The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers

About the book: (from the publisher) New York Times bestselling author Francine Rivers returns to her romance roots with this unexpected and redemptive love story, a probing tale that reminds us that mercy can shape even the most broken among us into an imperfect yet stunning masterpiece.

A successful LA artist, Roman Velasco appears to have everything he could possibly want―money, women, fame. Only Grace Moore, his reluctant, newly hired personal assistant, knows how little he truly has. The demons of Roman’s past seem to echo through the halls of his empty mansion and out across his breathtaking Topanga Canyon view. But Grace doesn’t know how her boss secretly wrestles with those demons: by tagging buildings as the Bird, a notorious but unidentified graffiti artist―an alter ego that could destroy his career and land him in prison.

Like Roman, Grace is wrestling with ghosts and secrets of her own. After a disastrous marriage threw her life completely off course, she vowed never to let love steal her dreams again. But as she gets to know the enigmatic man behind the reputation, it’s as if the jagged pieces of both of their pasts slowly begin to fit together . . . until something so unexpected happens that it changes the course of their relationship―and both their lives―forever.

About the author: New York Times bestselling author Francine Rivers continues to win both industry acclaim and reader loyalty around the globe. Her numerous bestsellers include Redeeming Love, A Voice in the Wind, and Bridge to Haven, and her work has been translated into more than thirty different languages. She is a member of Romance Writers of America’s coveted Hall of Fame as well as a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW).

Connect with the author: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Genre: Fiction/Christian/Romance

If this book were a movie, I’d rate it: PG

My take: It had been 15 years since I last read a new Francine Rivers novel, and I, like so many others, eagerly awaited the arrival of this one. A wrist-bender it is, at nearly 500 pages.

It’s been widely noted that with The Masterpiece, Rivers was returning to her romance roots. While I’m not generally a fan of genre romance novels, I have found that hers generally step outside predictable formula to tackle real and gritty issues — and that appeals to me.

It didn’t take long for the story to hook me. I liked the characters, especially Grace—an admirably strong yet relatably flawed young woman. And the concept: who but Rivers would think to make a graffiti artist her romantic interest? I wanted to see what was going to happen between these two characters — or, more accurately, how it would happen.

But about halfway through, the story took a turn. The tone changed. For me, it lost its focus on story and character chemistry and became more about…well, I would call it preaching. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about what it was preaching. I just don’t particularly care to find it in my fiction.

So for me, the last half of the novel fell flat. Despite its twist, it didn’t end with the satisfying sizzle  I remember from Rivers’s earlier works. But here I find myself at odds with the critics, who have been almost universal in their positive reviews.

Certainly there were parts I enjoyed, but overall, it felt less like a story and more like a vehicle for a message. If you like your inspirational fiction to include between-the-eyes evangelism, then this is likely a story for you.

Thanks to Tyndale House for providing me this book free of charge. All opinions are mine.

Buy it here. 

After words: Do you have a favorite of Francine Rivers’s novels?