A beautifully written debut that includes the steamy romance we want to read and the important topics we need to discuss. Highlighting race, socioeconomic, and age differences, plus a plug for supporting the arts, Regina Black's The Art Scandal has all the makings for book clubs who like a little spice with their heady prose. One heads up. I read another review that referred to this as a rom-com. It is not. Not even a little.

When I requested this eARC, I didn't expect to be so immediately drawn into this story. I read it in one day, only stopping to walk my dog and turn my phone on silent when I kept getting interrupted.

In this debut novel, Regina Black weaves a delicious and beautifully written scandal-filled romance that also centers the importance of following your dreams and passions.

Not convinced yet? Here's a little more about the story that jumped to the top of my faves:

Rachel Abbott, has become the picture perfect trophy wife for her husband - a white, liberal, "bound for higher political office type", abandoning her future as an artist to support his political aspirations. The fact that she's Black and had a child before they met, plays into the credibility of her husband's politics and how she's seen by others.

While throwing a birthday party for her husband, Rachel Abbott receives a sext from him that was meant for another woman.

After confronting him about the text *cough* affair, Rachel goes to drink her feelings (as one might do) at a drive-in theater and meets a younger man, Nathan Vasquez, who becomes instantly captivated by her.

The Art of Scandal explores their relationship with art and each other, along with the consequences of that connection - with some twists and some spice.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book from beginning to end and can't wait to read the next story Regina Black decides to share with us.

The Art of Scandal will be available August 1, 2023! Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed The Art of Scandal from cover to cover! Politics, romance and drama, this book has it all! I truly loved the main character Rachel and rooted for her the entire time. I also loved the prominence of the themes of family, love and forgiveness. Can’t wait to see what Regina Black writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: cheating, sick parent, racism, microagressions, family tensions, death of a loved one, parental abandonment, panic attacks, blackmail

This was a gorgeously written debut. Full of intrigue, politics, scandal. Full of angst and just mess. Rachel has spent her life making her self smaller to fit into the boxes to make others lives easier, her white candidate husband, his constituents, his family, her daughter. But on the even of his biggest campaign yet she learns her husband has been cheating on her and all of the choices she's made to make his life easier the compromises she sold to herself that were for both of them were out the window. Just the frustration and choices she's made and now goes out to rage against for her entire life. Being black, her sexuality, and just who she is.

Nathan in a lot of ways is in the same boat. His family's black sheep striving for his father's approval. With his father dying, his art no where closer to becoming a reality and his dreams still so far away, he runs into Rachel on the worst night of her life and suddenly their lives become interwtwined as they both try to figure out what they want out of their lives.

The prose and storytelling in this book is just gorgeous. Very much The Good Wife and Scandal vibes, a woman who has given up so much of herself for the ambitions of her husband who is badass in her own right and deserves the world and you are just rooting for.

Steam: 3

The romance is raw, realistic, sexy and full of tension. You root for Rachel as she rediscovers herself after she catches her husband cheating. Nate is sometimes naive, reflective of his young age, but he proves to be the partner Rachel needs. This debut is stunning and I can't wait to see what Regina Black writes next.

Reviewed for Shelf Awareness, final review will be edited further.
*

Regina Black's aptly titled debut, The Art of Scandal, is a character-driven multicultural romance featuring a political scandal, romantic and artistic passion and delicious prose.
At 37, Rachel Abbott is stunned to receive a sext her husband, mayor of the wealthy DC suburb where they live, meant to send to someone else. That night, she meets 26 year-old Nathan Vasquez at the drive-in theater where she's angry-drinking. He's immediately captivated by her and they connect again when she later walks into the laundromat he owns. Their relationship grows ever more complicated as Black builds up a series of barriers that seem insurmountable. Rachel is still married and since she signed a prenuptial agreement, she's made a deal with her husband to stay his dutiful political wife in public for a year in exchange for one million dollars and the house. Nathan is the son of the powerful, wealthy Vasquez family with class ties to the Abbott dynasty. When Rachel is put in charge of a fundraising gala and art show, the artist backs out and Nathan is thrust into the role of featured artist, even though he's never professionally pursued his art.
The Art of Scandal puts Black's mastery of character on full display. Rachel and Nathan could easily have been reduced to stereotypes: the self-sacrificing wife betrayed, the privileged twenty-something losing himself as he coasts through life. They are these things, but they're much more. Rachel's experience as a Black teen mom isn't a stereotype either, though the Abbott political machine loves to trot it out as they try to paint their white would-be Democratic congressional candidate as a beacon of progressive ideals. Both have complicated relationships with with wealth and their attempts to reckon with financial stability, risk and respectability drive the plot as much as their intense attraction to each other. What Nathan represents to Rachel is a return to the passionate, hopeful life she once led. To Nathan, Rachel is an inspiration to focus on his art and to step outside his early-onset ennui to make his life something of his choosing.
At heart, this is a gorgeous love story and as the threat of discovery and disaster looms large and readers will be racing through the pages to find out how Black will pull off a happy ending. The Art of Scandal is a riveting debut perfect for readers of Seven Days in June.

Shelf Talker: Political scandal, family strife, art and passion combine with Regina Black's mastery of character in her soapy yet insightful debut.

This book convinced me that I might like age gap romances where the woman is older. I wish some of the relationships had been developed a bit more -- I'm not quite sure *why* Nathan and Rachel fell for each other besides convenience. There were also quite a lot of characters that were hard to keep track of at times. I could've used a character map. But this was well written and definitely very spicy! The story itself was also compelling, as was the romance, so I can definitely see this doing well.

The Art of Scandal by Regina Black is bound to be a hot story!
Black has crafted one of the most remarkable political drama/romance novel I’ve ever come across. Like woah, this was freaking brilliant.
Excellent character development along with a fascinating storyline.
The structure of the story is so well crafted. The writing, superb. The characters, unforgettable. The storyline, addictive!
A stunning, sexy, steamy romance. About art, scandal, and finding love where one leasts expects it.
Regina Black, I’m so excited to see where this road leads, because you killed it with The Art of Scandal.
A satisfying and intriguing debut.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗹 - 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸

This book tore my heart to pieces and then sewed it back up! The emotions were so real I couldn't stop reading.

Rachel, the mayor's wife, gets an unsolicited picture via text from her husband, Matt, and she knows it wasn't meant for her but for his mistress.

Matt pleads for her to stay until the election is over, and they come to an agreement. But as Rachel is trying to find herself again, she meets Nathan.

When Rachel and Nathan meet, the sparks between them begin to sizzle. Both of them have a love for art and sizzle their way into each other's arms. And yes, I used sizzle twice 🤭🤭🤭

These two don't just get into it; they form a friendship that grows into something much more.

I really connected with Rachel and Nathan, mainly Nathan, because he struggled with his art. Regina writes romance that makes one think deeply.

Thanks, Grand Central and Regina Black, for sending me a gifted copy. I absolutely loved it.

The Art of Scandal
Regina Black
Pub Date: August 1, 2023
Grand Central
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
* Romance Contemporary
This debut may be one of the best romance of the summer. The story is addicting,
The story is full of heat and heart. However, the last 30 percent did not perform well
3 stars

WOW! Such a fun read! I lived for the drama in this and the unexpected loveeee!!! Yes! I was so immersed in this story, I couldn't put this book down. There was so much passion and a wonderful connection between characters. I enjoyed this book so freaking much! Regina Black's writing is excellent!

This one started so strong and then quickly fizzled out. I ended up skimming that last 30% because I didn't care.

I did like Rachel as a character, her back story was well developed and I understood why she made the choices she did. I did like the ending with her gallery.

I also loved [ that Matt's mistress just went off and told all of polite society about everything; TBH my favorite part of the book.

What I struggled with was the pacing and structure of the novel. It was info dumpy at times about things I didn't care about, the pacing was slow and then skipped things (Rachel and Nathan go from strangers to friends like off page?), and I felt most of this novel was telling us things rather than showing things.

The worst thing a romance can do is make you not care about the couple and well...I didn't care about Rachel and Nathan together. They were cute in the beginning, but I just didn't care. (maybe be so much was happening off page??).

Cheating in books rarely works for me and it didn't work here. In the end I got why Rachel and Matt had been together, but wish we had seen more of why they fell apart. It just didn't feel super natural to me. But what do I know? I've never been married.

TW: death of a parent/grief, racism
CW: cheating, teen pregnancy, drug use

From the outside, Rachel seems to have it all- she’s the gorgeous wife of a successful and wealthy liberal white politician. But behind the perfect facade is a life of hardship and betrayal.

When, at her husband Matt’s 40th birthday party, Rachel finds a racy text sent from Matt to another woman, she decides she’s done trying to make her marriage work. She’s also done fitting into the mold of trophy wife- one she was forced into when, as a young unmarried Black mother, she married into the powerful Abbott family.

Now estranged from her husband, but still acting the part of his wife in public for his reelection campaign, she begins to reconnect with her authentic self, exploring her true passion- the art career she abandoned years ago.

She soon finds herself entangled with a much younger man, Nate Vasquez- an artist with his own ill-fitting expectations he’s battling against, and surprising ties to their shared community. Their searing hot affair threatens scandal and endangers her new-found independence, but they can’t keep away from each other, nor can they deny their growing love.

In this very adult and fast-moving contemporary romance, debut author Regina Black writes a luxuriant novel about learning to love yourself, family, forgiveness, art, and embracing love, even when it's inconvenient.

Recommended for fans of the TV show, The Good Wife.

THE ART OF SCANDAL had me hooked from the very first page. And in just the first chapter, I knew it was going to be quite a ride with the alluring and seductive dynamic between Rachel and Nathan.

A sophisticated and sizzling debut for the author! I enjoyed the plot and the high-stakes aspect of it, and I appreciated seeing Rachel take back her life and find her way to being her fearless and passionate self once again!!!

I look forward to what the author writes next!

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Pardon me while I make grand predictions, but here’s my forecast: watch for Regina Black to become one of the sharpest voices of our generation. She’s got it all – heartbreakingly beautiful prose with sentences that repeatedly knock you on your ass, relatable characters with deeply emotional complexity, and incisive social commentary about who gets access to the corridors of power, and why, and how. I adore both of the main characters of this book, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how beautifully Black has drawn Nathan, a young artist trying to balance his selfhood and his place in a prominent family. But it’s Rachel who spoke to me most clearly with her piercing regret at having spent her passion, her time, and her heart on a faithless husband. With Rachel, Black brings beautiful life to the question we all face when we look back on the choices we’ve made: “What if?” Rachel’s fierce, unapologetic, and poignant reawakening expertly weaves together what could have been with what is and what could still be, if we have the courage to reach for it. One of my top reads of 2023, hands down.

This was a decent read. I found myself not being able to keep focus or invested in the plot. There was potential for this to be messy and filled with entertainment but I ended up feeling exasperated by the FMC and some of the stereotypes that were so clearly projected.

Great story of finding your self and over coming heartache. Regina did a great job of bringing each character to life!

Can't say enough good things about this book. It's funny and smart and incredibly poignant. Regina grabs you by the heartstrings and keeps you hooked from moment to moment.

This book is hot, hot, hot! I think it’s best not to give too much away, but it’s about a mayor’s wife who finds out her husband is having an affair and needs to decide what to do next. The character development is strong and the scenes are steamy. Once I started reading, it was hard to put down.

I felt this was a solid debut. It was sexy, funny and also held the right amount of drama. Most of the characters were well written but I felt the two leads fell into love a little too quickly. The political rush wasn’t high enough for me, but it faired for a perfect ending.