Still Life With Strings by L.H. Cosway
Released: March 24, 2014
Contemporary Romance
Self Published

Reviewed by Mandi

Favorite Quote: My sophisticated concert violinist has a dirty mouth, and it thrills me.

 It was just an ordinary night.

He didn’t think anything extraordinary would happen.

Until it did.

Turning a corner onto the bustling night time street, he saw her all in blue.

The woman from his painting was a living, breathing thing…and she was so completely still.

Two years ago I read my first LH Cosway book, Painted Faces and it made my ‘Best of’ list that year. I’m not sure why I didn’t immediately try her backlist, but when Still Life With Strings came knocking, I eagerly picked it up. I found this book to be so sexy and romantic yet with an underlying darkness that swirls around. It’s different and somewhat refreshing and I got that satisfied, excited feeling when you finish a great book.

Jade Lennon is a recovering alcoholic. Drinking heavily since she was pretty young, for the past five years she hasn’t had a drink. She is the legal guardian to her three teenage siblings (although I think her brother Alec is an adult – I liked his side story in this one) and they all keep her busy. It’s hard for Jade to scrape enough money together each month to pay rent, bills and buy food. She works at a concert hall in Dublin as a bartender and sometimes a ticket-taker. She is proud that she is able to serve drinks to patrons, and yet stay sober year after year. When she is not working at the concert hall, she is busking – or acting as a street performer. Her act is nicknamed The Blue Lady. Making her face white, and donning a blue dress, blue wig and great blue wings, she stands on her little two foot stage motionless for hours and hours. People admire her and drop coins into her hat. It’s during one of her performances, that a man catches her eye.

The beautiful man across the street stands up straight when he sees me move. I pull off my wig and stick that in the box, too, loosening my real hair out of the tight bun I’d had it in under the wig. Making sure not to damage the feathers, I shrug out of the wings and place them inside as well.

When I glance up, the man is standing before me, too close almost. His eyes are a deep golden brown, like a glass of fine brandy, and his features have a delicate masculinity. Strong yet vulnerable.

This beautiful man is violinist prodigy Shane Arthur. Because of Shane’s great skill, he grew up home-schooled and playing the violin constantly. and as an adult, he has no friends. He is a friendly fellow, just doesn’t have any lasting relationships.  His parents couldn’t have children, so they hired a Chinese woman to be artificially inseminated with his father’s sperm, hence he is part Asian. Shane is brand new to the Dublin orchestra and neither Jade or Shane know they both work at the same place. Shane sees The Blue Lady and can’t hide his lust.

“Would you like to have a drink with me?” he asks, reaching out to run a hand through the waves at the end of my long hair.

Despite his forwardness, it feels good to be touched. Sometimes it seems like no one ever touches me like this — just for the sake of it. I had a really stressful day with my younger brother Pete acting the brat; a little relief would be nice. A bit of physical interaction. Some skin on skin.

Something thickens in the air between us as we make eye contact. The man sucks in a quick breath, his gaze flickering back and forth over my features.

Once I have everything put away, I close my box, pulling it along on its wheels.

“How about a quick shag instead?” I ask back, uncharacteristically brazen. It’s the middle of the night, and I’m never going to see this man again. He’s just what I need. A pretty stranger to lose myself in, to make me feel new again for a short while.

He laughs out loud, thinking I’m joking. Then his eyes widen and his nostrils flare when he realises I’m being serious. A touch of red colours his cheeks, possibly displaying his embarrassment. His hand moves from my hair to my neck and strokes downward to my collarbone. He might be embarrassed by my proposition, but he wants exactly what I want. I can tell.

“Okay, Bluebird, that sounds much better,” he says, breathing harshly now.

From this scene (and oh yeah they totally have sex in an alley), they shortly thereafter discover who the other one is. Cultured, polished, wealthy violinist and recovering alcoholic, struggles for money bartender. Their class distinction, while sometimes weighing on Jade’s mind, doesn’t matter to Shane (it matters greatly to his mother so there is conflict there). Shane wants Jade to teach him how to live – as he looks upon Jade’s life and her family and friendships as so full.

The chemistry and sexual tension between Jade and Shane is done so well in this book. Jade and Shane both have demons in their past – dark stories that they eventually share with each other. For Jade, she is terrified a relationship or maybe the end of a relationship could turn her back to alcohol. This makes her feel so vulnerable and she tries to stay strong and tell Shane they can just be friends. But he does not let up. He pushes her and coaxes her and almost feels reckless in a sense – maybe a tiny bit desperate how much he wants her. He is very confident in his sexuality. You can take that as being romantic or maybe being a little vulnerable himself. Shane’s dark past is examined a lot in this book. There are jealous ex-lovers, ex-best friends and something even darker he must contend with. His life overlaps Jade’s in a way you will come to learn that screams destiny.  I found that so romantic.

I love the contrast of Shane. I guess the stereotype would be a cultured, mature, maybe somewhat shy violin player. But this boy has some moves. For lack of a better word, he is horny y’all! And he has some kink in him. I adored how much he adored Jade.  He is such a good guy you can’t help but root for him. And Jade is such a strong heroine. Taking on her siblings is not an easy feat but she never cries tired. Her reasons for not wanting a relationship are solid and the path she takes to finally giving it a go is long one, but worth it.

It’s sexy and made me smile a lot and just felt darn romantic. I really enjoyed it.

Rating: B+

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