The second and final book in the Master of Trickery Duet!“Must be brave, stubborn, and impervious to the tempers of loved ones.”The first line hissed with history.“Hours are endless, pay is non-existence, quitting absolutely forbidden.”The second line ached with truth.“Able to function on no sleep, refrain from running when times get hard, and be more than just a living canvas but a lover.”The … when times get hard, and be more than just a living canvas but a lover.”
The third thrummed with honesty.
“Other attributes required: forgiving, opinionated, and not afraid to tell me when I’m wrong. Must also enjoy being touched and kissed at any time of my choosing.”
The fourth glowed with promise.
“Call or email ‘YOUR HEART, HIS SOUL’ if interested in applying.”
The final made my future unfold.
The advert was so similar to one I should never have applied for.
A twist of fate that brought two destined people back together.
A job I would take in a heartbeat if the employer could offer such terms.
But I wasn’t free.
Neither was Gil.
Therefore, my interview could never happen.
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This books picks right back up where we left off. Some of Gil’s secrets come to light as he is resigned to paint Olin and trade her for his daughter Olive. He is determined to also help Olin ….but secretly.
This book is rife with steamy scenes, stubbornness, and love. Gil and Olin need to learn to trust that the truth will set them free, that they can and will over come any hurdle in their path. There are so many twists and turns you don’t see coming just as you start to believe that things will work out for them.
So what happens? You’ll definitely want to pick up this great conclusion to the Master of Trickery.
“His body had been used against him. My heart had been used against me.”
Take a deep breath before diving into the riveting conclusion of the Master of Trickery duet because you may be in danger of hyperventilating or passing out as trouble only deepens for body painter Gil and damaged ballerina Olin. Love, lies and murder complicate this tortured love story on a thorny journey to redemption and happiness. Self-effacing Gil captured my heart and invested me fully in his misguided attempts to protect those he loves with self-sacrifice. Such a non-alpha departure for Ms. Winters, but he mostly stole my heart with his well-intentioned stumbles and martyrdom in the name of love. Despite repetitious prose and a less likeable heroine, I was rooting for Gil and an HEA all the way.
Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
It’s a moving story full of painful betrayal, aching love, beautiful heartbreak, and redemption. This heartbreaking conclusion picks up right where it left off in the last book. Boy, oh boy does it start off with the intense situation that tears at the heartstrings for these two characters. I don’t want to ruin it for you, but what O and Gil go through is just so profoundly emotional. The grief and sacrifices that each have to endure is heartbreaking, The author does a wonderful job of creating these scenarios so when the characters are in these scenes, you believe their emotions, their inner dialogues. There was times that the author convinced me of something (I really felt she was leading me there and I was just hoping it wasn’t going to happen) because she was so able to portray the characters. It’s a story you won’t regret reading
**I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.**
And again I am left with a massive book hangover!!
At this point, I have read everything that Pepper Winters has penned and while I shouldn’t be surprised with how addictive her stories are, she gives me perfection and leaves me in awe with the conclusion (of the duet-Master Of Trickery) in The Living Canvas.
I was left with so many questions when I finished book #1- The Body Painter, and now having read this, I understand that it was just setting the stage to fill in all of the blanks and have my emotions run the gamut from utter joy to brutal despair, over and over again.
This beautifully written tale with its tragic turns, poetic passion and mysterious undertones, brings up the question…what would you do and how far would you go when all is revealed?
I could not put this book down and will remain blissfully addicted to Pepper Winters and the deliciously dark and unique tales she delivers flawlessly.
I would highly recommend this book and any other book by this author. I have yet to be disappointed and I doubt I ever will.
This is the concluding part of the story and book one does need to be read first here.
So we start this exactly where we left things with that shocking finale and my heart was literally breaking for the sheer grief and betrayal that must have been running through Poor Orin with her current circumstances.
This was very much a lose-lose scenario for all involved and while on the one hand I kinda understood how we had arrived at this set of circumstances I still thought that Gil’s decisions lacked cohesive thought and he was largely responsible for where we are now at.
This book mainly deals with the repercussions and fallout from its predecessor and while the secrets and lies are exposed here the consequences for Orin and Gil are not good and are very real.
On O’s part, the love is still there but Gil has lost her trust completely and though he is desperate to gain it back she doesn’t know if she can ever forgive his prior actions.
So I get that O was upset and betrayed and all that Jazz but bloody hell that girl is indecisive and it was annoying in the extreme.
She needed to decide what she wanted and just stick with it, in the previous book, it was all I want you whatever it takes and in this, it was all it’s over I can never forgive you but I will still jump your bones anyway.
I get it he betrayed her in the worst possible way he could but make a decision one way or the other and mean it.
Finally and this is a small thing, I take it this was set in the UK, in Birmingham actually, there was a couple of things that stood out to me that were small things but bugged me nevertheless.
The first was CPS (child protective services) in the UK its social services, not CPS we would never use the former phrase its a USA term.
Secondly being kept back at school if your behind academically is not a thing in the UK I know it is in many countries but the UK is not one of them it doesn’t happen here.
These are small things in the scheme of the story but being British I did pick up on them so thought they deserved a mention.
So, in conclusion, this was a really imaginative series, bit too heavy on the angst for me personally.
but how much you enjoy this will all depend on your fiction taste.
It was well written and definitely original in its content.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of The Living Canvas (Master of Trickery Duet, #2).
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
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**ARC provided through Netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours! **
This book was better than the first one in which Olin finally stood up for herself a little more. The one thing that made me want to strangle her was the fact she was so hurt about what Gil HAD to do to. I mean come on who wouldn’t do the same thing he did. I liked the suspense in the beginning, I absolutely loved Olive. Justin was a great friend to them all. Gil poor poor Gil.. when all the secrets came out, I was shocked, crushed and so so sad. I loved that finally he got to get it all off his shoulders and started to live freely !! All in all a good read!!
The perfect ending to a tumulous yet enduring connection. Pepper has a way of writing stories that are not only dark and painful but beautiful and full of hope. Dark fairytale perfection. Olin and Gil have known each other since they were children and Gill’s unexplained disappearance many years ago still haunts Olin, knowing he was the only man she ever felt truly connected with. Now that he’s back, she has been sucked into the dark secrets he has been trying to hide all of these years and can’t seem to find the strength to walk away. Now it’s too late…. Another strong, unbreakable couple that has gone through hell from Pepper, and I hung on and loved every word.
~~ 4.5 SPELLBINDING STARS! ~~
“Be my canvas. Let me paint you…one last time.”
BRUTALLY BEAUTIFUL. PULSE-POUNDING. ENTRANCING. HARROWING. GUTWRENCHING. POETIC. UTTERLY UNPUTDOWNABLE!
These are just a few of the catch phrases to describe THE LIVING CANVAS by the incomparable Pepper Winters. To say that this highly anticipated conclusion to the Master of Trickery duet exceeded expectations is putting it mildly. It was truly a masterpiece of monumental proportions!
THE PREMISE:
I am keeping this review spoiler-free, but this wildly tumultuous tale picks up immediately where THE BODY PAINTER left off. And if you think that cliffy was a doozy you have no idea what’s coming! So you better strap in tight because you are about to embark on a thrilling rollercoaster ride that’s going to give you whiplash galore! Just to recap, Gil and Olin were kindred spirits who both endured difficult childhoods and became each other’s home and family. They had grandiose dreams for the future, but then, out of the blue, Gil broke Olin’s young heart and inexplicably disappeared from her life.
However, fate brought them back together again seven years later when Olin answered an ad to pose as a human canvas for the moody, broody body painter who needed her as much as she needed him. But their reunion was far from joyous. It was riddled with pain and heartache, passion and pathos, mystery and intrigue. Yet through it all their soul-searing connection remained unbreakable. Until an unspeakable betrayal thrust Gil’s sweet O in grave peril at his hands!
Now, once again she is his living canvas but unwilling participant this time—and completely at his mercy. And the stakes couldn’t be higher, with both their hearts and their VERY LIVES left hanging on the balance as Gil races against time to save the two people he loves most in the world. Now, it’s anyone guess whether they both can survive the catastrophic fallout!
MY MUSINGS:
Gah! THE LIVING CANVAS crucified me in the BEST POSSIBLE WAY!
Ms. Winters penned an ultra-addictive romance that ensnared me in its intoxicating web and I was her willing prey! From start to finish, the tautly woven story unfolds at a breakneck pace, which serves this high octane, angst-drenched tale well. And, as is her MO, Pepper Winters’ exquisitely nuanced words are splashed across the page in gloriously vibrant brushstrokes that are so utterly resplendent they seep into your morrow. In fact, I lived and breathed every brilliantly crafted moment as if my own future depended on it.
And holy intensity! The soul-scorching feels, feverish passion, and spine-chilling twists were so intense at times I was a bit crazed myself! I vacillated between shivering in ecstasy, chocking back sobs, clutching my chest, and begging for mercy! Yet there was also a rich undercurrent of sweetness and poignancy and rapturous lust that could not be contained!
Sighhh…Gil is the most tragic of heroes—equal parts mournful villain, tormented victim and feral, hot-blooded savior, this beautifully broken artist is so desperate and bereft, pushed to the brink all in the name of love. Your heart can’t help but ache for his woefully wounded soul when he is forced to make an impossible choice as he prepares to “sacrifice” his beloved O’s life for another, while at the same time you curse his desperate actions with every fiber of your being. All the while questioning if the ends truly justify the means!
“Brush by brush, he destroyed me. Colour by colour, he sentenced me to die.”
And his beloved muse, Olin, is equally lost and adrift, in her own uniquely terrifying way. But omfg this endearing heroine’s bravery and resilience, unfaltering loyalty and abiding love in the face of unspeakable circumstances is AWE-INSPIRING!
“I would’ve fought every dragon and beast by his side. I would’ve given him everything…if only he’d asked. If only he hadn’t taken what wasn’t his to take.”
However, against all odds, their love is still as potent as ever. But it’s tainted by this toxic predicament that leaves them both trapped in this gruesome nightmare that they are desperate to escape from. There’s no question that the Master of Trickery has blood on his hands but is salvation forever out of reach? Can his beloved O forgive the unforgivable and risk it all to rescue him as he once did her? My lips are sealed but I will divulge that the stakes truly couldn’t be higher for these two tragic lovers as the nail-biting plot reaches a fever pitch, where Gil uses Olin as his living canvas to paint his final masterpiece, culminating in a climax that’s guaranteed to smash your heart to smithereens!
Ultimately, the journey these two embark on together is roiling with peril and passion, treachery and deceit, heartache and hope. And while this beleaguered duo’s road to HEA is strewn with seemingly insurmountable obstacles, the ending will leave you basking in unabashed glory!
BOTTOM LINE:
In this breathtaking conclusion to THE MASTER OF TRICKERY duet, Pepper Winters painted a stunning masterpiece that shook me to the core and will forever be etched in my soul.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
Book two in this duet starts off in a bad bad place. And the rest is mostly the fallout of it all and how they can go on. It’s full of physical and emotional torture. You just want them to get their happy ending and don’t see how they can.
The covers for both books are so eye catching. This story was unique, emotional, and unexpected. The epilogue was so cool, their story ending in the way only Olin and Gil’s could.
This dramatic conclusion is not to be missed!
Wow. Just wow. This story will take you places you never thought you’d ever go in a book, much less a romance. This is darker than dark, uncomfortably so in a few places (and that’s a good thing), covering a wide range of victims and crimes and the triumph of humanity through it all.
Gil and Olin’s entire history is revealed step by step in Part Two, dropping bombshell after bombshell as each of their struggles – both separately and together – are revealed. It becomes clear how Gil found himself on the horrific road he’s on, yet the reader’s heart can’t be anything but sympathetic for him.
There are no questions left unanswered at the end of this story, just a hard-won HEA and a book hangover that requires a therapeutic debriefing before starting another book. If you read Part One, you don’t need me to tell you that you must read this one. If you haven’t read it, I recommend you grab them both right now and prepare for an uninterrupted reading session. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
The Living Canvas was full of twists and turns and the unexpected. Gil has never had an easy life and he continues to be hurt and taken advantage of the people in his life. He will do whatever it takes to regain what he has lost at any cost, even if that means sacrificing the love of his life. Olin has always had faith in Gil. She would do anything to see him happy, but she never knew how desperate Gil was and that her life was in danger. I could not see how Olin would be able to forgive Gil and how they would be able to move on from all that happened between the two of them. Olin continued to forgive, but would Gil be able to earn her forgiveness one final time. The Living Canvas was a crazy, gut wrenching, dirty, raw and beautiful journey. Loved this duet.
I give this book 3.75 stars……
I didn’t hate it but it isn’t one of my favorite reads by Winters. We get a little more answers on what happened in book one. And find out the fall out. This book doesn’t feel as drawn out as book one. Even though this wasn’t one of my favorite reads by Winters I will continue to read her books.
Gil and Olin go through changes both as individuals and as a couple. Gil is a sad person whose choices hurt everyone. Olin decides it’s time for her to take charge and look after herself for a change. Oh the turns and twists you will experience with this story.
One thing about this author is that she does not disappoint me when it comes to her stories. I absolutely loved this duet. It was emotional, twisted and suspenseful, and it completely blew me away. I finished the book in one sitting and I’m already waiting for her to publish her next book. Every book this author writes plays with my emotions in some sort of way and that’s what keeps me coming back for more. I love that all of her stories are different and take me on an emotional rollercoaster rides.
The Master of Trickery Duet is complete and oh what a ride we have been taken on, we were left with one heck of a cliffhanger at the end of THE BODY PAINTER and this book picks up right where that one left off. Olin Moss has always been the love of Gilbert Clark’s life (and vise versa) even when everything was going so wrong in his life he always clung to his love for her but now his love is what might get her killed.
THE LIVING CANVAS is a fast paced dark romance that has you sitting on the edge of your seat biting your nails with anticipation of what is going to happen next. Can Gil and O ever get the happily ever after? Can they move on after all they have been through?
I enjoyed this book more than the first book in the duet, it could be because of the head space I was in during the time I was reading THE BODY PAINTER was not a good one for that type of read but either way I really enjoyed THE LIVING CANVAS’s fast pace action and suspense. The pure rawness of Gil’s feelings shown like a beacon on a dark night and it was a beautiful sight to witness when he finally gave into his love for O.
Happy Reading!!!
~ . . .~
In the Master of Trickery duet, Pepper has wielded her words as an artist would wield a brush. Utilizing her words, she vividly paints the picture in your mind, submerging the reader into the story. The passion in this book is palpable, the agony tangible and the intensity substantial as it pours off the pages.
The emotional turbulence the reader encounters is colossal. I was in a perpetual state of trepidation waiting with bated breath, eagerly anxious to see what the outcome of this story would be, and Pepper Winters did not disappoint.
Gilbert Clark needs love as much as Olin Moss needs to give love. But the darkness of the past and Gilbert’s stubbornness and inability to seek help and support reaches forward and threatens to destroy everything. Sometimes when you love someone so much, you help them destroy you by trying to save them. Gilbert had finally broke Olin’s trust and faith when he is forced to choose between her and Olive.
~’ , , .~
Gilbert’s secrets are out but he is steadfast in keeping Olin and Justin at arm’s length; until he can’t. The threat of paying for his crimes is upon his future and they are the only family he has or can trust to keep Olive safe. Can he learn to let go and can she learn to put herself first.
~ . . .~
Regardless of what Pepper Winters writes or the style of the story, her writing is always thoroughly absorbing, electrifying, and expressive. She writes with such eloquence, it’s difficult not to appreciate her stories and become enchanted. Not only is she a sweet, kind and generous individual, but also she has an extreme talent in plotting her stories and characters. She has my adoration, my admiration and my respect of the author and person that she represents. She will forever remain a one click author for me.
“I didn’t usually allow creativity to control me. But this wasn’t a commission. This wasn’t prepaid and scripted. This was just us. A canvas and a body painter. Both in love. Both in agony. Both fighting goodbye.”
The Living Canvas is the second book in the Master of Trickery duet. I completely fell in love with Gil and Olin. Pepper is one of my favorites. An automatic one-click author for me. With every book, I fall in love with her words.
In The Body Painter, we get bits and pieces from the past. Ending in a major cliffhanger. I was dying to know.
I often wondered if Gil and Olin would get the happiness they deserved. The challenges they had to face and work through was absolutely heart wrenching.
This is an emotional and beautiful story you don’t want to miss. It’s an absolute must read.
I would give this 3.5 stars. Again, Pepper Winters is my favorite author out there, and I love everything that she has done, but this book fell a little flat for me. I mean, I did like the second have of the duet better. There was much less push and pull between Gil and Olin and I liked how everything ended, but there were a few questions I would have liked some more information about… I would have loved learning more about Olin’s accident that took her ability to professionally dance. I kind of expected the teacher to come back into Gil’s life and try and get her daughter back, especially when Gil was in trouble, but that did not happen. I was hoping for a pregnancy between the two just before he went to prison. There were just a lot of ways the story could have gone, and it just did not go in the way that I had hoped many times.. This was not her usual dark romance. At least not as dark as she has written before. So, if what she has written before has been too dark for you, maybe this is the duet for you!
THE LIVING CANVAS is the second instalment in Pepper Winters’ contemporary, adult MASTER OF TRICKERY dark, romance duology focusing on body painter Gilbert ‘Gil’ Clark, and Olin Moss. THE LIVING CANVAS should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up immediately after the events and cliff hanger of book one THE BODY PAINTER.
WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line content, there may be some triggers for more sensitive readers.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Gil and Olin) THE LIVING CANVAS continues to focus on the fractured relationship between high school friends, body painter Gilbert ‘Gil’ Clark, and Olin Moss, but not all is right in Gilbert Clark’s world, and Olin will discover she is about to become collateral damage. Having replied to an ad to become a living canvas, Olin realized that the painter is the boy she once loved, a boy who destroyed all of her hopes and dreams. Shattered beyond repair, and desperate to save someone he loves, Gilbert will sabotage any chance at happiness by offering up one soul for another but in doing so will lose much more than he could have ever imagined.
THE LIVING CANVAS is a psychological tale of what ifs. How far would you go to protect someone you love? Who would you sacrifice to save someone else? Pepper Winters weaves a story of lost love and lost innocence; of fractured lives and broken promises; of a dark past, a dangerous life, and a damaged soul beyond repair. THE LIVING CANVAS is a raw, real, gritty and impassioned story of the ultimate betrayal and flawed nature of the human soul.
Creative and masterfully put together. This book concludes the story of Gilbert Clark and Olin Moss in a journey to test all strands of love, patience and faith. Hardships, loss, and pain are met with fight, strength, love and perseverance. Loved this story.