Painting the Moon

If you are looking for a romantic, angst-filled, second chance at love read, you may want to consider Painting the Moon by Traci Borum. There is no physical drama here or “make you blush” steamy scenes, my romance book-loving friends. It’s all about the emotions. Ms. Borum proves you don’t need a lot of dirty talk to speak the language of love. Instead, she uses longing, regret, memories, innocent touches, and stolen glances to convey the main couple’s chemistry.
Noelle has never gotten over her feelings of unrequited love towards Adam. The teenage boy who captured her heart during her frequent summer trips to England while visiting her Aunt Joy. Including the almost kiss she wished had happened. However, due to some unexplained family drama, Aunt Joy had suddenly pushed everyone away and then lived in seclusion until her death, leaving Noelle her sole benefactor. It takes travelling back to Chilton Crosse for Noelle to slowly piece together what happened to her famous artist aunt. She unexpectedly finds herself running into Adam, but only to discover he is recently engaged. There lies why some may have issues with this story. Not only are they not a couple throughout the entire book, but Adam is living with his fiancé. Noelle even begins dating someone else, but mainly to help her move on from Adam. There is also a lot of time spent on secondary characters/other items (Aunt Joy, Mac, the diary, daily happenings within the village, etc.). Normally, I do not like my romantic reads to deviate so much time from the main couple’s interactions. Perhaps, it was because I needed to cleanse my literary reading palate from the instant lust to love, steamy reads I’ve been coming across lately. Maybe I simply enjoyed this author’s writing style so much I didn’t mind this slower, more drawn out approach to their HEA. Don’t get me wrong. The couple do spend time together via dinners, a village festival, picnic, phone calls, etc. You definitely get the feeling Adam never was madly in love with his girlfriend. It was likely he proposed only because they had dated so long. They seemed to seldom be together because of their busy careers. Noelle also did not set out to win him back. In fact, they both at times even tried to avoid each other. Neither wanted to hurt his fiance. But the heart wants what it wants and their love can no longer be denied.
Overall, I found Painting the Moon refreshingly romantic and engaging. I’ll soon be delving into Finding the Rainbow to find out what happens next in this series.
Title: Painting the Moon, Series: Chilton Crosse (Book 1), Author: Traci Borum, stand-alone, HEA, romantic angst, no steamy scenes, hero is engaged to another, second chance romance.
Book 1 – Painting the Moon (Noelle and Adam), 6/7/14, Pages: 310 Book 2 – Finding the Rainbow (Holly and Fletcher), 3/24/15, Pages: 300 Book 3 – Seeking the Star, 10/6/15, Pages: 200
(This review is based on NetGalley ARC generously provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion. It will be posted on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, and NetGalley.)

A nice comfort read! Loved the setting--a small village in the Cotswolds, a cozy house, and a small mystery. The romantic elements were sweet too. A little slow-paced and predictable in places, but for me, that's what a comfort read is all about :-) Will be looking forward to more Chilton Crosse novels.

Noelle always sought the ocean during troubling times and did again when she got a letter postmarked from London. She read that her aunt Joy had died. Noelle thought about summers spent with her grandmother and aunt they had taught her how to paint, enjoy literature, and love life. She had been to see her aunt in 14 years since she had been 17. Her aunt had a meltdown and none knew why then her aunt basically became a recluse. Noelle had tried to call and write with no answers. Then Noelle received a short letter stating that her aunt was o k and just wanted to be left alone. Noelle had a painting her aunt did of when Noelle was 5 and the first time she was in England. She had seemed all out of sorts until her aunt and grandma had taken Noelle to the sea and she seemed calmer and at home. Noelle was now alone in the world, her mom her grandmother and now her aunt had passed on. Noelle went to England to evaluate what to do next. Her father had a second family and he was busy with them. No real place for Noelle in his life now. Noelle’s first love and best friend had been Adam for years. She had also made a friend named Jill in England and they did find each other again. Then she sees Adam and all those feelings come back. I really enjoyed this story, it was just a good read and sweet not all hot sex or a lot of drama. I like the characters a lot especially the ups and downs Noelle goes through and the decisions she has to make. I liked Joy and Adam also. I recommend. ‘

A wonderful story set in a little village in England. Inheriting a cottage and gallery, Noelle flies from California to England. Thinking it would only be a short time, that changed once she found a batch of paintings her reclusive aunt had painted. Touching base with her two childhood friends, Jill and Adam, the emotions play out and long ago teen love is rekindled. A sweet story, with great characters and a storyline that kept me interested. I was a little unclear about the passages starting each chapter though, and stopped reading those about half way through. In some ways I wish Adam would have stepped up quicker, but on the other hand I could see why it would take so long too. Either way, I would highly recommend this book, and hope you enjoy it too.