The old adage of opposites attract could not possibly be more true for Harper and Tom. One an art historian, somewhat uptight and almost desperate to never be shown to make mistakes or admit to human frailties. The other a war veteran simply getting through the days, using his natural talents as an artist to ease the mental ravages and memories of war. Their paths might never have crossed except for a rainy day, an escaping one-eared dachshund and several misunderstandings.

The Art of Us gives us two wounded people who while opposites in many things share one passion – art. When Harper’s scheduled showing of an artist’s work is in upheaval because of the artist’s arrest, not to mention her chance at tenure she comes up with an incredibly, unusual idea to save the day. Now she simply has to convince Tom to go along with it. What neither expected was to find a far different type of love… one that was worth all the risks, and might just be the saving grace for them both.

Not all wounds are on the surface to easily see and identify with, some are hidden deep and take courage and support to ease that particular pain. Tom and Harper are a delightful couple who shouldn’t work but they do, their chemistry is off the wall and their banter is a form of romantic dueling at times. The Art of Us is a heartbreaking and a heartwarming romance that takes us along on this couple’s journey to a happier life together. With tears and laughter, hurts and healing Tom and Harper will overcome so much and find exactly what they each need – that healing love of the just right for them person.

I completely enjoyed my time in this world, and would not hesitate to recommend this story to any Romance reader. It’s a touching, funny, charming journey that you’ll want to share.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

"The Art of Us" by Teri Wilson is the story of Harper Higgins and Tom Stone, Harper is an art history professor and a Vincent van Gogh scholar who is trying to secure her tenure. At the moment she is in desperate need of an artist.

Harper and Tom collide into one another on a rainy night. Well, actually Harper collides into Tom. Harper finds out that Tom can paint really well and thinks that she has found the artist that can help her secure her tenure. Their troubles really begin when Harper talks Tom into pretending he is a long-lost descendant of van Gogh. As the art show opening gets closer things get really confusing.

I am not really into art so I wasn't sure that the book would keep my interest. Teri Wilson did a great job of getting the reader's attention right away and keeping it. She had me laughing at times and crying at times. This is a funny, sweet, and emotional story. The chemistry between Harper and Tom was so real. You could feel their emotions. I especially liked her dog Vincent. Vincent was a mess or more like it, he was making messes or getting into trouble.

This is an excellent read! I look forward to reading other books by Teri Wilson;

I received a copy of this book from Tule Publishing for an honest review. FYI, contains mature content.

(Goodreads and Amazon)
This book is very well written and a beautiful story about two damaged and lonely people finding love and redemption. I was totally enthralled by the fictional universe Teri Wilson creates with talent, humor, lyricism and sensuality. I specially loved the gorgeous wounded hero, a softie beneath a tough appearance, the dance of mouths, lips, smiles – the poetry, eroticism and suggestiveness of it – all the imagery around the flowers, the paintings, the art, etc. And, of course, I loved the dogs. Really good secondary characters too.
Teri Wilson is a new author to me and now I really want to read her other books.

This one is a quick read filled with art facts and nice chemistry between the characters. It's really cute, and I loved the story (thanks to fanfiction, I have recently learned that I have a soft spot for characters who are/have been soldiers, that's what really got me to request this title).
I think I might read some of Mrs. Wilson's other work in the near future.

4 stars
This is a very strong read which uses art as the push... A woman who is doing an art show, discovers a undiscovered artist and in the selling of this man to her boss... she stretches the truth a bit...
Well, actually she says a doozy... claiming he is a long, long descendant of Vincent van Gogh!

He reluctantly allows the fib to continue and these two teach each other how to see the best in each other.

First off, I love the cover of this book. It is absolutely perfect for this story. I was drawn to the gorgeous simplicity of the cover and requested a copy of it from NetGalley based on the cover alone, before I even realized I was familiar with the author of the book.

The premise of this book was really funky, and I wasn't sure how it would work without being totally ridiculous when I read the blurb, but I was happily surprised by how much I actually enjoyed the story. As someone who wouldn't know a Picasso from a paint-by-number (but who loves Bob Ross and thinks Harper should have worn the afro), I will admit to skimming a few times when Harper went on one of her art rambles, and to not being able to follow all of the art references that were made. Whenever an art piece was referenced that seemed important to the story but I wasn't familiar with – which was more often than I should probably admit - I would have to stop reading and do a web search to find out what painting the character was talking about. While it was a tad frustrating at times to have to break off from the book, I now know the name of the artist who painted “Nighthawks”, and what Dadaism is.

This is the second book of Teri Wilson's that I have read, and one of the things that she does incredibly well is adding both obvious and subtle humor in her writing. I found myself both chuckling, and laughing out loud more than once while I read which is something that I love in a book. Another thing that she does well is create the kind of chemistry between two people that makes a reader's pulse pound. Despite the fact that I often found myself frowning at Harper, the chemistry that coursed between Tom and Harper was absolutely incredible. The slow burn, sexual tension was palpable at times and I absolutely loved it. Oh God, Yes.

Full disclosure: I was not a fan of Harper for a good portion of this book. She was fine, I guess, but her art-snob personality and her single-minded selfishness didn't make her incredibly likable. BUT. That said, she definitely got better, and I loved who she became at the end of the book. (B eing vague on purpose so as not to spoil anything.) Her gesture to Tom before the art show was so sweet, and the fact that she was thinking so much about Tom as a person instead of a tool to her success showed incredible emotional growth on her part, but the art show really sealed the deal for me.

Tom was such a great character. He was a complex mix of sweet and surly, and even though he was helping Harper perpetrate a con on people, he still had this underlying goodness about him. He was doing it solely to help out a woman who at that point, frankly, didn't really deserve his help because that's the kind of guy that he is. Yes, he needed money, but he could have gotten it by walking more dogs, he didn't have to help her out. That he did spoke a lot to his character. I loved his backstory, and his relationship with Gunner made my heart melt.

This book is very art-term/facts heavy. If you're like me and know nothing about art, it might feel a little overwhelming (and Harper's snotty attitude about art might be a tad off-putting), but the story-line itself is really interesting, and it is full of both tremendous humor, and undeniable heat. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about opposites attracting, anyone who loves a good kind-of-friends-to-lovers story, or anyone who loves stories based around the art world.

I had pretty high expectations for this one after loving my last read by Teri Wilson, Unleashing Mr. Darcy. While this definitely didn't wow me like that book, I still love the characters that this author creates; they are so complex and unique to contemporary romance. The Art of Us is a book with an interesting premise - drawing on some of those tropes we know well but also introducing new feelings. Harper is curating an art show for the college where she works and when her star artists ends up in jail, she's left scrambling to find someone to replace him. Enter Tom, the swoony and mysterious veteran that started painting as therapy after he returned from Afghanistan. Although Harper is reluctant to tell anyone Tom's real story, and that didn't quite make sense to me considering how awesome his story was, her reluctance to tell the truth ended up with them spending a lot of time together in preparation for the show. As with Unleashing Mr. Darcy, Teri Wilsons love of dogs was also on full display in The Art of Us, which I once again appreciated. This book is definitely quirky, but it mostly works. I found it a bit slow at times but I still can't wait to read more form this author.

The Art of Us came out last year, and you can purchase HERE.

But in that moment, she wasn't thinking of the art show, Dr. Martin or Archer, sitting in his jail cell down in New York. She wasn't even thinking of Lars Klassen waiting in the wings to steal her promotion right out form under her. She wasn't thinking about Rick and how she'd never felt quite good enough for him. She wasn't thinking about her father or all the other men her mother had brought home. A laundry list of men who'd let Harper down, time and time again.

Her thoughts centered around one man, and on mean only. The man whose hands had created those gorgeous paintings. The man standing beside her, watching, waiting, with those unreadable frosty eyes of his.

Harper Higgins (what a great name!) is a reserved art history professor looking for tenure, until she literally bumps into soldier/dog-walker/artist Tom Stone and realizes she’s really looking for something more.

Oooooh I just loved that Tom Stone. Talk about the perfect alpha … he’s an ex-soldier, doesn’t take crap from anyone, lives on a boat, doesn’t talk about his feelings but he HAS feelings, and shows his sensitive side when he’s supposed to.

Harper is a pain in the neck who won’t get out of her head or out of her own way. But between her friends, her part time job teaching social art classes, and that handsome Tom Stone… well, Harper figures out a couple things that might do her some good.

I liked the art discussions — I learned some fun facts! — as well as Frank’s flowers, the art classes (it’s a big thing where I live – go as a group to paint a picture while having a glass of wine), and the chemistry between Harper and Tom. The writing was fun and funny, even when addressing some serious issues.

I even liked the villain, in that he tried to be tricky but really wasn’t smart enough to pull it off. As my teenager might say, “Oooh Lars, you just got burned.”

The Art of Us is totally entertaining on many levels…

https://randombookmuses.com/2017/03/17/review-the-art-of-us-by-teri-wilson/

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1944846873