March 29, 2019 | No Comments
Illusions Duet
by L.M. Halloran
Date Published: March 7, 2019
Published By: L.M. Halloran
Page Count: 574
Publisher’s Description:
From Book 1
Gideon Masters is a wild god.
Worshipped for his bold paintings as much as his divine looks, he’s the art world’s biggest celebrity. Under normal circumstances, our paths would never cross.
But when his extracurricular activities threaten a high-profile business deal, I’m forced to take him as a client. My task : keep him out of the tabloids for six months. Jobs, including mine, hang in the balance.
But Gideon doesn’t want a publicist.
He wants a new muse.
As I fall deeper under his sinful spell, a lifetime of secrets and carefully crafted lies unravels. Too late, I remember the sinister truths they protect:
I am already someone’s masterpiece.
And the original artist wants me back.
*Art of Sin is book one of a duet and ends on a cliffhanger. But don’t worry, book two, Sin of Love will be released March 28th!
My Star Rating:
My Review:
Art of Sin by L.M. Halloran
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Why I love reading LM Halloran books… I know I can always count on a well-written story that is going to chew me up and spit me out. This one definitely did that. I read this book over a few days, well into the night and past my bedtime. It was dark, sexy, depraved, compelling. The writing, as always, was simply poetic. This author knows how to spin a story and pull you in deep. She knows how to make you feel – however that may manifest, and it’s not always comfortable! But you FEEL.
Deirdre was a dark character who has issues in spades. But she’s a strong woman. Her coping mechanisms aren’t great, but she came by them honestly. A flawed character, hands down.
And then there was Gideon. He’s a creative soul with a dark past of his own, and he’s sort of a wild card, always doing the unexpected. He was very sexy, and very fun to read.
What I would have liked to see more of were more showing (rather than telling) that Gideon was as f*ed up as he was made out to be. His mother killed herself and his father was an overbearing a*hole who covered it up and acted like it never happened, but that sort of paled in comparison to Deirdre’s issues. I feel like he was meant to be more dark and disturbed than what I felt came across on the page.
I’d also have liked to seen more buildup of Marco and Julep. Everything surrounding them in the story (as minimal as it was) was so vague and alluded to instead of explained, so when I got to the end, I didn’t get the feeling they were as terrible and fearsome as I feel like I should have felt.
I look forward to getting my hands on the 2nd book. I want to find out what happens, how things end up, and I’d like to see more of the Gideon/Deirdre/Finn dynamic as well. Finn was definitely another interesting character, maybe even worthy of his own story????
View all my reviews 
Sin of Love by L.M. Halloran
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This second book was a doozy. It blew me away. Everything I had found lacking in the first book was made up for in spades in this second part of the duet.
Very dark, very heart wrenching. There was a particular bathtub scene that kicked me in the gut.
I highly recommend this duet. Very well done.
Video review found here: https://youtu.be/iae3UfvNQ8U?t=194