5
-
Canvas
Romance
September 22, 2017
Joshua Dawson is my best friend's ex-boyfriend. That alone should be reason enough for me to keep my distance. Add in that he's a well mannered, loyal and hardworking artist and I should be running in the other direction.
He's damn near perfect, and I prefer my men hard to love and easy to leave. Josh's only flaw is he wants forever, and for the first time I might want the same. But loving someone doesn’t mean you deserve them.
He's all I want and everything I can't have.
Friends to enemies to lovers???
If you have read any of Author Jacob Chance’s previous books (Quake, Quiver, Delve, Delude), you’ll see some familiar faces in this one. And if you haven’t, no worries at all. Jacob has done a fantastic job of including any details you might possibly need in order to read this book as a standalone. I will say, though, if this is your first Jacob Chance book, you’re in for a treat. And you’ll probably end up going back to read all those previous books, anyway.
The book starts off with an incident five years before the rest of the story takes place. Although it only takes a moment, this event will be crucial to the underlying tension in the plot.
Main character, Josh Dawson, is a good guy. Legitimately. He’s sweet and kind, he always attempts to do the right thing and he has dinner with his grandma all thetime. His dad and older brother belong to an MC called the Bastards, but Josh is able to stay out of that life AND keep up a relationship with both of them. I mean, he’s got a freaking tattoo of Lord Byron poem for god’s sake. With an artist’s soul, and a boy scout personality, it is all too easy to underestimate him- in a whole lot of ways.
Elle Johnson is gorgeous, independent, and an absolute bitch to Josh. Former friends, something has gone rotten in between them. And while Josh silently pines after her, she loudly and publicly criticizes him.
But the thing about Josh Dawson, is that he’s a Sleeper Alpha. On the outside he seems all polite and gentlemanly, but get this guy at tuxedo bowtie? You better believe he knows how to use it. He ambushes Elle, brings out that caveman side, and Elle doesn’t know what’s hit her. And once that secret is out of the bag, she just can not stuff it back in. So now she wants him. Badly. But Elle’s past and upbringing are pretty much something out of an actual nightmare. And they’ve jaded her so much that she doesn’t want to ever let her heart get involved in a relationship. Nor does she want Josh ever exposed to that past. So she bolts. 
And Josh turns his focus toward opening his tattoo shop. (Oh and growing a super sexy beard…) And completing some paintings. And trying, desperately, to move on from Elle.
They ignore each other until they just can’t anymore (after all they share the same group of friends) and that build up of feelings and sexual tension just explodes. And it *almost* seems like things are going to work out smoothly after all for these friends, turned enemies, turned lovers. But the past doesn’t always stay there and Elle’s comes back with a vengeance.
What choices will be made in the name of love? Does hiding something from someone under the guise of protecting them equal love? Will Josh and Elle ever be able to bury their pasts and is there a happily ever after in their future? Will the Canvas of their lives be dark and black, tinged with the red of pain? Or can they paint themselves a new Canvas?
Oh, and remember that incident in the beginning? Keep it in mind.
Jacob Chance continues to grow and improve in his writing style and ability with each book. His characters have depth. The story moves along well. The supporting characters play an important role, but don’t overtake the spotlight. And I’m sure fans of the earlier books will be glad to get this little sneak peek into their lives. You will love to hate Elle and then your heart will break for her and you’ll just love her. You’ll swoon over Josh. And you’ll be thankful to Jacob Chance for writing a story with heart, artistry, soul and meaning.
