„The moon came out in an eerie blue, almost as if it were painted by the snow.”

„Painted Moon”  appears an easy read, but it has it’s depths, especially in Jackie’s relationship with her mother and her eagerness to love, I mean, to be really in love and loved back, like in the fairytales, like in her mother’s art!

The title is suggestive! I expected a painter, but not an architect.

They have in common the passion for beauty and the passion for each other.

It’s Thanksgiving and Jackie Frakes needs to take a break from her relationship with Parker for whom she moved across the country and found a job as an architect intern at a big firm. Unfortunately, her MG Sports Car (I din’t enjoyed the use of this althrough the story – it was a bit of overuse)couldn’t handle the power of a snow storm. Here’s where Leah Beck comes to the rescue, together with her dog. She hosts Jackie for a couple of days and they don’t really connect at first beeing so different, yet there’s a spark of passion that Leah knows so well, especially from her former relationship with Sharla, that was the love of her life, now dead, and Sharla’s parents didn’t let Leah come to her funeral nor know where her tomb rests. Leah is pretty wounded, yet Jackie aroused an artistic sparkle when at night in the moonlight she stood in the snow, made Leah create again, paint and love again. They sleep separately, yet in one night Jackie was cold and joined Leah in the bedroom, while Leah sleeping and dreaming, she embraced Jackie and caressed her tenderly.

Now, after that, Leah appologised, yet she realised the attraction was there and she couldn’t help falling for Jackie. Jackie was confused , yet she wanted Leah to touch her even deeper in her being, it was a profound bound, just like that between her parents. Leah knew Jackie’s mother, Jellica Frakes, a famous sculptor, yet all she wanted now is Jackie. They separated after a tumultous scene in Leah’s kitchen, that Jackie couldn’t ever forget, especially Leah’s words :

„You want to know what you’re missing, Leah said bitterly. This is what you’re missing. It’s like this between women. And there’s more, so much more…Maybe when you’re with him you’ll imagine my mouth on you and wondered what it would have felt like.”

Afterwards, it was all a misunderstanding! Jackie moved to another company that  suits her better. She breaks up with Parker and decides to live her life as a lesbian woman, but she doesn’t have much success as she always thinks of Leah and can’t have her. And so she does a wonderful gesture of friendship : finds Sharla’s grave and put flowers there and sends Leah pictures and  faded flowers. They seem never to be able to meet again, until Jellica’s exhibition when they can’t deny the attraction for each other and leave for Jackie’s home and make amazing  delightful love. They manage to not see each other again until Leah’s exhibition of Painted Moon, her new series, will reveal Leah as never before, as a lesbian artist, and the model is Jackie. Jackie sees the painting with her mom, and finally meets Leah again and they share a moment of intimacy. They split up again and meet in the end at Leah’s home when the conflict is over and  they decide their love must be fulfilled and they need each other so.

I revealed enough through, it was some characters I left unknown because they were not of fair importance. I found a love story  turned into a fairytale passion. The „magic” line of the book was, for me :

„The blue and silver of Jackie saying yes!”