"Another early Stuart gem"

Anne Stuart has one of the most amazing understandings of the dynamics of male-female relationships, better than any romance writer I know. Many romance writers are exceptional storytellers, but often I come away feeling the male is written as we would like men to be, rather than they are. Stuart understands males, the good and the bad parts, and knows the path of love, sex and romance isn't always strewn with rose petals. True passionate romances are complex and often riddled with strong, not always clear, motivations. Stuart starts with this premise and adds a pinch of this and a dram of that and always comes up, book after book, with stories that are emotional rollercoasters. I cannot recall any book she has written that she hasn't given 110% to the characters. From her earliest series works to the present day psychological thrillers, she's never lost the passion for writing romance. Her clear love of the genre shines in every work, each one written as if this was the "novel of her heart". I see writers at the top suffering from losing that magic. They have their eye on commercial success. Stuart never walks that path; both her eyes are solely on the story she was currently writing. It's quite clear, the story, the characters are what matter to Stuart. Anything else just follows in the wake.

MUSEUM PIECE is another solid Stuart gem that taps into the strong personalities of male and female characters. Written 20 years ago, it has a slight touch of dating, but only slight. Anne Stuart's books hold out against "dating", superior to any writer I know. More over, Stuart's quality of writing is so consistent. Mary Lindsay McDonough - M.L. to her friends, Molly to her father - works for the San Francisco Museum of American Art. She adores historical pieces of early Americana, but she has been running into an immovable object: James Elliott. James is the front man for J.E. Seaquist - a Howard Hughes Billionaire type - and with the Seaquist fortune at his access, James can afford to out bid Molly at ever turn. She is so furious at losing special pieces to Elliott time after time, she writes him a note venting all her frustration at his "robber baron" tactics - never meaning to send it. After her temper cools, she pens a sedate complaint, but accidentally ends up sending him the tongue-lashing one!

She attends a show for the artwork of her former lover, her intend to buy a painting for the museum. Only, she comes face to face with a very angry Elliott who was not amused. Molly's sworn off men since dumping her artist lover two years ago, but James Elliott is more man than she ever tangled with before. He kisses her, punishment for the note; she kisses him back to show him he cannot get away with it. Thus, the chase begins.

Molly is very attracted to James, but he scares her. Molly was adopted, and while her father was very loving and doting, her mother Sarah came to see Molly as a living reminder of the fact she could never have children of her own. It was hard on Molly not ever achieving the love she craved from Sarah, and it's set Molly up to be too self- contained, fearful of letting anyone too close, lest they hurt her. And the powerful attraction she feels toward James is nearly overwhelming. So she runs. Molly tends to run from every confrontation. Sometimes James will chase her, sometimes he just out waits Molly. The complexity of their relationship is just pure Stuart Magic.

I have only one complaint about Anne Stuart's writing. She cannot write three times faster! Keep them coming! I'll shudder and whine in withdrawal until the next masterpiece comes out and pay visits to "old gems" such as MUSEUM PIECE!

Reviewed by DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Posted August 22, 2004