The Art of Scandal

Starred review from May 22, 2023
Black’s steamy and evocative debut kicks off at white liberal D.C. mayor Matt Abbott’s 40th birthday party, where his Black wife, Rachel, discovers he’s having an affair. Knowing she signed an ironclad prenup, Rachel fears destitution should she leave Greg outright and negotiates for a million dollars and their suburban home in exchange for her silence during campaign season. But playing the perfect politician’s wife becomes harder after she meets Mexican American Nathan Vasquez, 10 years her junior and the scion of another prominent local family. Nathan, an exceptionally good listener, offers comfort, respect, and admiration for Rachel as both a woman and an artist. Their emotional affair is stop-and-start as both try to fight their undeniable connection. Things heat up, however, when Rachel chooses Nathan as the featured artist at an upcoming gala she’s hosting. As their feelings intensify, so does the risk of their affair causing a scandal that will destroy both their lives. Subplots about Nathan striving for independence from his domineering family and Rachel rediscovering the passion for art that she put on hold to support Greg add emotion and nuance to the story. As poignant as it is passionate, this marks Black as a writer to watch. Agent: Sharon Pelletier, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.

June 15, 2023
After discovering her husband has been unfaithful, a politician's wife revisits her life choices and everything she gave up for her husband's career. Rachel is the perfect wife to Matt Abbott, the mayor of Oasis Springs, a fictional town near Washington, D.C. During Matt's 40th birthday party, he sends her a racy photograph of himself. It's so out of character that she instantly realizes the text was meant for someone else and her husband is having an affair. Having met Matt at a difficult time in her life, she was initially content to put aside her dreams of a career in art photography in order to play her role as the White politician's Black trophy wife. Over time, having forsaken her ambition in favor of her husband's weighs more heavily on her, and his infidelity makes her sacrifices feel all the more painful. She strikes a deal with him that she will remain in their marriage, playing up to the press for the remainder of his current campaign, provided she gets the house and $1 million at its conclusion. When she meets Nathan Vasquez, a fellow artist who reawakens her old passions, she's suddenly not so sure she can wait out the remainder of her sentence with Matt. As Rachel begins a steamy affair with Nathan, she worries she's jeopardizing her daughter's financial future and her own reputation. Told in an engaging, close third-person narrative, the book alternates between Rachel's and Nathan's perspectives. While it is obvious almost immediately that there will be an affair between them, there is joy and suspense in watching it unfold. The way the author manages to center their passion for each other around art is clever and engaging. Teeming with complicated family dynamics and the negative aspects of media attention, the novel also examines the difficulty of being in the public eye. The author also explores the complexities of interracial marriage with a perspective that feels fresh and insightful. A sexy, elegantly crafted debut.

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Starred review from July 1, 2023

DEBUT From the outside, Rachel seems to have it all, as the gorgeous wife of a successful and wealthy liberal white politician. But behind the perfect facade is a life of hardship and betrayal. When Rachel finds a racy text sent by her husband to another woman, she decides she's done trying to make her marriage work. She's also done fitting into the mold of trophy wife--one she was forced into when, as a young single Black mother, she married into the powerful Abbott family. Now estranged from her husband, but still acting the part of his wife in public for his reelection campaign, Rachel begins to reconnect to her true passion, creating art. She soon finds herself entangled with a much younger man, Nate Vasquez, an artist who is battling his own set of ill-fitting expectations. Although their searingly hot affair threatens scandal and endangers Rachel's newfound independence, the couple can't stay away from each other, nor can they deny their growing love. VERDICT In this deeply emotional and fast-moving romance, debut author Black writes a sultry story about family, forgiveness, art, and embracing love, even when it's inconvenient.--Migdalia Jimenez

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