Early on in the book she is a bit whiny about her magic and it was nice to see her take ownership of it in the second half. The plot has some fun twists towards the end and I loved how Myra starts to grow into her magic later in the book.

I love the painting magic here it seems to pull some influence from “The Picture of Dorian Gray”. Olson continues to do an amazing job with world-building and unique magic systems. I would give the first half of this book 3 stars and the last half 5 stars, so you have a 4 star rating overall. As a result, Myra finds herself drawn deeply into the dark secrets surrounding the governor’s family. Myra’s sister is very sick and desperately needs medication and help. However, when she is contacted by the governor’s wife to raise his son from the dead, she just can’t say no. The story is about Myra, who can paint things into reality and has to hide her talent because of local prosecution against magic. However, at about that point things started to get really interesting and really pick up in pace. I was actually considering DNFing this at about 50% of the way through because I was just getting really bored with it. Thoughts: This book started off a bit slow for me and was primarily a “who-dun-it” type of story. I got an eGalley of this from NetGalley to review. Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book (as far as I can find). Desperate to get out of the manor as quickly as possible, Myra turns to the governor’s older son for help completing the painting before the secret she spent her life concealing makes her the killer’s next victim.”

A killer stalks these halls – one disturbingly obsessed with portrait magic. Once she arrives at the legendary stone mansion, however, it becomes clear the boy’s death was no accident. But one frigid night, the governor’s wife discovers the truth and threatens to expose Myra if she does not complete a special portrait that would resurrect the governor’s dead son. Guarding that secret is the only way to keep her younger sister safe now that their parents are gone. “Myra has a gift many would kidnap, blackmail, and worse to control: She’s a portrait artist whose paintings alter people’s bodies.

A forgery of roses series