Review: The Butterfly and the Violin (Hidden Masterpiece #1) by Kristy Cambron

A Mysterious painting breathes hope and beauty into the darkest corners of Auschwitz--and the loneliest hearts of Manhattan.

Manhattan art dealer Sera James watched her world crumble at the altar two years ago, and her heart is still fragile. Her desire for distraction reignites a passion for a mysterious portrait she first saw as a young girl--a painting of a young violinist with piercing blue eyes.

In her search for the painting, Sera crosses paths with William Hanover--the grandson of a wealthy California real estate mogul--who may be the key to uncovering the hidden masterpiece. Together Sera and William slowly unravel the story behind the painting's subject: Austrian violinist Adele Von Bron.

A darling of the Austrian aristocracy of 1942, talented violinist, and daughter to a high-ranking member of the Third Reich, Adele risks everything when she begins smuggling Jews out of Vienna. In a heartbeat, her life of prosperity and privilege dissolves into a world of starvation and barbed wire.

As Sera untangles the secrets behind the painting, she finds beauty in the most unlikely of places: the grim camps of Auschwitz and the inner recesses of her own troubled heart.

Kindle Edition, 335 pages

Published July 15th, 2014 

by Thomas Nelson
3.5/5

The Butterfly and the Violin is the first of 2 books in A Hidden Masterpiece Novel (A Sparrow in Terezin, is #2).  It's a dual time-period story where the present-day folks search for a missing painting - each having their own different reasons.  The past story is about how the painting came to be.

Set in Vienna beginning in 1942 it's an emotional story, which stands to reason given the time and location.  The author doesn't hold back when describing what Adele goes through.  As the blurb above holds back on saying all she went through so will I.  Given the title it's no secret that music plays a big part and that I found interesting and loved the way the author built this story around that.

As much as I love dual timelines there are times where the past holds more interest for me and that was the case here. The current day was ok but I think I wouldn't have minded if the book was just in the past.  I found myself more invested in the past, it was interesting and captures my attention more than Sera and William's story.

I love the cover for this book, as well as A Sparrow In Terezin. 

Review: The Painted Castle by Kristy Cambron

A lost painting of Queen Victoria. A library bricked off from the world. Three women, separated by time, whose lives are irrevocably changed.

 When art historian Keira Foley is hired to authenticate a painting at a centuries-old East Suffolk manor, she hopes this is just the thing to get her career and life back on track. But from the time she arrives at Parham Hill Estate and begins working alongside rumored art thief Emory Scott, she’s left with far more questions than answers. Could this lost painting of Queen Victoria be a duplicate of the original Winterhalter masterpiece, and if so, who is the artist?

 As Keira begins to unravel the mystery behind the portrait of the queen, two women emerge from the estate’s forgotten past. In Victorian England, talented sketch artist Elizabeth Meade is engaged to Viscount Huxley, then owner of Parham Hill. While there, master portrait artist Franz Winterhalter takes her under his wing, but Elizabeth’s real motive for being at Parham Hill has nothing to do with art. She’s determined to avenge her father’s brutal murder—even if it means feigning an engagement to the very man she believes committed the crime.

 A century later, Amelia Woods—a WWII widow who has turned Parham Hill Estate and its beloved library into a boarding school for refugee children—receives military orders to house a troop of American pilots. She is determined that the children in her care remain untouched by the war, but it’s proving difficult with officers taking up every square inch of their world… and one in particular vying for a space in her long shut up heart.

 Set in three time periods—the rapid change of Victorian England, the peak of England’s home front tensions at the end of World War II, and modern day—The Painted Castle unfolds a story of heartache and hope and unlocks secrets lost for generations, just waiting to be found.

 The Painted Castle is a sweet romance, the third in the Lost Castle series. It can be read as a stand-alone but is better if read with The Lost Castle and Castle on the Rise.

Paperback, 400 pages

 Published October 15th, 2019

 by Thomas Nelson
****

The Painted Castle is book 3 in the Lost Castle Series, I have only read the first book and think these work well as standalone even though there are brief mentions of the previous books here, not enough to spoil book 2 (yea I gotta read it soon).

Dual time periods are my favorites and when it turns into a triple feature, well I’m in my happy place. It takes a talented author that can pull off 3 storylines that come together. Kristy Cambron has done it with this book.

The setting was an old English Manor from the days of Victorian England to WW2 and then-current day. The Painted Castle is a story of the mystery surrounding a painting - it’s authenticity, why it was hidden for so long and how did it become hidden.

The characters are real with hurts, secrets, and hearts hardened because of said hurts and secrets. There are the historical elements that I always enjoy, especially seeing another glimpse of strong women not just during WW2 but in the past when women weren't supposed to be strong and have a mind of their own. The art world, both past and present added something different and the plot woven around it was unique and realistic- definitely shows the authors' research was done.

The Lost Castle is a series I recommend, I was entertained and totally absorbed in the pages.

My thanks to TLC Tours for the opportunity to be part of this tour and an ARCin exchange for honest review.

Review: The Lost Castle (The Lost Castle #1) by Kristy Cambron

Launching a brand-new series, Kristy Cambron explores the collision of past and present as she discovers the ruins of a French castle, long lost to history.

 A thirteenth century castle, Chateau de Doux Reves, has been forgotten for generations, left to ruin in a storybook forest nestled deep in France's picturesque Loire Valley. It survived a sacking in the French Revolution, was brought back to life and fashioned into a storybook chateau in the Gilded Age, and was eventually felled and deserted after a disastrous fire in the 1930s.

 As Ellie Carver sits by her grandmother's bedside, she hears stories of a castle . . . of lost love and a hidden chapel that played host to a secret fight in the World War II French resistance. But her grandmother is quickly slipping into the locked-down world of Alzheimer's, and Ellie must act fast if she wants to uncover the truth of her family's history.

Sparked by the discovery of a long forgotten family heirloom, Ellie embarks on a journey to French wine country to uncover the mystery surrounding The Sleeping Beauty--the castle so named for Charles Perrault's beloved fairy tale--and unearth its secrets before they're finally silenced by time.

Set in three different time periods--the French Revolution, World War II, and present day--The Lost Castle is a story of loves won and lost, of battles waged, and an enchanted castle that inspired the epic fairy tales time left behind.

 Paperback, 384 pages

 Published February 6th 2018 

by Thomas Nelson
****

The Lost Castle is not your average dual time period book, because this book has three time periods. The Sleeping Beauty is a 13th century castle with many stories to tell.

The Chateau de Doux Reves survives the French Revolution but not a fire in the 1930’s. Left abandoned the French resistance uses its shell to hide in. The current day story centers around Ellie and her quest to unravel the story behind a mysterious picture of her grandmother taken at the ruins.

The synopsis above does a great job of descibing the stories here without me going into more detail.  Suffice to say I really enjoyed this book.  Each of the characters were unique, their journeys played out nicely and the landscape was easy to visualize.  As each women searches for meaning in different ways they battle through war, whether physically or through another their lives are changed because of it.

The Lost Castle is a story of love and loss, strength and determination. The author’s passion for this story was evident with vivid descriptive detail and an interesting story where all the pieces fit together nicely.

This looks to be the first book in a new series called The Lost Castles, a series I will continue to read. This is my second book by Kristy Cambron and my favorite so far.

Thanks to TLC Tours and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: The Illusionist's Apprentice by Kristy Cambron

Harry Houdini’s one-time apprentice holds fantastic secrets about the greatest illusionist in the world. But someone wants to claim them . . . or silence her before she can reveal them on her own.

 Boston, 1926. Jenny “Wren” Lockhart is a bold eccentric—even for a female vaudevillian. As notorious for her inherited wealth and gentleman’s dress as she is for her unsavory upbringing in the back halls of a vaudeville theater, Wren lives in a world that challenges all manner of conventions.

 In the months following Houdini’s death, Wren is drawn into a web of mystery surrounding a spiritualist by the name of Horace Stapleton, a man defamed by Houdini’s ardent debunking of fraudulent mystics in the years leading up to his death. But in a public illusion that goes terribly wrong, one man is dead and another stands charged with his murder. Though he’s known as one of her teacher’s greatest critics, Wren must decide to become the one thing she never wanted to be: Stapleton’s defender.

 Forced to team up with the newly formed FBI, Wren races against time and an unknown enemy, all to prove the innocence of a hated man. In a world of illusion, of the vaudeville halls that showcase the flamboyant and the strange, Wren’s carefully constructed world threatens to collapse around her.

 Layered with mystery, illusion, and the artistry of the Jazz Age’s bygone vaudeville era, The Illusionist’s Apprentice is a journey through love and loss and the underpinnings of faith on each life’s stage.

Paperback, 356 pages

 Published March 2017 

by HarperCollins Christian Publishing

***

I think it was the cover for this book that drew me towards it, isn't it gorgeous!? As well as being introduced to a new to me author - who doesn't love discovering a new author?

Wren Lockhart is a fictional apprentice of Harry Houdini. Although this book takes place after his death there are flashbacks to her time with him. The synopsis does a great job outlining the plot here so I won't go into what takes place. This book doesn't just jump back and forth in time between Houdini and the present (1927) but also to Wren's childhood.

The author was able to describe Boston and the vaudeville era nicely as well as some of the illusionist details. This was an interesting read but I will confess that I wasn't totally enamored with the mystery part here. It didn't really grab my attention and at times my mind wandered.  With many 4/5 star ratings here it seems like I am in minority here.

I am giving this book 3 stars because I did like it and will read more by this author (they are patiently waiting on my kindle).  Thank you to TLC Book Tours for the invite to be part of this tour.

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Kristy Cambron fancies life as a vintage-inspired storyteller.

Her debut novel, The Butterfly and the Violin, was named to Library Journal’s Best Books of 2014 and nominated for RT Book Reviews’ Choice Awards Best Inspirational Novel of 2014 and for the 2015 INSPY Awards for Best Debut Novel. Her second novel, A Sparrow in Terezin, was named Library Journal’s Pick of the Month (Christian Fiction) for February 2015 and a Top Pick for RT Book Reviews.

Kristy holds a degree in Art History from Indiana University. She lives in Indiana with her husband and three young sons.

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