Brush with Love ~ Review

Brush with Love
By Lisa McKendrick

Lana Huish has spent her life feeling as if her heart were frozen. Left as a child in an orphanage in Russia she has always wished to know her mother but has known the life she has wouldn't have been without this loss. From this separation, Lana has found art as a medium to capture and keep that which she wants to never lose.

Lana's talent has earned her a summer internship with acclaimed artist Lefty Zaugg. For six weeks she'll work with him honing her talent. But an unexpected change of plans finds Lana on a plane to Bluegill, Idaho, to study under LeVan Hitchpost. But LeVan, though a talent artist, is no longer able to paint due to his failing mental health.

But Lana's coming is the chance LeVan has been waiting for a chance to live again as he wants. And Lana has to keep his secret from everyone including his grandson Walt. And when she starts spending time with Walt, Lana is left with the discomfort of keeping a secret that would be a gift for Walt - a chance at more time with the man who has been there for him over the years. But LeVan needs this time to create his final masterpiece and Lana is his chance to do this.

Lana's time in Idaho is turning into more than she could have ever expected though worries about her best friend Ingrid have her just a little worried. And when her six weeks are up will Lana's heart finally have thawed? Or will her heart return to the icy state she has always felt it has been in?

This is a delightful contemporary work that deals with life and its ups and downs and the pain of reaching out to another and caring. This is a story of family. A story of community. A story of belonging. The descriptive settings make me want to visit Bluegill and see these gorgeous views though I could do without a flash flood and a dramatic rescue though this added an unexpected touch of excitement.

I was provided a review copy of this book by the publisher with no expectations of a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.


About the Book:
Lana, a talented Ivy League artist, is thrilled for a summer internship program where she'll study under an acclaimed artist, but she is soon disappointed to find that she'll be going tp Bluegill, Idaho, for six weeks to study under the brilliant but aging artist LeVan Hitckpost. As she spends more time with him, though (and more specifically with LeVan's grandson, Walt), Lana realizes she may have to choose between following her dreams or following her heart.