Wealthy Lanna Davenport has the perfect life—and she hates it. She’s never fit the mold of upper class “princess” and would rather spend her life painting than let her overbearing mother parade her around for the eligible bachelors of her social circle…even if those suitors include Adam Munroe, the son of California’s most famous art dealer. When a handsome new gardener, Luke, turns up and shows … shows her there’s more to art than putting color on canvas, Lanna eagerly starts to explore a world outside of what she’s been allowed to know.
But the surprisingly down-to-earth Adam makes it easy to be part of her own world and still be her unconventional self. As she grows closer to Adam but is tempted by the freedom Luke can offer, Lanna is faced with the first choice she’s ever made for herself:
Does she stay true to herself in the life she’s known, or does she paint beyond the canvas of her past and leave it all behind?
Simplicity is a story of life, love, and finding happiness in an increasingly complex world.
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I really enjoyed the clean romance in this book! It was exciting to delve into the world of a wealthy modern “princess” who learns to make decisions on her own.
There were a couple things that bothered me, but it was still enjoyable! I definitely enjoyed the reference to artists and the emotion behind painting. It helped me connect to the main character more.
You know it’s a good book when you are still thinking about the characters days after you read it. I was sad about the ending, but that isn’t going to stop me from buying the sequel.
This was a sweet contemporary romance with the billionaire trope and a bit of a love triangle. Lanna has grown up super wealthy, but she has never felt like she fit into the world she was born to. When she meets both Luke, an everyday gardener, and then Adam, who’s family money is right up there with hers, she’s torn as both men seem to bring out something inside of her.
This book had a lot of surprises I did not see coming and I am honestly still a little shocked by the ending. I read this book after having read later novels in the series though, so while I was reading, I already knew who she ended up with, just not the how. I think had I not known I might have felt differently reading this, but I don’t know if that would have been better or worse. I give this 3.5 stars. It’s one I recommend, but I’m still figuring out how I feel about it. I do think reading the other books will influence my opinion where I’d probably bump this up to a four-star read.
The writing is clean both in grammar and in content. I definitely think this author has a talent and look forward to more books by her.
“Never apologize for being you, Lanna,” he said quietly. “You can be anything.”
Wow, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this book because it featured a love triangle but I actually really enjoyed it! Simplicity is the first book in Dana LeCheminant’s Simple Love Stories series. First of all, I really liked the title. I feel like it really fit the book. Lanna was tired of trying to fit into the mold of the upper class, she was different from them and she knew it. She would rather spend time painting, but one day everything changes as she finds herself with not one but two suitors. Who will she choose and how can she stay true to herself if she has only just found herself?
Lanna was so sweet and I really liked her, but I also felt really bad for her. She didn’t fit in and she was nearly breaking under the weight of the expectations of others and the scars of life. She was never allowed to grieve for the life she lost and so it has really affected her. She was close to losing herself, but then she learned how to trusly paint and in painting she found the strength to live.
I loved how Lanna could paint, I thought that it was so cool. I can’t paint at all and I was jealous of her abilities. It was amazing how painting really added to the story and how it showed Lanna.
Okay, I was on the fence with Adam and Luke. I didn’t know who she was going to end up with. They both helped her in different ways. Luke taught her how to find herself, but I feel like Adam truly helped her blossom. I liked both of their characters, but I think that Adam was my favorite.
This book was a great start to a new series! There were so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. I knew that I was rooting for Lanna, but I didn’t know which guy was better for her. However, everything worked out in the end. I adored the ending and I am excited to read the next books! Simplicity was a lovely book and I would definitely recommend it!
“Perfection is essential. If you’re not perfect, Lanna, you’re coming up short.” Lanna’s mother’s words repeat over and over in her head. Lanna comes from a wealthy family where much is expected of her by her mother, so her life is not entirely her own. Lanna wants to paint, to be an artist, not dress up in expensive clothes with perfect hair and flawless makeup and be paraded to be seen by the eligible sons of other wealthy families.
Soon Lanna has two men getting her attention. Two men who couldn’t be more different. There’s Luke, a gardener who works part-time on their estate. He helps her find her soul when she paints. He’s someone she could never be with unless she left her family, but when she’s with Luke she’s just Lanna.
Then there’s Adam Munroe, the son of California’s most famous art dealer Gilroy Munroe, who’s a new client of Lanna’s father. According to Lanna’s mother, Adam could be her last chance. To her surprise, Adam is nicer than Lanna thought he’d be and he made social events bearable.
I don’t like love triangles, but this is more a story of a young woman who at 25 years of age, hasn’t been able to make her own life choices and is trying to figure out what she truly wants. As I was reading I wasn’t sure who I wanted Lanna to choose and was shocked and saddened by an unexpected event in the story.
Lanna’s mother reminded me of the Regency mothers parading their daughters at all the social events, but cutting them down by pointing out all their “flaws” in private. I was happy and relieved to see a different side of her towards the end of the book, but it took a life-changing event to get her there. On the other hand, I really liked Lanna’s brother who has recently returned after being gone for many years–I loved how he cared for his sister.
This is my first book by this author and I’m happy she asked me to read her book. I look forward to reading other books by her.
I really enjoyed this book by a new to me author, Dana LeCheminant. It’s billed as a simple love story. And it was…but there was a lot going on in this book.
Lanna is a complex character. She’s a young woman whose mother thinks she needs to parade her in front of all of society to get her married. But Lanna would far rather paint in the barn and get paint in her hair than get dressed up and wear make up. I really liked Lanna. She was down to earth, even though her world wasn’t. And she wasn’t sure what she wanted out of life.
Lanna had two men in her life. There’s Luke and Adam. Luke is one of the gardeners at her home. He finds her painting. I think that he was kind of the “forbidden man.” Lanna knows there’s no way her mother would approve. So she kind of flirts, has fun, sneaks out. I really liked Luke for Lanna. It was kind of sad when she had to hide who he was from her mother.
Then there’s Adam. This is the man her mom wants Lanna to go after. It doesn’t hurt that Lanna likes Adam and he likes her.
I really liked the way this book helped me remember how I felt during those adult teen times. The author did a really great job with plot and characters. It’s always fun to see things through multiple view points, but this plot probably worked better with just Lanna’s.
I can’t wait for more by this author! She did a great job with this one.
I was sent an e-copy of Simplicity as a gift from the author. All opinions are my own.
Wow. Just, wow. I picked up this book thinking it would be another sweet contemporary romance with a love triangle. Well, it was that but it was so much more. It was raw. It was emotional. It was poetic. I was intrigued after the first chapter, but by chapter four, I was enthralled.
Lanna Davenport lives a sheltered high society life and is rarely allowed to choose anything for herself. Her one medium of expression is her painting. She meets both Luke and Adam on the same day and is captivated by both men for different reasons, and she is about to discover that life, and love, can be anything but simple.
This beautiful novel is Lanna’s journey to discover who she is, what (and who) she wants in life, and how to live with greater simplicity.
Intense. Especially if you’re like me and once you find an author you adore you just dive into the books without looking at the blurbs. Powerful. The details of loves. So many emotions. I feel drained but alive. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect start to this series. Breathtaking.
I received a complimentary copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.