3.5 Stars

The Artist’s Touch by E. J. Russell is a second edition of a novella formerly entitled Northern Lights. The paranormal story centers on a washed-up art fraud investigator, Luke Morganstern, who has been contacted by an anonymous client to check out a small gallery that has a painting by a deceased artist that has never been seen before. When Luke realizes that the painting is indeed a forgery and that the painter is holed up in a remote cabin, he goes to investigate. Little did he expect to see his former lover in residence, and looking as though he is terrified of the very art he is being accused of forging. It turns out that Stefan has indeed been doing the paintings, but is completely unaware of doing so—for months he has been waking up after a night of drinking to find he has painted a picture. As the two men grapple with feelings for each other that have never gone away, they attempt to figure out just what or who is using Stefan to create the pictures. The closer they get to the truth, the more it becomes clear that something is behind the mysterious work and that Stefan is in danger of losing more than his memory—he is in danger of losing his very life.

I liked the premise of this book; the paranormal aspect was definitely a bit creepy and well done. The chemistry between Luke and Stefan was undeniable, and the idea that the two have never gotten over each other, despite it being a few years since they were together, was believable. I do wish there had been a bit more explanation about their former relationship. In my opinion, it would have strengthened the story overall. I appreciated the story of the artist whose paintings Stefan was channeling and found myself really wishing the author had taken the same amount of time on the two main characters.

Because of the bare-bones structure to the story, I found myself occasionally going back and rereading passages to make sense of where I was in the story. I felt like there were all these great plot point threads that could have been the basis of a wonderful paranormal mystery, but they were left unexplained, underdeveloped or incomplete. This book should have been a full-length novel, and I’m surprised the author didn’t take the opportunity to expand the story before reissuing. In the end, the plot holes that resulted from a story that was never fully realized made this novella a bit hard to get into. I thought the premise for this novella was a really good one and the bits that worked were solid and entertaining, but in the end, there simply wasn’t enough story to make The Artist’s Touch shine.

Reviewed by Sammy

I really enjoyed this title by E.J. Russell. It was my first book by this author, but I will check out future releases from her.

I wanted to like this more than I did. Of the two MCs Stefan was the one I liked and the one whose head the reader spent less time in. Poor boy got shafted all the way around by his significant others until John got his head out of a certain part of his anatomy. It seemed to me that Stefan should have made John grovel a bit more once they were safe from their supernatural tormentor. <spoiler>And what was with Ethan! I'm sorry, but forgiving the lover who knifed me to death in a fit of jealousy?! Basically the dictionary definition of a "bad boyfriend" -- overly possessive, jealous rage, murder... What the hell was Ms. Russell thinking? Just no!</spoiler> Hopefully now that Stefan has found his power he can continue to stand up for himself in the next book! I have enjoyed other things titles from this author and look forward to reading the next in this series, as it is focused on Stefan.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this novella, but I got more than I bargained for, in a good way. A second chance at love for these two men, a ton of history behind them, both when they were together, and afterwards, and some supernatural elements thrown in (notice what’s behind the MC on the cover????).

Well, it was definitely intriguing, and I had no idea that little tiny plot points in the story along the way, would transcend into what was a huge crescendo at the end. I really enjoyed those final scenes, knowing how the small touches had helped to build to such a huge ending (the kind where you cringe a little at what the MC’s are going through, love it!).

Small spoiler ahead! This novella isn’t long, but definitely packs a punch, with two second chance love stories, the one you expect, and the one you don’t.

Definitely recommend this one! 4 pieces of eye candy

The Artist's Touch by E.J. Russell didn't do it for me. I tried, but I couldn't get in to this book. It was confusing and disjointed, which caused me to quickly loose interest.

The story thrusts you immediately into the complexities of a previous relationship that didn't end well. Now a chance has come for the two former lovers to try again but there are inexplicable hauntings and possessions to overcome first.

Stefan Cobbe is surprised and shocked when he opens his door to find his former boyfriend Luke on his doorstep. Stefan is trying to get his life back on track after two years of hardship. His past relationship with Luke was not an easy one and the break up left both men hurt and incomplete. Neither of them found happiness with other lovers. Stefan lost his boyfriend Marius and Luke's boyfriend left him after Luke had an accident.

Luke is surprised to find Stefan down on his luck, but Stefan has found a new sponsor for his paintings and that is the real reason why Luke has come looking for him. It seems as if Stefan is painting forgeries.

Of course there is more to this than meets the eye and both men begin to realise that something odd is happening. As the two men grapple with hautings and possession the attraction that drew them to each other ignites and both men face the paranormal together and try to understand what happened in the past lives of an artist men who died and his lover.

I think this story would have benefitted from a prologue because it was a bit difficult trying to understand who was who, what they had done and what had happened in the past etc. I am still not sure why the two men broke up in the first place. Having said this I still thought this was an interesting paranormal story but it started off at a very fast pace and this certainly didn't help me as I tried to figure out what had happened in the past.

I liked the main characters but I feel the story needed much more of an introduction and back story, but if you like ghosts and paranormal happenings with your romance then you might enjoy this.

Copy provided by Riptide Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

I expected a more interesting story but was disappointed. In may ways, the short length limited Russell's ability to flesh out the story more than what it was.

This is a MM ghost story. I don’t read a lot of ghost stories, but I enjoy this author, so I thought I would give it a try. I enjoyed the book, the characters were interesting and the back story with the ghost was fun. The world of art forgery is included in the story and that was interesting. The pacing of the book was good. It was a great story.

Sorry to say this story didnt hold my attention at the fullest.
It was nice with nice personalities. Only the ghost part wasnt really interesting.

3.5 Stars

Luke is hired by a mysterious customer to reveal the truth behind some fake paintings that appeared at a gallery in Oregon. When he starts investigating, it turns out that the artist/forger is none other than his ex, Stefan, the man he left seven years ago and never stopped loving.

I was really looking forward to reading this book. I've enjoyed the previous E.J. Russell's books I've read before, however, I felt like The Artist's Touch wasn't up to par with those. It might have been that I wanted the paranormal aspect of it expanded on, or that I would've liked to see more of a resolution to the ghosts' storyline. I don't know, it just felt a bit disappointing.

I found it hard to connect with either Luke or Stefan. Luke got on my nerves with his going back and forth over what he would do about the forgeries and Stefan being so, I don't know, ugh, tepid, over everything didn't exactly endear him to me.

Overall, the premise was great, unfortunately, the execution fell short for me. However, I'm sure others might enjoy it more than I did, so give it a try and let me know what you thought.

*** Copy provided to me by Riptide Publishing via NetGalley, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

When I read the blurb I was oh yeah, love second chance stories. But then I read the story and I felt like part of the story was missing. I loved the PNR aspect of the story and how that went. I loved how they still had feelings for each other. But, everything happened so fast and the ending seemed rushed. I would have liked to have learned more about Edward and Arcoletti. I also would have liked to have known more about Stefan and Luke after their split, they kind of glossed over it. Also, what happened to Thomas? I think if the story was longer we could have gotten more of the backstories and I know I would have liked it a lot more. Though I had issues with this story, it won’t stop me from reading the next story in the series.

ARC reviewed for Netgalley

The Artist’s Touch by E.J. Russell (Art Medium Book 1)

Luke Morganstern’s once promising career seems to be taking a one-way ride down life’s toilet. Sympathy for an art forger has left his integrity in question and a string of bad decisions has left his life in shambles. Out of desperation and for the sake of his diminishing savings account, he’s taken a highly questionable job from a very vague mystery man regarding a fake Arocletti painting that is hanging on the wall of a two-bit gallery in Nowhere, Oregon. Luke’s life takes another spin when the forger turns out to be the ex-love of his life, Stefan Cobbe. What should be an easy case of art fraud turns inexplicable when Stefan can’t remember painting a single forged canvas. Stefan’s the only person in the studio, but he isn’t alone, and he won’t last long if Luke can’t figure out what is happening.

I enjoyed the overall story of The Artist’s Touch and the paranormal aspect of it. I just wish there had been more development of the characters and their back story. Luke and Stefan’s pasts are the driving force behind their present, yet the reader is just told what it was like between them and never really shown. Their relationship would have been a lot more gripping had we seen them together when they were younger. I thought including some scenes from the past would have really invigorated their love story and made their emotions in the present more engaging.

Knowing more about Luke’s decision to leave Stefan and the situation that led to the end of his promising career would have made him a more likeable character. I found him bitter, angry, and hard to sympathize with. He must have been more than that if he’d ruined his career out of sympathy for a starving artist, but, unfortunately, that is a side of Luke that us readers never get to see.

Overall, an enjoyable story and a quick read. I think it could have been even better with a bit more development.