Jennifer, standing on a short stool, reached onto the top of the cupboard with her right hand in a quest to clear out all the items she had stashed there from when she first moved into the apartment.

After some stretching, she managed to pull out a pile of books. Among the pile was the novel The Masterpiece. Her lips spread into a wide smile upon sighting the book; a memory of her obsession with the book flashed through her mind.

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Gift and I were helping Jennifer pack out of her apartment, so she already had a lot of luggage; she didn’t want to add this book to it.

“Zita, do you want to read this? The story is madly interesting; you might get addicted!” She asked me.

It had been ages since I’d read a novel, especially one that size. “Sure, it’s not like I have any textbook to read; we just graduated 😅” I agreed and grabbed the book from her outstretched arm.

For the next three days, I was pretty much useless in real life, as I was violently sucked into the romantic vortex of Grace Moore and Roman Velasco. I couldn’t recall the last time a book gripped my attention like that. I cried multiple times and laughed even more.

Let’s get into it!

About the Book

The story revolves around the lives of the two main characters, Grace Moore and Bobby Ray Dean, a.k.a. Roman Velasco.

The Masterpiece

Grace is a Christian woman whose life has dealt her a pretty bad hand. She has been through quite a lot and is trying to get by in life with her adorable baby on her hip and her three best friends by her side. She is referred to Roman while in search of a job, in hopes of getting back on her feet.

Roman is a gifted and wealthy artist whose only source of motivation in life is his art. His childhood consisted of being sent from one foster home to another, until he finally was sent to a no nonsense couple who helped straighten out his life by encouraging him to do what he knew best—make art.

Without a family, Roman lived alone in his Topanga Canyon mansion, occupying his time with drawing for clients and focusing on the type of art that sold. Amidst all his money, he yearned for a connection.

He hired Grace as his personal secretary, and as time progressed, the two grew fond of each other.

They were two folks who had gone through nearly identical circumstances in life and yet turned out quite differently. Their relationship blossomed, - that is, until something unexpected happened and changed the trajectory of their lives.

My Two Cents

I used to be biased when it came to novels because I grew up only reading works by Sidney Sheldon. Somewhere down the line, I formed this subconscious bias against every other author, and this was probably the reason why I stopped reading novels.

Well, it’s safe to say that this novel revived my dormant/abandoned reading habits. From the moment I read through the first chapter, I knew there was no way I was ever putting it back down without getting to the very last page.

Francine did an excellent job of developing the characters’ stories. The scene setting, dialogue, storyline, and actions brought the story to life.

I love the way she paced every aspect of the book as well. She didn’t just jumble them all up. She juxtaposed the past with the present in one seamless weave. This helped me ease into the general plot and aided my comprehension, increasing my interest.

I also marveled at how she was able to blend romance with Christianity. This isn’t your regular love story about a man and a woman falling in love and living happily ever after. This story highlighted the importance of God’s presence in a union.

After I was done with it, I was moved to do some deep reflection on my relationship with God and that of my friends. It made me understand the necessity of God’s role in a marriage or relationship.

I was emotionally, physically, and spiritually invested from the very start. I enjoyed every bit of it and would highly recommend it to anyone on the lookout for a good romance or Christian novel.

Towards the end, I didn’t like where the story was headed, so I took a two-day break from reading, just to summon enough courage to go on. So beware of that aspect. It ended in an ideal manner, 🤗.

Ten out of ten; definitely recommend.

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