Thursday, April 16, 2015

Untrue Colors by Veronica Forand Blog Tour


She’s on the run…

Brilliant art appraiser Alex Northrop’s ex used stolen art to fund his nefarious activities. Now he wants her dead. But it isn’t just herself she’s worried about – if he discovers who she really is, he’ll kill her family.

Professor Henry Chilton is shocked to find a beautiful stranger passed out in his bed, and even more so when she reveals a priceless painting is a forgery – the painting he’d planned to use to fund a woman’s shelter. She’s mysterious and frightened, and he is determined to discover why.

Alex's knowledge of art is undeniable—just as Henry’s attraction to her is irresistible. But in order to help him recover the real painting, Alex isn't just risking exposure...she's risking her life.

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Alex grieved as she looked toward the Louvre for possibly the last time. She had no choice but to leave Paris and the sublime treasures forming its artistic soul. Overhearing Luc’s plan to celebrate their four-month anniversary by murdering her set off her own plan of running as far away from him as possible.

What began as a fairytale romance had morphed into a traumatic descent into hell. Luc had no problem stealing fine art and artifacts and using Alex’s expertise in appraisals to dupe art collectors and even small countries of their valuable assets. She had huge problems with those things.

While his main henchman, Pascal, drove them through Paris, Luc held her hand in the back of the Mercedes like they were still lovers. They appeared perfect for each other, a rich art collector and the young art appraiser who had fallen head over heels for him. Rugged good looks combined with an enormous amount of wealth made him an ideal catch for a woman who didn’t mind being beaten into submission. Alex minded.

Dressed in a thousand dollar suit and wearing a sophisticated five o’clock shadow across his chiseled features, Luc seemed headed out for a night at the theater, not on the way to eliminate his girlfriend. Alex leaned away from him. She needed to get away. His free hand caressed her arm, rubbed her shoulder, and pulled her back toward him. Moving slowly, seductively, he wrapped his fingers around her neck and started to squeeze. He stared at her, his eyes neither narrowing nor widening, only observing her reaction.

“I promise I won’t tell anyone. I swear it.” She pleaded for her life, speaking French, the only language they’d ever spoken to each other. As his hand tightened with her words, she gasped and struggled for breath.

Luc pulled her face closer to his. His lips pinched together, causing the muscles in his neck to tense. “Liar.”

The more she struggled to pull away, the more his grip tightened. No longer able to inhale, her eyes watered and her life began to fade. With nothing left to lose, she struck out at his face. He released her, but slapped her ear so hard, her head flew into the door. The pain ricocheted through her skull, leaving her numb for a moment.

She glanced out the window and saw salvation. As Pascal slowed for a turn, she opened the door and jumped. Her Chanel suit acted as her only protection when she hit the ground and bounced onto the road. Asphalt scraped her skin with each rotation until she slammed into the curb. Pain rebelled in ribs not yet healed from her fall down Luc’s marble stairway. Car brakes screeched nearby. In seconds, they would be on her. She hobbled to her feet, sucking in huge breaths.

Alex merged into the manic crowd entering the Gare du Nord at rush hour. She dodged men and women in suits, groups of school children, and what felt like hundreds of tourists. With her passports tucked in a travel belt under her skirt and several hundred euros in her possession, she boarded the high-speed train for London and prayed he wouldn’t follow her.




Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Shelby☆☆☆☆
Untrue Colors completely exceeded my expectations. I was expecting a romantic thriller (light on thriller), but what I got was a High-Octane, thrilling romance! (note the difference)
Alex is on the run, literally, from an abusive ex who just happens to be a member of high-society art collectors. Luckily she was able to escape before her usefulness was extinguished, and has been "hiding" until the fateful day, after making a new life for herself, she's discovered and is on the run again.
With nowhere to go, she makes a rash decision and enters a home (the door was open!) in the middle of a party. Thankfully, the host allows her entry and thus our characters accept one another.
Henry is a kind, gentle, gorgeous (of course) anthropology professor at Oxford University who wants to help her. He doesn't really know what this entails, or who she really is – but he does notice an abused woman and his gentle heart wants to protect her.
Alex, fearing for her life and anyone she gets close to, keeps Henry at a distance. Never telling him about herself, her real name, where she came from – what she does (or LOVES to do). Nothing.
It isn't until Henry gives Alex the grand tour of his home and his artwork, that the story REALLY starts. Alex allows her true passion for art to peek through, unfortunately for Henry, she informs him that his most prized piece is a reproduction.
She's on the run, he's looking for answers, together they're trying to piece together clues – and are utilizing each other's strengths to get to the bottom of their situations.
This fateful night leads to more mystery, intrigue, and a hint of love/lust between the two. I will say that the love story isn't the main focus of this book, but it adds to it.
This story was exciting, it was endearing, and it was full of twists and turns. I was on the edge of my seat for the majority of it – and COULD NOT WAIT to figure out what was really going on.


Stephanie☆☆☆☆
4.5 Stars
This is my first read by this author and it truly exceeded what I expected. It's high energy, dangerous and thrilling. So many twists, I couldn't put it down! I really enjoyed this book.


Ruthie☆☆☆☆
I have really enjoyed this book. The story is strong, the plotlines tight and the lead characters wonderfully vibrant. I liked that it was set in Europe, and enjoyed the little nods to US/UK linguistic and cultural differences. I romped through the book unable to stop until I knew how things turned out – and it got pretty tense for a while. No doubts about it, a clever, suspenseful and delightfully romantic read.

I am most definitely adding Ms. Forand to my list of authors to watch and will be reading her back catalogue.






A Bostonian by birth, Veronica Forand regrettably lost her Boston accent while moving from state to state and country to country. Cleveland probably had the most profound effect on her ability to pronounce the “r” in the word “park.”

She does try to return now and then to visit family and eat long neck clams and lobster. Summers on Cape Cod are also high on the priority list.

Her experience in crime involves time as a court appointed attorney. Eventually, she switched fields to where bigger crimes take place, corporate tax. The allure of spending mornings in her pajamas homeschooling her children and writing fascinating fiction caused her to change careers again. Now that the kids are out of the house (in school), she writes romantic thrillers by day and is the perfect wife and mother at night.

Her experience in romance is limited to one man. Luckily, he’s still finding ways to charm her by taking her on vacations to the south of France, Fiji, and the Green Mountains when time is short. Avid travelers, they love to roam with their kids across continents in pursuit of skiing, scuba diving, and the perfect piece of chocolate.

She’s lived in London, Paris, Geneva, Washington D.C., and the accent destroying city of Cleveland. She currently resides near Philadelphia.

Connect with Veronica

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Untrue Colors by Veronica Forand to read and review for this tour.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for hosting UNTRUE COLORS!! So happy it was an enjoyable read!

    ReplyDelete

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