Book Review: Unmasking Maya by Libby Mercer

Summary: 
Defamed, disgraced and displaced...

Fresh from a career-killing scandal, New York fashion girl, Maya Kirkwood, arrives in San Francisco to reinvent herself as a fine artist. She's offered the opportunity to create an installation at the Silicon Valley headquarters of a hot new tech company. Fabulous, right?

Not so much.

She can't stand Derek Whitley - wunderkind software genius and CEO of the company. Hot as he may be on the outside, inside the man is a cold, unemotional, robotic type. Way too left-brained for her right-brained self.

As Maya and Derek get to know each other, however, their facades begin to crack. She catches her first glimpse of the man behind the superhuman tech prodigy, and he starts to see her as the woman she used to be. But is this a good thing? Once that last secret is revealed, will it bring them closer together or will it tear them apart?


Release Date: December 15, 2012
Age Group: Adult
Source: Review copy from author

Review:
Unmasking Maya was such a great surprise!  I went into this book not knowing if I would finish it because it is classified as a romance, and as you know, I'm not a huge fan of classic romance novels.  But Unmasking Maya was much more than just a love story (not that there's anything wrong with books that are 'just' love stories).  It was a book about a woman reinventing herself after career-ending scandal, the relationship between a father and daughter, and finding love. 

Despite these potentially heavy topics, Unmasking Maya was a light-hearted, fun read.  It actually reminded me a lot of Sophie Kinsella's writing.  It was more womens' fiction than romance, at least to me.  Maya had a successful career in fashion in New York City.  However, she's involved in a huge scandal, and even though she was not at fault (her fiance was!) she is ruined in the fashion world.  She moves to San Francisco and starts a new career as an artist.  Maya showed a lot of grit and determination, which I really admired.  

What was so unique about this book, and what made it really stand out for me, was the type of art that Maya creates.  She makes wall hangings which incorporate all kinds of different fabrics, textiles, and accessories.  This new kind of art incorporates her sense of fashion into artistic creations.  I loved the descriptions of Maya's artwork, as well as the scenes when she's actually creating her art.  I am not in the least bit a creative person, so I really enjoy reading about the creative process.  Mercer did a great job with this part of the book.

The love story between Maya and Derek is a slow build (which I appreciate).  At first they each shun the other, for their own reasons.  But then, they slowly start to see more depth in each other, and a grudging friendship forms.  It blossoms into something more in a really sweet and tender way.  There were not too many bedroom scenes and the ones that were there were discreet.  I loved the ending, especially the epilogue.  Don't you just love it when authors include an epilogue?

Overall, I really enjoyed Unmasking Maya.  I'd recommend this book to fans of romance, womens' fiction, and contemporary fiction.  Unmasking Maya was a great read, and a nice change of pace for me.  I'd definitely read Libby Mercer again!  
  

 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Word verification stinks--- but spammers are worse. Thank you for your patience!