Artfully Yours by Joanna Lowell is a historical romance with an intriguing setup, blending art forgery, mystery, and a touch of baking dreams into a story of unlikely love. While it offers moments of charm and tension, it doesn’t quite stick the landing as a memorable romance.

Nina Finch is an unconventional heroine, torn between her talent as an artist and her longing for a simple, honest life. Her internal struggle is relatable and makes her an engaging character. Alan De’Ath, the sharp-eyed art critic, brings a mix of intellect and vulnerability to the story, particularly as his feelings for Nina begin to challenge his rigid worldview. Their romance is sweet and slow-building, though it occasionally lacks the spark needed to fully immerse the reader.

The art forgery plot is unique and provides a compelling backdrop for the romance. However, the story often feels bogged down by its own complexity, with the pacing suffering as a result. The tension between Nina and Alan could have been explored more deeply, as their emotional connection sometimes takes a backseat to the plot mechanics.

While the writing is lush and atmospheric, evoking the art world of 19th-century London, the resolution feels rushed and leaves some threads untied. The blend of romance and intrigue doesn’t always balance, leaving both elements somewhat underdeveloped.

Artfully Yours is a pleasant read with an original premise and a strong sense of setting, but it ultimately falls short of its potential. Fans of art-themed historical romances may enjoy it, but it may not fully satisfy those seeking a deeply immersive love story.

Artfully Yours by Joanna Lowell is a delightful historical romance that paints a vivid picture of Victorian-era London, where art forgers and critics collide. The story follows Nina Finch, a talented forger who longs for a life of baking, and Alan De’Ath, a discerning art critic determined to expose the truth behind a series of forgeries. As they navigate their complicated relationship, filled with class differences and secrets, their initial antagonism transforms into a passionate connection. While some reviews noted that the pacing could be slow in the beginning, the chemistry and conflict between Nina and Alan keep readers engaged throughout the story​.

No, because this was so fun!!!!!! Ever since watching White Collar i find art forgery so interesting. Both of our MC's were well written and had interesting backstories and were complex on their own. But together...! Omg! The chemistry. I loved Nina and Alan so much and their slow burn romance had me over coals.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
I really liked the idea of this short series - 3 romances between characters who are all connected in some way. I have to say, however, that I liked the previous book (The Runaway Duchess) the most out of the 3 titles.
Nina is an artist forced to be a forger by family issues; Alan is an art critic and detective who can sniff out a forgery in an instant...they encounter one another by accident, and...I guess they have to figure it out from there.
I was intrigued by the character of Alan De'ath in the previous books, but I didn't think that the author did him justice here.
I understand that Nina is being forced to paint forgeries for money, and really wants to be a baker (?) but her character didn't really pop for me.
The french farce aspect was kind of fun, the art stuff was interesting, the milieu and the subplots were diverting, but I didn't really feel sparks between the characters, and I never understood what the author wanted me to take away from Alan's injury/disability (which, by the way, does this not get in the way of all the romping?). I guess it felt a bit rushed, or that the author had kind of painted herself into a metaphorical corner?
It wasn't awful, just wasn't great. 3-3.5 out of 5

All Nina wants is to open her own bakery, but her art-forger brother has other plans. When Alan notices the forgeries, he crosses paths with Nina.

This was a historical romance that just didn’t work for me. I liked the first book I read by Joanna Lowell, but her second was a DNF for me. I think I might be done.

This was a really unique historical romance, that I would definitely recommend to those who think it sounds good!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Enjoyable and unique in the realm of Historical Romance! My first Joanna Lowell but certainly not my last. While it was a bit slow for me at times, I enjoyed the intrigue and the banter between the two MCs, and how their romance was developed over the course of the story. Would also love for some side characters to get books of their own -- fingers crossed!

I really love this author and her writing style. Her worlds are so descriptive, the chemistry between the leads just leaps off the page and there’s always a great sense of drama with high emotional stakes. Really recommend this one!

Opposites attract when an art forger and art critic fall for one another. Nina Finch’s forgeries hang in museums and homes of private collectors. An accomplished painter, she’s been carefully trained by her art school drop-out brother, who is sort of like her art pimp. She’s rather be baking and doesn’t particularly want a life of crime, but it’s funding for a potential purchase of a kitchen and shop in the country. She is working as a parlor maid in the Duke of Umfreville’s estate where one of her fakes hang when his brother, acclaimed art critic Alan De’Ath reveals the painting is fraudulent. When the shocked maid drops the tea service and is summarily fired for being heard instead of seen, De’Ath offers her a job in his motley crue household working with him, which she accepts, all the while trying to figure out how to keep her identity hidden until she can make away with her savings and live a life on the straight and narrow. Instead, the pair are attracted to one another, and he decides to teach her a little about art.

The writing is sublime: lush, evocative detail; rich period vocabulary; impeccably researched late nineteenth-century customs, culture and manners, and fully fleshed out complex characters. For example, instead of simply describing a character’s appearance, Lowell does it in comparison to another person in a way that masterfully adds to their characterization. She masterfully interweaves various subplots of the relationship between Duke of Umfreville Geoffrey and his wife Fanny, his son’s ill health (which parallel’s Alan’s ill health and disability, and the relationship between Nina and her brother, which comes off as controlling and abusive, and references their traumatic childhood. The cat and mouse game adds intrigue without the work of solving a mystery, and the steamy attraction is thoroughly detailed. This worked as a stand-alone novel for me, and made me want to read further in this universe.

I received a free, advance reader’s review copy of #ArtfullyYours from #NetGalley.

I really enjoy Joanna Lowell's take on historical regency. I really enjoy her characters and how her stories connect so well. I look forward to reading what she does next!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

I’m…a little obsessed with this I think?? Just on a technical level I really enjoy Lowell’s style, but these characters, their depth and emotional complexities, and how fun the story is combined with the both physical and emotional connection of their romance—everything came together into a really compelling story for me. It tugged on my heartstrings and had me laughing out loud in turns, which is what makes for a truly excellent romance for me. Plus, it managed to take turns both in the external plot and within the romance that really surprised me (in a good way) and kept me hooked from start to finish. Truly, WHAT a delight.

I really enjoyed the writing style of this book and the cast of eclectic characters. Everyone felt very real and their personalities were very big, which was really lovely, and I loved how Nina and Alan worked through their differences and how the reveal of Nina's forgery happened. For me, the romance at the beginning felt a bit quick and I wanted the discussion about Alan's past and his fears to come sooner in the book, but I really liked their relationship and how there was no real third act breakup. I'm now trying to get my hands on Joanna Lowell's second book, as it's the one that I haven't read yet in this series, and am greatly anticipating the next one!

Alan is a well-known art critic with an aptitude for spotting forged paintings. Unfortunately, Nina and her brother are art forgers. They meet while Nina is posing as a maid at Alan's brother's home. She needs to retrieve a letter sent to him by mistake that may expose their forgery scheme. Nina is very protective of her brother despite his many faults since he took her in as a young child and kept her from being sent to a work house when their mother died. She overlooks his violence, dishonesty, and abuse of her talent, hoping one day to take her share of the money they earn selling her forgeries to open a bakery. Alan has his own problems with his brother who thinks Alan was the favorite child, not realizing or accepting the abuse Alan faced growing up with a mother determined to make him sick so she would be needed. A case of Munchausen syndrome by proxy (my diagnosis, not called this in the book.) Alan's nephew Claud is a sickly child and he assumes his brother is doing to Claud the same as his mother did to him. When Alan becomes determined to find and expose the forger, Nina's brother wants her to accept his job offer as his amanuensis, taking his dictation, to monitor his progress in the quest. This is a deeply emotional story of two flawed people abused as children finding their happiness.

Review to appear on Smexy Books:

Who are more diametrically opposed than an art forger and an art critic? Artfully Yours begins in the late 19th century, with Alan, aka Lord De’ath, the formidable art critic, declaring that the painting in his brother’s drawing room is not a Rembrandt, but rather a fake. Little does he know in that moment that the forger, one Nina Finch, is standing the room with him, posing as the help. She’s a lousy servant, really only there to recover some papers, and is quickly fired by Alan’s brother. Alan takes in an interest in making up for his brother’s insufferable treatment of servants and offers her a position in his household. She declines, but then her brother, the taskmaster behind the forgery operation, sends her back out to spy and keep Lord De’ath from learning the truth.

Not only are they ideologically enemies – Lord De’ath finds forgeries so repugnant because they cultivate interest in the old masters and take away attention from innovative art of the present – but there is distinctly a class difference between them. Alan is quite the iconoclast – his household is full of artists, writers, and musicians who sometimes double as butlers and other household help. His way of living is clearly a rejection of his family, and especially his brother’s stilted observance of high society. And he spends part of the novel trying to get from under his brother’s financial thumb. But it is impossible to forget he is a man of the upper classes. Nina, on the other hand, is hoping to scrape her ill-gotten earnings together to retire to the country and take over operation of a bakery.

Despite these massive differences, Alan and Nina are drawn to one another, even as Alan is trying to uncover the forger and Nina is trying to draw his attention away from the truth. I loved this premise and the dynamic it set up, though I thought the relationship developed quite fast – think insta-fast. The only thing that slows it slightly is Nina’s loyalty to her brother.

In addition to central tension in the novel – will Alan find out? What will he do? – there are other running subplots. Nina’s brother, who seems both wrong and wronged, caring, and manipulative, talented yet frustrated, looms large in this novel and I kind of wonder if there will be a sequel featuring his story after the events in Artfully Yours. There’s also a fascinating running story about Alan, his childhood, and his relationship with his sickly nephew, that becomes central to Alan and Nina’s relationship.

I am pretty good at suspension of disbelief when I read, but there was one part of this novel that was so unbelievable me. Nina gets trained as a painter by her brother, who spent a year or two at the Royal Academy. He also takes her through various museums and galleries, teaching her about the styles of various painters. Somehow, in a fairly short period of time, she is able to create paintings that pass for the work of a wide range of painters. It’s the range that seems improbably to me. Though I thought it was masterstroke that we find out that Nina does not actually like painting.

Grade: B+

The following review posted on our blog, Dear Author, on Feb 22nd:

I’m going to start my review talking about the cover—because like the other two books in the series, it is illustrated (part of a larger trend in both historical and contemporary romance). I like a good illustrated cover—I think for example Emily Henry’s books have been hugely successful partly because of the suggestive and playful nature of the covers. I can see why publishers and some readers like them too—they are distant from the cheesy bodice ripper covers that elicit feelings of shame or public opprobrium (I used to hide the covers of books I was reading with covers like that, like Laura Kinsale’s old historicals with Fabio). However, I will say this cover is very bland—it doesn’t really convey anything about the book and given that the book is really about beauty and art (the hero is an art critic and heroine a closeted artist!!!) it’s ironic that this cover is anything but beautiful or artistic.

The book opens with a scene in which Nina Finch is masquerading as a maid at the Duke of Umfreville house. She witnesses a fight between the Duke and his brother Alan De’Ath, a famous art critic. In response to the Duke’s imperious demands, she quits in dramatic fashion. De’Ath who witnesses this scene of disobedience and is impressed by her spirit, offers her a job as his secretary. She refuses and we learn that she and her brother are art forgers—Nina’s role in it is revealed in bits and pieces throughout the book.

The book makes much of the fact that Alan De’Ath is a persona. He uses an old-fashioned dress cane the “sort an antiquarian gentleman might tuck beneath his arm.” He also wears side whiskers spectacles and velvet coats. I liked that it was the hero and not the heroine who undergoes an ‘unveiling’ or metamorphosis—Alan changes as he and Nina’s relationship grows, and we see him slowly shedding some of his persona. I found it achingly romantic when he reveals his truest inner self to Nina (a process which I absolutely adore—behind it is the idea that love is not transformative, rather it is about radical acceptance of the truest flawed self.)

Continued here at our blog: https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-a-reviews/a-reviews/review-artfully-yours-by-joanna-lowell/

I always love a book(especially romance) with unique points of view. Reading about art forgery was interesting and new to me. The characters were well developed and there was chemistry between the leads. More books need to have animal sidekicks!

This was such an interesting historical romance between the second born son and a female art forger. Usually it's between two of the same social set and these were not but they were of the same intellectual set.
This was a slow burn romance and I think it took them both by surprise. Def his aristocratic brother. There was a lot of sickness and what seemed like forced sickness to make the parent feel useful. I don't know why parents do that but it happens all the time.
I always enjoy when the forge hunter and the forge artist get involved. Anything can give them away.

Thank you berkleyromance and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

***ARC Provided by the Publisher***

DNF 26%

Nina and Alan just didn't work for me. I loved the idea of this one, but the execution of it didn't work for me as I didn't feel any connection with the characters.

I am unable to recommend this title.

BOOK REVIEW: Artfully Yours by Joanna Lowell
2022 Publication Date: February 21

⭐️⭐️⭐️️

T.I.M.E. Most Anticipated Books Of 2023

Pages: 336
Genre: Historical Romance | Steamy Romance 🌶
Sub-Genre: Hidden Identity Romance
T.I.M.E. Jalapeno Rating:️ 🌶 (Mild Spicy)
Time Period: 1885 (Victorian Era)
Location: Chelsea (England)
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group

PUBLISHER BOOK SYNOPSIS
Sparks fly between a lordly art critic and a lady forger in this Victorian historical romance from the author of The Runaway Duchess.

Nina Finch isn't suited for a life of crime. Raised by her art-forger brother, she can paint like Botticelli. But she'd so much rather be baking gooseberry tarts. She finally has the money she needs to open her own bakery.

Unfortunately, her brother's carelessness lands her — and their forgeries — directly under the nose of London's most discerning art critic, Alan De'Ath.

De'Ath knows the paintings are fake. He doesn't know that Nina had a hand in their creation. In fact, he offers her a job in his household. Accepting it is the most dangerous thing she has ever done....

Alan takes pride in seeing things other people miss. He plans to catch the forger and cement his reputation. There's only one problem: the closer he gets to the beguiling woman he hired, the less he trusts his perspective. Nina isn't what she seems. But despite their false start, she just might hold the real key to his heart. 

As Nina and Alan’s attraction grows, divided loyalties threaten to pull them apart and shatter their worlds. They’ll lose everything, or discover how powerful true love can be....

BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION
Includes Readers Guide Questions for Book Club Discussion

BOOK QUOTE
"Appreciation takes practice. Keep trying, and you'll improve... Even in the absence of natural talent." — Artfully Yours by Joanna Lowell

--------------------

All my book reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Simple Living | Denise Wilbanks at thisismyeverybody.com/blog/what-book-should-i-read

♡ Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I first picked up this series after a mutual on Twitter raved about how she couldn't put down Joanna Lowell's first book in her new series. Based on her POV, it had all the makings of an immediate favorite for me — it was beautifully written, with strong female characters, a detailed Victorian setting and lots of twisting plot points. Delightfully, Lowell's books only got better and better for me: Artfully Yours is my favorite of the series.

I feel a certain kind of tenderness towards the two leading characters. Nina is an orphan and reluctant but talented art forger who''s forced to commit petty crime to survive, but only wishes to have enough money to bake her gooseberry tarts at a bakery in the country (where to even START with that??!). Alan, a brilliant art critic and second son in line for the Dukedom, lives an unconventional life and struggles to tamp down a childhood trauma with snark and an aloofness that never quite gets by Nina. Throughout the book, it's a game of cat-and-mouse between them, both in their obvious attraction to each other and Alan's insistence to uncover the "real" artist behind the fake paintings floating around. Lowell's final installment surprised me (which is hard to do) and was an absolute delight; I will be recommending this book to anyone who needs a little escape from life.

This star-crossed lovers historical romance is full of laughter, plenty of charm and lots of wistful longing that made my heart ache in the best possible way. There is a beautiful swimming scene midway through the book that lives in my mind rent-free now. Sigh.

You can read "Artfully Yours" as a standalone novel, but you'll have more fun if you start from the beginning and get to know the whole set of characters from Lowell's Duke Undone series.

This book is for anyone who loves:
🎩 Historical romance
🔥 Steamy open-door scenes
🧲 Cross-class romance
🗣️ Multiple POV
🎨 Art history, strong women and bohemian life
👗 Dukes and lords and the ladies who love them
👑 A satisfying happily-ever-after

Note: As a trigger warning, please be aware that this text has a storyline that includes childhood trauma, abuse and dysfuntional family dynamics.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for allowing me the chance to read and provide an honest review of this book! I've posted this review on GoodReads and will share to my social platforms, as well as Amazon and B&N listings, during the first week of release.