The Art of Rivers | Book Review

ABOUT THE BOOK

Rivers Sullivan bears both visible and invisible scars—those on her shoulder from a bullet wound and those on her heart from the loss of her fiancé during the same brutal attack. Not even her background as an art therapist can help her regain her faith in humanity. Still, she scrapes together the courage to travel to St. Simons Island to see the beach cottage and art gallery she’s inherited from her fiancé. When she stumbles upon recovering addicts running her gallery, she’s forced to reckon with her own healing.

After the tragic drowning of his cousin, James Cooper Knight spends his days trying to make up for his past mistakes. He not only dedicates his life to addiction counseling, but guilt drives him to the water, searching for others who’ve been caught unaware of the quickly rising tides of St. Simons. When he rescues a peculiar blond woman and her sketch pad from a sandbar, then delivers this same woman to his deceased grandmother’s properties, he knows things are about to get even more complicated.

Tragic circumstances draw Cooper and Rivers closer, but they fight their growing feelings. Though Cooper’s been sober for years, Rivers can’t imagine trusting her heart to someone in recovery, and he knows a relationship with her will only rip his family further apart. Distrust and guilt are only the first roadblocks they must overcome if they take a chance on love.

Publisher: Southern Sun Press LLC

Release Date: June 30, 2019

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OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES

Magnolia Storms

Falling for Grace

MY REVIEW

Her scars make it hard to keep moving forward, so when Rivers Sullivan arrives in St. Simons Island, she realizes it is time to focus on healing. James Cooper Knight, too, has recovery to do, and it is no easy task—especially when Rivers’s presence only adds to the complications.

Through these characters in The Art of Rivers, Janet Ferguson delves into the complexities of addiction, its consequences and rippling effects. There is a lot with which to grapple in this story, and Rivers and Cooper brings the challenges to life so well.

Add in romance, a great cast of characters, and faith-filled second chances, and it’s an addicting read—in only the best of ways. I loved my time with these characters. Though it’s the third in the Coastal Hearts series, The Art of Rivers can be read as a standalone; I had no problem getting into it, and I haven’t read the other two books (though I might have to fix that now). 

Contemporary readers, you don’t want to skip The Art of Rivers.

★★★★.5

I received a complimentary copy of this book and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.