I thoroughly enjoy reading the books in the Independence Islands series, and The Elnora Monet was no exception. This book illustrates how first impressions often prove false, and sometimes you do get more than one chance to make a positive impression. Carly and her sister provide a mobile veterinarian service for the islands, but when she offers to make a house call to Elnora Island for her sister, she gets more than bargained for initially. Jean-Luc lives in a beautiful secluded estate with only his employee and his deceased wife’s cat for company.

I think the cat, Descartes, quickly stole my heart with his aloofness and obvious standoffishness. But then when he meets a stray cat Athena that Carly and her sister are fostering back to health. Athena and Carly find their way into Luc and Descartes’ hearts.

I love how this book illustrates how sometimes we need a wake-up call to move out of the paralyzing depths of grief in order to move back to live. I also love the relationships Luc and Carly each has with their family. So if you wish to read a fun, quick read, check out this book for yourself.

I received a complimentary copy of this book, but it in no way influenced my review. All opinions are my own. ( )

I really enjoyed this story and hated to see it end. The author did a great job of developing the characters which made them come to life. I could easily see myself back on the island as the people strolled along the beach, ate from the wonderful food truck and enjoyed each other’s company. I loved the feeling of family as the author delivers a story filled with emotional treasures waiting to be discovered.

It was easy to love Carly as I remember her from another book in this series. She is quite outspoken and full of adventure. Helping her sister on the traveling vet mobile was fun and I learned quite a bit about the ins and outs of treating animals for different things. I love animals and anything that related to them grabs my attention right away. Carly’s encounter with Luc is funny since Carly is found snooping around in his mansion. Oh the details of his place were spectacular and I wanted to be invited there. The breathtaking paintings were easy to see due to the author’s words that eloquently described every detail. My husband airbrushes and paints so I really enjoyed learning more about Luc’s talent.

I appreciate that the author didn’t rush the attraction between Luc and Carly. It was sweet, romantic and very endearing. Luc sure knows how to sweep someone off their feet with his gestures of flowers, picnics and gifts. It is important to note that although they were getting to know each other, the two main characters had a few things that were holding them back from happiness. I think the main one was letting go of the past for Luc. He hasn’t allowed himself to be happy since his wife died. His faith is weak but there will be a moment that will change him forever as he helps someone very dear to him know Jesus. This is my favorite part of the entire book.

Carly is slowly beginning to have deep feelings for Luc but I think she is afraid to trust. Her hesitation may push Luc away but God has a plan for her. She has allowed her dreams to almost disappear but as she listens to God her faith grows stronger. There is much more to the story but I won’t ruin it for readers. Be prepared for a few tears along the way as the author sweeps us away on a journey to finding happiness, forgiveness and love.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion. ( )

“‘...this isn’t normal, sir.’” Outspoken, spontaneous, and fun-loving vet assistant Carly Mulligan discovers that billionaire Jean-Luc Belshaw, Jr., needs some help returning to “normal.” She meets Luc on a house call for a very spoiled cat named Descartes. Appalled at his lack of interest in his pet, Carly wonders what story lies behind Luc’s tortured eyes.
The Elnora Monet, by Rachel Skatvold, quickly intrigued me as a fun-to-read, well-written contemporary romance with a poor girl meets rich guy trope. The major part animals play in the story shows Skatvold has a good understanding of feline and canine behavior. With the emphasis of the art style being French Impressionism and Monet specifically, readers attracted to that style will sit up and take note. And a chance to revisit Elnora Island, plus a trip to Paris? Be still my beating heart! A great faith thread is incorporated, and I should have loved the book.
But a mental block appeared. The book was good, even great, but for me, stopped short of magnificent. Deniable plausibility, that wonderful phrase, struck early on and I couldn’t let go. One of Carly’s important actions early in the book felt inconsistent with what she already knew. This may not be a problem for anyone else but me, and I would definitely encourage readers who like Christian contemporary romance with a poor girl-rich guy trope to give this novel a try.
My thanks to the author and publisher, Celebrate Lit, for providing a copy of this book. No positive review was required, and all thoughts are solely my own.

Notable Quotables:

“Life has no meaning for an artist who’s not creating…no matter what form of art it might be.”

“I’d rather spend my life trying and risk failing, than doing nothing to change the situation.” ( )

The Elnora Monet, by Rachel Skatvold is book 10 of the Independence Island series. This is a series that is being written by six different authors and covers five different island. These are great stand alone stories, however some of them do briefly mention characters from past stories. I enjoyed going back to the island and catching up on characters from the fourth book in the series and the winery from the eighth book in the series. While it is not necessary to read these first, the story does reference characters and events from book four. In this story we meet Jean-Luc, who is a young wealthy widower who is going to inherit the family business in Europe. His former wife’s cat is in need of medical attention and Carly, a part of the traveling veterinarian service is called in.

This is fun, easy, quick to read story. It is heart warming to see Jean-Luc move on from the loss of his wife and start painting again. I enjoyed how he tried to make a relationship on the island work with his responsibilities across the earth. I appreciate Carly’s feeling about having a relationship with someone who is not able to be there. I enjoyed the message given with the way the cats interact.

I received a complimentary copy of this book, this is my honest review. ( )