ARC REVIEW : The Art of Drowning by Gillian St. Kevern

Title : The Art of Drowning

Author : Gillian St. Kevern

Series : Read by Candlelight #6

Genre(s) : Gothic paranormal romance

Release Date : September 19th , 2019

Rating : 4/5 Stars

How far will an artist go for his muse?

Frustrated artist Francis Dawson has come to the remote Scottish fishing village of Armadale to reconnect with his battered muse. But he gets more than he bargained for when he's struck down by a condition fatal to art: love.

Leith’s moods shift with the sea. Silent on his past, his present, in fact, on pretty much every subject, he nonetheless provides the inspiration Francis has been lacking. But even as his art takes flight, Francis finds himself mired in doubt. Are his feelings returned, or do Leith’s actions conceal a deadly secret?

When a fisherman drowns in perfectly fine conditions, Francis is drawn into a conflict knottier than a fishing net. But will solving this tangle free Leith—or end Francis’s painting career?

It’s always excited me every time I’m about to start another book from this series. What will I find next in this newest book? What mysterious thing I will experience this time?! Will it satisfied me?

Francis Dawson is an artist who trying to find back his desire in painting after being betrayed by someone he trust in the past. From the big town, Francis then decided to stay in this small fishermen village and start everything from the scratch again. Finding new muse to boost his desire in painting is another reason he leave everything behind and start his new life here. But could he find his muse back in this small village?

Then he saw him...

From the first time Francis saw this fisherman, he could feels that there’s something about this man that took his curiosity. The aura that come from the man full of mystery. There’s something that frightened him about this man but at the same time there’s also something that drawn him to the man. His logic scream ‘this man is dangerous’, but still Francis can’t denied the growing attraction he feels toward this man. Leith with his mysteriousness slowly light the spark in him that long has gone. Through Leith, Francis finally found his new muse….

But…. Can he keep his muse close to his side? What mystery Leith hide from him? Is he really dangerous?

With the mysterious murders that haunted the small town lately, will Francis following his instinct and leave or should he trust his heart instead?

I must admit that I’m a bit in struggle when I started this book. Not like with the previous book in this series, I have difficult time to get into the story. I need to reread the first two chapters before I finally get it. But after that the problems are solved by itself and I can enjoying the rest of the story.

I still found that the mystery things the author keep maintaining in her works are the best part that I enjoyed during the reading. Yes, the mysteries and the surprises!

Another thing that a bit confusing me while I'm reading this book is a young boy character that took part in this story. Julian. For almost the entire reading I’ve been questioning about this boy. Who is he? Why he’s sounds so familiar?
Then I found out that he’s actually the same Julian Westaway, Pip and Lord Cross adopted child and also the main character from The Well-Dressed Werewolf. I must admit that the timeline a bit confusing because in this book Julian is still a young boy.

Overall, the story still fulfilled my expectations and I really enjoying the reading!



Really can't wait for the next story from this series!! Yes, I'm addicted!