When I first laid eyes on the curvy brunette, she made me a drink then said I made her wet

I couldn’t pass up the invitation.

I wanted her to paint me like one of her French boys. 

Before I walked out of her dinky small town café, I left my card, all black.

I’ll show her—this billionaire can be very creative. 

I am, after all, quite a talented finger painter! 

Hazel

I turn weird and awkward around attractive men. I’m a nervous sweater, and when Archer walked into my art café that night, he was making me soaking wet. He was stupidly attractive—which caused me to go into excruciating detail about my sweating problem, insult what he had under his fig leaf, and imply I was running a brothel. 

But he left his card, so I couldn’t have been all bad.

I needed the ego boost. My career as an artist was a joke. I was desperately trying to live the #bossbabe life after I couldn’t hack it as an artist in New York City and moved back to my small hometown.

Now my business is failing.

I’m hosting an artists’ retreat that is more day drinking octogenarians than renowned painters.

The mean girl from art school moved into town and is trying to ruin my life. 

But hey, suffering is inspirational, right? But then so is Archer. With his model good looks and muscular, tattooed chest, Archer might be the creative, maybe even crazy, idea that I desperately need to save my disaster of a life. 

So I called…And immediately regretted it.

When I yelled at him later about the practical joke, he smiled that stupid hot smile. I knew I should forget I ever met Archer Svensson—knew he was just a crazy stupid idea.

But when he said in that deep, sexy voice, “Do you want to paint me nude?” well, let’s just say, he awoke the starving artist in me!

My Review

Hazel is a struggling artist and café owner in Harrogate trying to keep her business alive. Then she runs into Archer Svenson, her old college enemy, and suddenly her week goes downhill fast. Between him and her longtime rival McKenna, she has a lot more drama than she needs while chasing her dream.

Archer is the classic playboy with good banter and questionable decision making. The back and forth between small town life and big city influence adds to the chaos, though at times the pacing felt slow and not as charming as some of the author’s other books. The humor and innuendos didn’t land as strongly for me either.

As Hazel and Archer spend more time together, the tension builds and the chemistry finally clicks. The romance leans into the billionaire meets girl next door dynamic, and once it gets going it definitely turns steamy. The love triangle and past relationships keep interfering, which adds drama but also stretches things out.

Eventually everything comes together, though the resolution felt a little rushed after all the buildup. The ending is sweet with a celebratory feel and wraps the relationship on a positive note.

Overall this was a messy but entertaining romance. Not my favorite from the author, but I still enjoyed the opposites attract energy and the Harrogate charm.

If you like a romcom that makes you laugh I highly encourage you to read On his Paintbrush by Alina Jacobs. As an Amazon Associate, I earn qualifying purchases.

If you like this book you may also enjoy books with these tags and categories: Small Town, Found Family, and Billionaire