Painted Faces by L.H. Cosway

Painted Faces by L.H. Cosway
Our rating: 5 of 5 stars

Come forth with an open mind, for an unconventional tale of love..

Dublin native Freda Wilson considers herself to be an acquired taste. She has a habit of making offensive jokes and speaking her mind too often. She doesn't have the best track record with first impressions, which is why she gets a surprise when her new neighbour Nicholas takes a shine to her.

Nicholas is darkly handsome, funny and magnetic, and Freda feels like her black and white existence is plunged into a rainbow of colour when she's around him. When he walks into a room he lights it up, with his quick wit and charisma. He is a travelling cabaret performer, but Freda doesn't know exactly what that entails until the curtains pull back on his opening night.

She is gob-smacked and entirely intrigued to see him take to the stage in drag. Later on, Nicholas asks her if she would like to become his show assistant. Excited by the idea, she jumps at the chance. Soon she finds herself immersed in a world of wigs, make-up and high heels, surrounded by pretty men and the temptation of falling for her incredibly beautiful employer.

In this story of passion and sexual discovery, Nicholas and Freda will contend with jealousy, emotional highs and lows, and the kind of love that only comes around once in a lifetime.

Publication date: 16th December 2012.

Juls Review

I was asked by the author to Beta for her and what I found in this gem of a book was quite unexpected. Put all those traditional thoughts of drag queens aside and see the real person inside. Painted Faces takes you on a journey of friendship and love and the ups and downs with everything in between.

Nicholas is Freda's new neighbor. Upon first sight of him Freda is completely mesmerized. His beauty makes her a bit flustered and her sarcastic tongue gets the better of her. But soon they become friends and even with the sexual tension and attraction they fall into a comfortable companionship.

Freda is your average girl and she is okay with it. She's no size 2 and that doesnt stop her from eating one of her cupcake perfections. Her past as being a "fat" kid has shaped her into a woman with a sharp tongue and quick come backs. She doesnt need to be small to be happy. It is what it is and she deals with it.

Nicholas is a beautiful man and also a beautiful woman. His beauty has always been an issue. Ever since he was a child its almost been a curse.
Dressing up with his deceased mother's clothes to find her within him may have been the original plan but it turned into more, a safety blanket of sorts. His past was ugly and the beauty he finds in dressing as a woman is the only beauty he sees in life. There he can escape his childhood.

Nicholas is not your typical drag queen. He may be one beautifully dressed woman but he is all man. And the man wants Freda. She is a breathe of fresh air and he cant seem to get enough of her. But his past is sneaking up on him and he shuns her love away. Will Freda give him another chance? Is it too late for him?

I really loved this book. I loved that Freda loved Nicholas for him and the woman underneath. She doesnt think of him differently for what he does on stage, she love him more for it.

I highly recommend this book!

Jen's Review

This book just moved up to my favorites list – Up high on the list.

I have never read a book about drag queens before – I’ve seen movies, I know a few things about them, but this book was so different – I’m totally smitten by it J

First of all, I love all the history of Ireland and things that are different than the USA way – it’s like Fred is speaking to us and wanted to make sure everyone got her story.

Fred – Oh wow, she is awesome! I totally love her sense of humor in this book – she is quick with her tongue, and can embarrass anyone into submission. But that is all talk for her.

Freda is a big girl. Not HUGE – but she’s a little curvy girl. And like more curvy girls, she is a little sensitive about herself.  But she has learned over the years of her childhood that her quick lashings with her tongue is a good way to keep people from noticing.

Nicolas, aka Vivica is a sweetheart. He hasn’t had the best life growing up. Everyone has their secrets. But Nicolas’s is a little deeper than the rest of us. His mother died when he was young, and his father was never home. Nicolas felt the best way to stay close to his mother was by dressing up in his clothes. Some people might find that sick, but to a 9 year old boy, that was comfort. And what became comfort, soon become more.

The book starts off with Fred running into her newest neighbor Vivicia. Because she introduced herself as Fred, she thought he was kidding about his name. But he didn’t give her another name.

She thought about Viv as becoming her BFF – sure she had Nora, but Viv was Gorgeous! She  wanted to be the BFF that Viv goes to and talks about everything with.

When Nicolas comes over to the apartment for dinner that Nora invited him to, Fred and Viv have this easy going flirtation going on. It’s so easy for the two of them to talk and just be together.

He makes her weak in the knees, and she makes him laugh like no one else.

And then Nicolas declares her his best friend. True he only has 4 friends in town, but she’s the top of the list now  *Sigh*

Fred starts helping Viv with her gigs at  The Hut, and they talk forever and become really good friends. But that playful Flirtation starts to get a little more than playful. Fred is starting to get uncomfortable with Nicolas’s advances because she’s truly afraid of her heart being broken. She doesn’t have a good track record with guys, and she’s scared to let Nicolas in.

But when these two DO get together….. But can Nicolas let go of his past enough to let Fred near his heart??

Like I said I really loved this book. It was really sweet! Nicolas may be a drag queen, but he’s not gay. Not even a little bit. Which makes me love him just a little big more.

My newest favorite couple J Fred and Viv ! I’m going to be thinking about them for a long time, now J Totally recommending this book to everyone!!