My Review:
This novel moves back and forth between the points of view of the famous French artist Auguste Rodin and his lover Camille Claudel. They meet when Rodin becomes Camille’s teacher; she eventually is taken on as his apprentice and as a result they spend hours together working side by side.
The aspects of this book I like the most are the details about art, sculpture and the creative process. One only sees the beautiful finished works of great artists in museums, but what one doesn’t see is the hard work, sacrifice and dedication behind these works. Rodin and Camille are dedicated to their craft to the point where they no time for anything else and alienate other people in their lives. The reason they are drawn together is that no one understands them like they understand each other.
There are a couple of issues that I did have with the book; some of the dialogue became monotonous, especially when Camille was arguing with her mother. There is no affection or love between mother and daughter and they are constantly bickering. Also, I would categorize the book as a light romance and the two lovers spend a lot of time thinking about and longing for each other but not actually together. This is the case especially in the first half of the book which I found to lag more than the second part of the book.
Overall, RODIN’S LOVER is an interesting look at this famous artist and his process and inspiration. Scroll down to the end of the post to win your own copy of the book!
About The Author:
Heather Webb grew up a military brat and naturally became obsessed with travel, culture, and languages. She put her degrees to good use teaching high school French for nearly a decade before turning to full time novel writing and freelance editing. Her debut, BECOMING JOSEPHINE, released January 2014 from Plume/Penguin. Her forthcoming novel, RODIN’S LOVER, will release in winter of 2015.
When not writing, Heather flexes her foodie skills or looks for excuses to head to the other side of the world.
Giveaway:
This giveaway is for one paperback and open to US & Canadian residents only. Giveaway ends 2/13. Please leave a comment below and let me know you want to win!
Rules:
– Must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US & Canadian residents only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
-Winner will be notified via e-mail and will have 48 hours to respond.
Click on the tour banner below to see all of the stops on the book tour. There are other chances to win the book and interviews with the author!
The Book Binder's Daughter 
Thanks for the giveaway! raquel36m(at)gmail(dot)com
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Thanks for stopping by and entering!
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I REALLY want to read Rodin’s Lover. I’ve become a sucker for all the historical fiction books about artists.
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Me too! Have you read Madame Picasso? That is a great book.
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I have a copy on my bookshelf. Just haven’t gotten to it yet. : )
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I was lucky enough to see an exhibition of Rodin’s work when it was touring a few years ago. Very inspiring stuff, thanks for the chance to win this book.
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I would love the chance to see some of his work in person! I have been looking at a lot of his sculptures on the Internet since reading this book.
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Rodin’s Lover sounds fascinating. This book would be captivating and intriguing. Thanks for this great feature and wonderful giveaway.
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I thought Webb’s last novel, Becoming Josephine, was a very smart as well as very fun read. I would love to read this book. I suppose I too am a sucker for the historical fiction about visual artists and the women in their lives. They seem to be in fashion, as it were, of late. But, if they continue to be as well-written and interesting in every instance as I’ve found them to be so far, I say may this fashion long continue! Thanks for the chance to win and for featuring this exciting new book. Cheers, Kara S
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The cover is stunning! I love reading about creative process, so this story will probably interest me. Thanks for this wonderful giveaway contest. 🙂
ts(dot)teabox(at)gmail(dot)com
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Thanks so much for stopping by and entering!
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Thanks for the opportunity of the give-away! I adore historical fiction set in France. I’m writing from England, where I’m visiting family after 6 weeks staying with my daughter in Paris, before returning to BC in Canada.
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