Prof. Joanna Ruocco releases new novel: Artfully Yours

Professor Joanna Ruocco’s latest historical romance, Artfully Yours, will be available next week from Berkeley Books under the pen name Joanna Lowell. You can read an excerpt and find preordering options on the publisher’s website.

Bookmarks is hosting a book launch for Ruocco on Tuesday, February 21, at 6:30 pm. You can find more information about the launch and register on the Bookmarks website.

About the Book

Sparks fly between a lordly art critic and a lady forger in this enthralling Victorian historical romance from the author of The Runaway Duchess and The Duke Undone.

Nina Finch isn’t suited for a life of crime. Raised by her art-forger brother, she can paint like Botticelli. But she’d so much rather be baking gooseberry tarts. She finally has the money she needs to open her own bakery. Unfortunately, her brother’s carelessness lands her—and their forgeries—directly under the nose of London’s most discerning art critic, Alan De’Ath. De’Ath knows the paintings are fake. He doesn’t know that Nina had a hand in their creation. In fact, he offers her a job in his household. Accepting it is the most dangerous thing she has ever done….

Alan takes pride in seeing things other people miss. He plans to catch the forger and cement his reputation. There’s only one problem: the closer he gets to the beguiling woman he hired, the less he trusts his perspective. Nina isn’t what she seems. But despite their false start, she just might hold the real key to his heart.

As Nina and Alan’s attraction grows, divided loyalties threaten to pull them apart and shatter their worlds. They’ll lose everything, or discover how powerful true love can be….

About the Author

Joanna Lowell lives among the fig trees in North Carolina, where she teaches in the English department at Wake Forest University. When she’s not writing historical romance, she writes collections and novels as Joanna Ruocco. Those books include Dan, Another Governess / The Least Blacksmith, The Week, and Field Glass, coauthored with Joanna Howard.

Praise for Artfully Yours

“Lowell’s playful period language creates a strong sense of place. This cute, quippy romp is sure to win romance fans.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A delight…readers are rewarded with multidimensional characters and an unusual and engrossing love story.”
—Booklist