I definitely read the plot summary and thought it seemed a little mysteries, a little hot, a little exciting. I’m primarily a romance reader so I definitely focused the most on that while reading, which is why I found myself disappointed by the scope the relationship received in respect to everything else. There’s no explicit content and the few kisses just didn’t do it for me.

As for the suspense, I thought it was compelling but maybe not fully realized. I’ll admit I don’t know much about art or anything, but I do think it did a good job explaining relevant details. There were a few twists I didn’t see coming.

I wasn't able to read A Surrealist Affair before the archive date. I am giving my honest review based on the parts I've read and as well on the synopsis. I am giving the book a 3 star rating.

First I would like to thank Entangled Publishing, LLC for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVE romantic suspense and I was intrigued by the art heist/theft angle noted in the synopsis, so I thought I would give it a try and I was not disappointed.

What I liked:
- Paris, the majority of this book takes place in Paris and it felt like the city was another character in the story. Each of the MC had a different relationship with the city and I loved getting to experience how they played out separately and together.
- Twists, normally with these type of stories there is one twist and can sometimes be predictable. This has multiple twists and there was one I wasn't even close to see coming.

This was a romantic suspense that was a bit light on the romance, which I was missing and I was left wanting more with the development of the main couple. If you are a slow burn/closed door romance fan this is absolutely for you.

Even though I felt like I was missing some romance elements, I wasn't able to put this book down. Once I got into the thick of the twists, I knew I wouldn't be able to stop reading until the very end. Overall this was a good book with a lot of elements to enjoy and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who is a suspense fan with a small side of romance.

Art crime stories are of my favorite suspense story line. The Surrealist Affair, Overall was a good book. It definitely ranked high for how suspenseful it was.
The writing, characters and plot did keep me engaged with the story, some parts, I felt were a little ok but mostly the book was good.

When a art student sets out to make a name for herself she becomes entangled with art forgers , murder and 1 handsome FBI agent who is there to solve the theft of a priceless work of art.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

The blurb caught my attention but the story was a little different than what I was expecting to read. I was drawn in because of the romance but that element was rarely seen as I couldn't enjoy the connection between lead characters. I couldn't bring myself to care for them much.

It was an informative book The author did an excellent job of explaining the setting, police procedure, and ventures into art history and the relevant styles linked to the art pieces in the story line.

This was my first time reading from this author and I enjoyed it. i like a good international romance with a bit of mystery.

I had a hard time getting into this story. It just didn't capture my interest and I was glad when it was over.

I loved the blurb for this book, but the writing didn't live up to my expectations. And I still think there's a fantastic story buried within this book which, in the right hands, could've been wonderful. The plot had a couple of genuinely great twists, one featuring an art career that's not what it seems, the other featuring a career opportunist capitalizing on an artist's estate, which weren't exactly "never saw that coming" but more like "that's a clever choice." The author has obviously invested great effort in learning about art forgery, how art is made down to the paint colours used in the surrealist era, the manners in which art and forgeries are used as crime collateral, and the artistic legacy of the surrealists. Even the plot - two strangers coincidentally meet over and over in Paris, stumbling upon the scene of crimes while falling in love - is exactly the sort of thing the surrealist writers loved. But this is not a modern suspense take on Last Nights of Paris in the way I'd hoped.

Nor is it really a romance. This feels more like a suspense novel which has had its romance subplot.... I don't want to say "amplified," as it's extremely lacking, but as though a suspense book was the original intention, while the romance was forced into the book to market it to that audience. However, the dialogue is stilted, the characters are individually flat and lack chemistry together. They kiss a couple of times for no apparent reason other than a kiss should happen to make the romance a thing? The premise of an academic and an FBI agent collaborating to solve an art fraud/heist scheme is is a great forced proximity setup, but it's squandered here: the leads don't work together at all on the art crime investigation. Their interactions are not entirely devoid of fun, though - after one of those kisses, Elle deduces the hero is a FBI agent, through, I guess, her tongue? I am not making this up: "It was almost like, in kissing him, she had gained entrance into seeing more of who he was." Get that tongue a security clearance and put it to work!

Elle, before she's marinating her tongue in the mouth of a seasoned detective, isn't that much fun to read. She is unbelievably naive and projects extreme "damsel in distress" vibes for most of the book. Over its course she does find a bit of agency and self-sufficiency. The Paris stay begins by her being pickpocketed, there is an attempted sexual assault of Elle at the 50% mark - from which the hero rescues her of course - and it concludes with her escaping a kidnapper by cutting her restraints all on her own and trashing a bunch of art, lol, good for her. But Elle's initial tourist naiveté in Paris doesn't entirely make sense. We are informed she has been to Paris before, for what must have been at least a couple of weeks, if not longer, because she was cataloguing material for an exhibition, material that belongs to the gallery the characters visit. But she is completely, ridiculously helpless upon arrival. The person who's supposed to pick her up doesn't show when she gets off the plane. She stumbles onto buses to ask drivers, and then random strangers, how to get to her hotel. She doesn't know that she should guard her bag on the metro and is immediately robbed of her wallet and a fairly important image of a painting, which she has not scanned or taken a picture of, because apparently she lives in 2003, not 2021. She doesn't know how to buy a metro ticket. She is clueless about how to operate a French Press (the coffee contraption) and doesn't think to google it. She's surprised that it rains in Paris. How does she not conduct the most basic self-preparation for her trip or to function in general? After all, she's only a professional researcher doing a PhD, how is she supposed to learn what she doesn't know?

As a footnote to this gripe, the entire book is written in a bizarrely technophobic manner. Characters are forever texting each other and scribbling their emails on sheets of paper - or handing over paper business cards or paper boarding passes to get on planes - and generally acting like smartphones don't exist. It seems like the book's supposed to be set somewhere in the mid 2000s, but the characters never confirm the year. Notre Dame cathedral is still standing in the book, so I guess it's set sometime before 2019?

And finally, there are some really gross and dated tropes in the romance that are going to be off-putting to contemporary reader's sensibilities. The hero thinks, early on, that the heroine is "gorgeous and didn't even know it." If there is a more hackneyed romance sentiment than this one that I wish we weren't still replicating in 2021, I don't know what. The hero thinks of Elle, "unlike a lot of beautiful women, she didn't seem to be aware of that fact, which made her even more appealing." Putting down women who are confident in themselves - very cool 2021 attitude, guy. The hero worries that Elle is a pretty girl alone and vulnerable in Paris, and is saddened that he " didn't have the right to tell her to stay in her apartment until they meet up again." For God's sake, I hope no one has that right over their partner. When kissing a business acquaintance on both cheeks, as they do in Gay Paree, the hero thinks that "with [Elle], he wouldn't stop at two kisses," which made me recoil from my screen in horror. And Elle longs for this old-school romance hero from 1985 thing he's got going on. She is upset that the hero protests he doesn't want to take advantage by staying overnight at her place, "a trite phrase if there ever was one." So she wants him to stay overnight but doesn't use her words and then is mad when he's not a mind-reader.

Eventually when they do the kissing, it's all consensual. But I didn't expect the hero to primarily sexualize the heroine's innocence and not-like-other-girlsness, instead of being impressed by her relevant knowledge, useful to his investigation, and then allowing himself to think about how cute she is. I wish he'd had far more respect for her, and that she'd been put in a position to impress the reader with her knowledge, even if she's not a confident or world-wise person.

Steam level: mild. A few on-page kisses. No graphic content.
Content warnings: attempted rape, attempted murder, on-page violence including blood and injury.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for this honest review.

I picked this one for the blurb. It sounded interesting and I love a good mystery, unfortunately I ended up getting bored with this book.
There were too many technical talking here that pulled me off the story to the point I stopped caring about the characters. It read too presumptuous and like they tried too hard and that's never good.
It was a good interesting idea but I feel it wasn't done that good.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review

I had high hopes for this book and, unfortunately, they fell flat. I liked the plot and thought the art history and murder mystery were really interesting. My main problem was with the main characters...I just didn't care for them. I thought Elle was really naive, and I just couldn't connect with her. Ryan was just kind of flat. I wanted him to be dark and brooding, and instead he was kind of bumbling. I'm sure others will like these character and connect with them, but not me.

I was totally drawn into reading this book based on this awesome cover and title and this is my first title from this author.

The predictable plot involves Elle Dakin, a grad student who gets involved in a criminal situation with an undercover FBI agent Ryan DeLong. It takes a bit for them to sort out who is the criminal and who is the victim here and for feelings to develop between them.

I wish there had been more of a focus on the characters and their development rather than the criminal aspects of the plot because it was difficult to really get invested in these characters and what was going to happen to them. I missed that connection with the characters that I want to have in a romance or romantic suspense.

Speaking of, I wasn't sure if this is a crime drama with romantic elements or a romantic suspense. It didn't really hit the mark on either for this reader.

So overall, a predictable plot with some execution issues with character development. I didn't hate it, but it was just okay.

I thought the premise of this story was fascinating! I thought the research into museums and Paris was really thorough and well done.

Unfortunately, that's where my enjoyment for this one ended. I didn't find it to be much of a romance, and Elle was a bit too damsel in distress for my personal tastes. The connections in the mystery seemed a bit flimsy and hard to follow; I don't always figure thrillers/mysteries out, but I can usually connect back once it's explained and that was not the case in this story.

This is my personal opinion, someone who's looking for an action romance without a lot of heat may feel differently and greatly enjoy it; it just wasn't for me.

As one of my favorite painter is a Surrealist (Max Ernst) I read the blurb and found it very interesting.
I know that a romantic suspence requires a bit of suspension of belief but I found a bit too much following a plot based on the fact that the authentication of a newly discovered paint by a master is done by a student.
In any case I tried to follow a plot but I found the characters a bit flat and plot confusing.
There's a lot of potential but it's not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thank you @entangled_publishing and @netgalley for this gifted copy of #thesurrealistaffair it’s available today and only 3.99$ on kindle!
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Summary: Elle Dakin is shocked when she’s given the opportunity to fly to Paris to attribute a newly discovered painting to her favorite artist. After all, why would they choose a broke, struggling Art History doctoral student for such an honored task? When she arrives in Paris, she realizes the deal was too good to be true—suddenly she’s neck deep in a murder, an international art theft, and threats to her safety. Thank goodness Ryan, an art exporter, comes to her aid, protecting her from the dangerous side of Paris and those who would try to harm her. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s sinfully handsome…until she discovers he has just as many secrets as everyone she’s met on this trip of a lifetime gone wrong…

The last assignment undercover FBI agent Ryan DeLong wants is to investigate art theft. But here he is, stuck in Paris, chasing down the thieves of a million-dollar masterpiece. The only bright spot is Elle, the shy but enchanting doctoral student who teaches him about more than just the beauty of Surrealism. He can’t tell her the truth of his identity, plus he refuses to get romantically involved with anyone while he’s on a case. But when he learns Elle also has things to hide, he begins to doubt everything he thought he knew about her.
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Thank you so much to Entanged Amara and Netgalley for letting me read an eARC of A Surrealist Affair by Jacqueline Corcoran! The premise of this book sounded so cool- it reminded me so much of that show White Collar, and y'all, I loved White Collar. Art Crimes is such an underrated and super cool part of the FBI and there should definitely be more books about it! A Surrealist Affair, unfortunately, was not my favorite.

A Surrealist Affair 3/5 Stars

Summary from Goodreads:

Elle Dakin is shocked when she’s given the opportunity to fly to Paris to attribute a newly discovered painting to her favorite artist. After all, why would they choose a broke, struggling Art History doctoral student for such an honored task? When she arrives in Paris, she realizes the deal was too good to be true—suddenly she’s neck deep in a murder, an international art theft, and threats to her safety. Thank goodness Ryan, an art exporter, comes to her aid, protecting her from the dangerous side of Paris and those who would try to harm her. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s sinfully handsome…until she discovers he has just as many secrets as everyone she’s met on this trip of a lifetime gone wrong…
The last assignment undercover FBI agent Ryan DeLong wants is to investigate art theft. But here he is, stuck in Paris, chasing down the thieves of a million-dollar masterpiece. The only bright spot is Elle, the shy but enchanting doctoral student who teaches him about more than just the beauty of Surrealism. He can’t tell her the truth of his identity, plus he refuses to get romantically involved with anyone while he’s on a case. But when he learns Elle also has things to hide, he begins to doubt everything he thought he knew about her.

There are two main reasons I didn't enjoy A Surrealist Affair as much as I wanted to- I didn't like Elle and I thought the book was really slow. The setting (Paris!) was so fun- I love Paris and you could tell that the author really wanted the readers to experience the magic of art in Paris and the magic of the city and the galleries and museums. Paris is one of my favorite cities to visit because you're never bored- you find new and fun things to explore every time you go! I also really enjoyed the art crimes unit in general- I knew I would, but reading about how Ryan was only in art crimes as a punishment of sorts until he could go back to counterterrorism and seeing how even so, he screwed things up because he wasn't careful was very frustrating. All of the intricacies and the ins and outs of art crimes were so cool though and I loved the FBI working with the French art crimes unit. Those were the parts of the book that made up for me not liking Elle and being bored because of the pacing. Now, let's talk about why I didn't like Elle- she wouldn't stand up for herself, she was so naive throughout the book, kept getting herself into terrible situations where she needed to be rescued, and ended up falling in love at the drop of a hat, even though she really didn't know anything about the man she was in love with. What the heck. It's no wonder people kept taking advantage of her! I'm all for romance novels and falling in love and stuff, but not when you make your female lead seem like a stereotypical idiot! Overall, I'd say read this book for the art crimes and Paris aspects, not the romance.

This was a difficult book to review as I was really intrigued to read it but I struggled so much and I'm not quite sure why. I think it was a mixture of the writers style, pacing and characters I found hard to connect with. It just fell flat for me. Sorry

Jacqueline Corcoran is a new to me author with A Surrealist Affair, a fitting title. An intense read after a slow start that made sense once the case is over. The book also leans more towards a mystery thriller than a romance. This is great since the characters behave in a way that sounds realistic and authentic. Still there is sweet romance.

Elle Dakin is an Art History doctoral student who is in over her head early on in the story. Her life has not been easy but I admired the way that she worked to overcome it. Yes, she is naïve and shy but she is also not worldly or jaded. In this trip to Paris she grows in self-confidence and finds that she is one great problem solver. Undercover FBI agent Ryan DeLong is more of an enigma in that his backstory is not so clear. I still would like to know more of to why he was reassigned to art theft and forgery at the FBI. The flashbacks were helpful but never tole the whole story. In addition, why did Ryan’s handler keep him on such a short leash? For that reason I hope to read more of these characters in which his entire story is told.

As for the plot it is a true cat and mouse chase. Also there are so many twists, turns and confusing events that happen once they both arrive in Paris. Somehow the author brings all of these together in a Wow-I-didn’t-see-that-coming conclusion. All except what happens to one art forger, it fits nicely together. A sequel about chasing after him would be a wonderful next book. Yes, I would read more by this author, yes I would.

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Jacqueline Corcoran is a new-to-me author, but she penned a romantic suspense book, and I love romantic suspense. It’s more of a passion, really. I cut my teeth, so to speak, on Nora Roberts’ romantic suspense books, and I’ve never lost the love she instilled in me for the genre. So it’s never a hardship to give a new romantic suspense author a try. Some are hits, and some are misses.

I admit that I know almost zilch about art beyond music. Art was never my thing, and I did everything I could to avoid art appreciation in school, so I can’t speak to how well the research was or how well the author stuck to reality on this aspect. But she did add enough intrigue that it felt believable, and that’s a definite plus. There were also quite a few twists, some of which I had figured out ahead of the big reveal. However, the biggest twist was a bit of a shock, so again, big props from me on that. Romantic suspense in which I figure it all out prior to the story’s arc and big reveal just falls flat for me. Thankfully, this was not the case with this book.

So let’s talk characters for a minute. I figured out a long time ago that if I couldn’t connect with at least the hero or heroine of a book, I usually didn’t care for it, even if the plot was great. I struggled with Elle. There were parts of her that I just thought were too naive and gullible for someone her age who was a doctoral student. But there were also times where she was exceedingly savvy and brave. Almost to a fault. For the most part, I liked Ryan a little better but kind of wanted to smack him when he put the job above Elle’s safety. Needless to say, this made it easy to put the book down at times and do the daily required adulting. However, as the story arc approached, I found that putting it down became a lot harder.

The lack of fully connecting with both the hero and heroine but still really enjoying the suspense created a bit of a dichotomy for me. All in all, I felt this was a decent story. While I can’t say it was unputdownable, I can say that I was reasonably entertained and never once considered not finishing it. And I can also say that I was engaged enough to look forward to what this author produces in the future. To summarize, I’d say this book was more of a hit than a miss.

NICUnurse’s Rating: I give A Surrealist Affair by Jacqueline Corcoran 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Elle goes off to Paris to what becomes more than the adventure she is expecting. Ryan goes under cover in the city of love and finds his heart. Two strangers meet on an plane and then their paths keep crossing. This is an international crime procedural that is a little whimsical. That may be because of the setting and the type of crime that is being investigated. It all leads to Elle and Ryan not only solving the crime but also falling in love.