Has an author ever surprised you?

An author whose style you think you know. One whose world building you are familiar with. Their prose, characters, their flow within a story, are all parts of them you love and mentally prepare yourself for when you are about to read a new book from them.

A word magician who you expect to wield a particular type of magic.

For me, Victoria Raschke is one of those authors. I have introduced her work before, in the Voices of the Dead series. (click here!)

So when she told me a new book was coming and asked if I would like to read the arc. My answer, obviously, was a resounding YES!

It showed up. (YAY!) I got comfy and was cozy with snacks ready to abandon myself to Victoria’s work.

Silly me, I thought Victoria liked me. I thought me and her were cool. 

But that cannot be so. 

Since she did not say a word after passing THIS BOOK, Verona Green, to me.

Do you see where I said I was cozy with snacks?

Yeah… when you read this, forget the snacks. What you will need is something to squeeze and scream into.

Verona Green is the book where Victoria Raschke blossoms from being good at her craft into becoming unforgettable at this, what she is meant to do with her life. Mark my words, this book is going to crash into your soul, dig in, and stay with you forever.

Why? Oh I am so glad you asked :D!

The premise of the novel is based on the magical world created in Voices of the Dead. On the timeline this is after the big magical uhm kablooey? (no spoilers!) And now, everyone who had some magic before kablooey, was given an upgrade, including our heroine, Verity. 

Never have I ever come across this magical skill in a book before. Verity’s magic is directly related to art. Paintings. Her abilities allow her to restore artwork, not just deftly, but magically, as she channels the master painters who did the original piece. She recreates exactly what the masters did when they painted the first time around. Stunning right? I know!

Verity has other gifts, which are described in the book, but this is the one that drives the plot. Victoria does an astounding job of bringing this ability of her character to life. After reading, I felt as though I had taken an extremely fun art history class, which delved into artist styles, paint development, and choice of canvas. I sincerely wish I could go back to school and be taught this way. Every course… A+. It was that detailed, yet delivered like scrumptious bites of information.

*Chef’s Kiss*

This is where the book starts. Then Ms. Raschke, I imagine, smiled wickedly while gleefully rubbing her hands together. Because right after that point, she takes her cozy readers with their snacks and shoots them up into the air, cannonball-style, straight into a perilous adventure!

You see, the wrong people, nefarious and otherwise, uncover Verity’s secret skill. She is an art collector’s and an art forger’s dream come to life. A path she steadfastly avoided, until now when she is forced to confront it all, with the kidnapping of her best friend.

Verity has no idea who she can trust. And dear soon-to-be reader, neither will you!

This is a spectacular world. Where the brilliant and shiny nature of wealth is evenly matched to a greedy, seedy underworld. And both sides are skimpy with their morals. Which of course makes this SO MUCH FUN to read!

You are going to fall in love with Verity and her bestie. Their relationship stands at the core, but look out for everyone else, as they too bring this imaginative world to life. From Verity’s sketchy family to her bestie’s distant one, and yes yes, there is a spicy romance 😉 

From beginning to end, the author sculpts intricate pieces of backstory littered with friends and family members, who will all clearly play a role in future books. Future books I am now willing to bribe the author to let me arc-read again lol!

Truly, Verona Green encapsulates that exciting but scary flying through the air feeling. This is without a doubt magic in book form. All pun intended.

You can experience it for yourself on November 14th, the official release date, by hitting that pre-order button right now. 

Read it, so that we can discuss it at length in the comments and follow the whole series together!

Side note, the full name of the book, Verona Green, A Story of Art and Magic… talk about on point!