War Paint (States of Love Book 39) by Sarah Black | Cat's Release day Review, Excerpt & #giveaway @Dreamspinners

War Paint (States of Love Book 39)

There’s an art to love.

Mural artist Ben has come from Tel Aviv to Atlanta to work on a commission. A successful artist, he’s still lonely and isolated after his family’s rejection. Ben is charmed and surprised when local soldier Eli mistakes him for homeless, and brings him a cup of coffee and a biscuit. This gesture opens the door. Eli is lost, trying to make sense of a future without the Army after a combat injury ends his career.

Art gives them a new language and a path forward. But lost men can reach out, desperate to hang on to anyone close. Is what they find together real, and the kind of love that will last?

States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.

Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon  

Cat gives this one 3 Meows...

Cover love: 2 Meows. Its a pretty cover but to me told me nothing about the book. 

Ben is an artist from Tel Aviv hired to work on a mural on a newly converted old building. The building will be tiny apartments. Ben sits out on a sidewalk and stares at the building to get his idea. 

War Paint is a States of Love book and Georgia is the state. The cover is a bit misleading to me. In the book, I don't think Ben uses spray paint to do his mural as it's meant to last long. Also If he is a renowned mural artist I don't think he would be so poor. 

Eli is a soldier that has been hurt and discharged from the military. He is only twenty-three and now has no career path. The military has him seeing a therapist and he has to write what he wants to do with his life and choose a new path. He sees this man on the bench with a small dog every morning and thinks he is homeless. He brings him a biscuit and coffee. They are both staying in the same motel and become lovers.

The story is deeply emotional and delves deep into Eli's thoughts. There are a few funny moments when he dubs his therapist as Manatee and Ben as Bison, because of his thick long hair and beard. The story seems to be instalove but for me, that fell flat. The romance felt more out of need and a desire to find a new path.

If you like, May/ December, cute dogs, broken men, military men, artists, interracial romance and off-page sex you will like this. There are several beautiful moments, especially the war paint scene

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Excerpt...

BEN ON THE BENCH

BEN SAT on a bench in Cabbagetown, an old Atlanta neighborhood that used to be a mill town for the nearby Fulton Cotton Mill. The mill had been converted into lofts, and the neighborhood was being reborn, with shotgun shacks selling for a fortune and haute cuisine from across the globe replacing the local diners. Not all of the diners were gone, though. The Blue Plate down the block was by far the friendliest, and ugliest, building on the street. Built of painted concrete block and steel-clad windows, the Blue Plate pumped out the scent of frying sausage and baking biscuits, and that scent drew customers from all over Atlanta.

Ben watched the old Buick dealership across the street being painted gunmetal gray. The building was three stories high, made of old brick with big plate-glass industrial windows. The previous layers of paint were heavy with lead, so there would be no blasting down to the soft old brick. It was sad, he thought, that the rosy clay would never again feel sunshine on its face. The bricks were in lockdown. His painted layer would be the last in a long line. It was also sad they were using gunmetal gray when he very specifically detailed it should be dove gray. Dove was several shades lighter, a gentle color with a hopefulness gunmetal was seriously lacking. Americans, he thought, were both obsessed with guns and unable to follow directions.

Sarah Black is a romance writer. She loves authentic voice, strong willed people, rambling men, 60's rockers, good-hearted boys, and black coffee. 

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