. I was excited to start it but I had just been a streak of reading romance books and I think I was just tired of them, so I wasn't fully immersed in the story as I wanted to be and thus struggled to finish it, but I did enjoy the book. I just wish I had waited to start it until I was in the mood for it.

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peachani's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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fangirljeanne's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Audio Arc from LibroFM

TW: Cheating, Racism, classism, sexism, panic attack/disorders, cancer

We have so many coming of age stories, perpetuating the misconception that we cease to develop as a person once we reach an arbitrary age. Adulthood isn’t so much a destination as an era in our lives. One of many we will change us in social and psychological as well as physical ways. This is a truth anyone over the age of 25 can confirm.

Which makes the fact that so many of us are pressured either socially or economically to make huge decisions about our lives and relationships at such a young age, often only just as we are becoming “adults.” It’s natural that living in those lives, relationships, and careers for decades would wreak change upon our younger selves in many unforeseen ways.

People in their 30’s and 40’s rarely resemble who they were when they was 18 or 20.

Despite their age difference Rachel and Nathan find themselves similarly dissatisfied and lost in the lives shaped by choices they made when they were young. Meeting each other has caused them both to question who they are and could be if they take chances now they weren’t able or were too afraid to take when they were younger.

A couple’s chemistry is always what makes or breaks a romance for me. These two are amazing together. Not just sexy, but they genuinely connect. Their vulnerability with each other is a big key to what makes their romance believable.

While this book is a Romance that spend lot of time on the relationship, it spends as much of not more time on Rachel’s journey toward self discovery and growth. She’s a wonderful example of the wider range of feminine experiences we miss out on when so many Romances focus only on women in their teens and 20s. Women do not stop deserving love and sex after they turn 25. People can fall in love more than once in their life, especially as they grow older, change, and want different things in life.

The book also explores the subtle racial politics that happen within interracial relationships, especially when one of the partners is a rich white man. This story pulls all the nastiest forms of micro aggressions women of color (especially Black women) deal with on a daily basis even within their own homes and family.

While Nathan is Latino he has to come to terms with his own privilege and prejudices in order to grow into a man worthy of Rachel’s trust and love. But most importantly Rachel has to learn and grow into some one brave enough to be safe for and love herself.

This isn’t always an easy read (check the TW), but it was so worthy it. Love this this always is.

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simplysimone's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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ktdakotareads's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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womanwill's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

4.5 stars rounded up

This sultry, slow burn romance also leans into vulnerability, grief, and survival. I adored Nathan and Rachel and their complex path to each other. Regina Black did not shy away from the drama and scandals, and their love story is backlit by DC politics and intense powerplays of the rich and famous.

Read this if you're in need of:
- biracial couple- Black woman & Latinx man
- age gap
- disability rep- he has dyslexia, she has panic attacks
- political scandals & drama
- seductive slow burn
- art history & art

I flew through this one and can't wait to see what this debut author delivers next. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC.

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bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

disclaimer if you’ve read other reviews by me and are noticing a pattern: You’re correct that I don’t really give starred reviews, I feel like a peasant and don’t like leaving them and most often, I will only leave them if I vehemently despised a book. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not, regardless if I add stars or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial

premise:

contemporary romance set in D.C.
third-person POV of love interests
Rachel Abbott discovers her husband of 13 years is cheating on the night of his 40th birthday party with a white woman (she is Black)
Matt, her husband, is in the midst of an election cycle (I think congressional? I forget hahaha but he's the typical cishet white man who wants power and prioritizes his legacy, what's new?!) and he bribes Rachel with $1 million and their home if she keeps up the charade that they are still together until the election is over
Rachel meets a much younger man, 26-year-old Nathan, who is an artist who has seemingly lost his way and his family has their own legacy
Nathan navigates hard news that his father shares with the family and is forced to reconcile his relationship or lack thereof with his father, and the rest of his family too
Rachel has an ice queen persona but begins to examine what went wrong in her marriage, and begins to rediscover her joy and hope again
Rachel had a daughter at 18 years old (which makes her Matt's step daughter), and thinks about her future wrt how the divorce will affect her too
cw: panic attack, infidelity, microaggressions, death of a parent/cancer, drug use, grief
steam: 2/5

thoughts:
ADORED THIS BOOK !!!! Rachel was such a fantastic character to get to know, and I was rooting for her from the very beginning. She was upfront, tactful and searing when she wanted to be. She was an admirable FMC because though she could have truly blown up Matt's image once the affair was revealed, she made sure that her and her daughter would be taken care of. I'm not a mother but I can only imagine that this is how most moms operate -- putting their babies first.

However, that was also part of her arc, which I think so many middle-aged parents or partners can relate to. I don't think it's uncommon for partners to become room mates at some point in their marriage, and when Matt and Rachel finally have the conversation with their therapist about where things went wrong, it felt so real! Not that it was cliche, but that it felt authentic to those who have been together for so long, that they forget to "romance" the other, and forget to challenge each other to be their best selves.

I appreciated Nathan's arc too and found that deeeeply relatable as well! Nathan's vulnerability and exhaustion when it came to his father was sad but also so realistic. I appreciated that this was an age gap romance with both people navigating where they are at in life. No matter what age we are at, at any moment, we can be assessing our purpose, direction, and what our futures will look like.

I loved the longing and tension, and I was so glad for them in the end <3

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