Woman on Fire

✮✮✮✮✮

Aug 4

Woman on Fire - Lisa Barr

my review : ✮✮✮✮✮

So far, my favorite read of the year.

This book is genre-bending; the hold-your-breath suspense of a thriller, the captivating and sadly true elements of historical fiction, and the heat of a romance.

I adored this book and ensured I dedicated every free minute I had the past two days to devouring this. After I finished this story, I took a deep breath. Have you ever been there before??

No summary I write will do this story justice, but here we go: badass and brilliant young journalist Jules Roth receives an unusual and highly confidential assignment… she's been asked by her boss to locate a painting stolen by the Nazis more than 75 years earlier. World-renowned shoe designer Ellis Baum wants this portrait of a beautiful, mysterious woman for deeply personal reasons, but Jules doesn't have much time; the famous designer is dying. As Jules begins her investigation, she quickly learns the stakes are higher than she could have ever imagined, and the art world has a dark and disturbing underbelly.

... just trust me.

What a story. I loved it so much that I almost drove to the author's favorite cafe to thank her for writing it, but I felt that crossed the line into stalker territory. We need to leave the stalkers in the world of fiction (In my defense- she names the cafe in her acknowledgments, and it's 20 miles away!).

Best paired with a buttery yet light Chardonnay, I will be enjoying Cakebread tonight because this book makes you want to open up the good stuff.