The Muse

By: Lauren Blakely

Narrated by: Shane East, Siiri Scott

Fall in love with The Muse, a swoony romantasy set in a modern day Paris that's full of magic, art, mysteries, and passion from #1 NYT Bestseller Lauren Blakely...Performed in duet by Shane East and Siiri Scott!

The first time a woman stepped out of a painting, I thought I was seeing things.

The second time, I thought I was going mad.

The night she emerged from a Renoir, I felt something else entirely -- a deep stirring of desire, and the wish to get to know the brilliant beauty who's been trapped inside a painted garden for years.

She can only come out at night in the Musée d'Orsay, where I work. There, after hours, we wander through galleries, with the Van Goghs, the Monets, and the Toulouse Lautrecs the only witnesses to our midnight kisses and, soon, our trysts.

She opens her heart to me, and I learn her story.

But she keeps secrets too, ones I hope to unravel. Why she was trapped. Why Renoir is hunting her. And why artwork in famous museums across the world is starting to disintegrate.

Why I, too, seem to be the only person who can repair the masterpieces.

As I fall deeper for the woman who's trapped in a museum, I'm caught up in another side of Paris after dark, one inhabited by forgers, ghosts of famous artists and, impossibly, by Muses.

But someone is after the woman I'm falling in love with, and it's up to me to save her...even if it means losing everything I've found with her.

©2021 Lauren Blakely Books (P)2025 Lauren Blakely Books

Beautiful story of magic and mystery!!

Lauren Blakely is one of my favorite authors, so I knew this would be something special. I was definitely not disappointed. Listening to The Muse is like falling in love surrounded by stunning beautiful art. I was captivated from the very start and absolutely spellbound! The story is beautifully written and masterfully performed by Shane East, who flawlessly moved between characters of all ages, accents, and sexes. Siiri Scott narrates the epilogue and really brought depth to Clio, absolutely lovely!!

I was transported to the many amazing locations in this book and added many of them to my bucket list. The Musee D’Orsay and city of Paris are characters and I couldn’t help but get lost in the wonder and the love the masterpieces displayed therein. On my second listen I paused and googled some of them and found a new appreciation for these masterpieces and the work that goes into preserving them. Each work of art is a character, quite literally at times.

Julian is a wonderful man who is beautiful inside and out and brings out the best in people. The role he discovers for himself fits perfectly and is inspiring. I just love how his character evolves over time and his love of the art world just bleeds through in the story. Julian’s devotion is such that he is willing to sacrifice his own happiness to preserve these priceless works of art. Clio is mysterious, adorable, beautiful, and mischievous. She has a child-like fascination with all of the new experiences in her world while still being such a wise and timeless inspiration. I felt like every character, no matter how small the part, brought another layer to the story in an absolutely perfect way!

The Muse is a beautiful story of magic and mystery. I was very pleasantly surprised how much of my reaction to this book was visual. Julian’s devotion to art preservation reaffirmed my love of art in a time when we cannot visit museums in person. I enjoyed the mysterious circumstances and flawed characters, how they drove the story, what they represented, and ultimately how the mysteries were solved and things set right again in true Lauren Blakely fashion. I have listened several times already.

I received an #AdvancedListenerCopy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Magical and amazing!

The Muse is the first book in the Beautiful Magic series by the talented Lauren Blakely. I love when my favorite authors start a new series, I get all giddy. I'm especially loving this one since it's about Muses, artwork coming to life and love. Julien works for the Musée d'Orsay and art is in his blood. He never imagined that the paintings he loves so much would actually come to life, step out of their frames and dance for him. He might be crazy, but what a way to go! Clio is the most beautiful woman he's ever seen, and she just happens to be trapped in a Renoir. He fell for her before they even spoke, but after nights of stealing kisses, and wandering through paintings and sharing their stories, he learns that something is wrong. Paintings all over the world are starting to fade and he might be the only one who can save them. But at what cost? Losing the only woman he's even loved? Is it worth it? This story is just so lovely! I smiled a lot. Even shed a few tears. It's magical, mysterious and inspiring! I was an Art History minor in college and this just spoke to my soul! I could picture every painting and piece of art in my head and Lauren's attention to detail warmed my heart! It's different from Lauren's other romances, but you won't be disappointed in the way it makes you feel!

Audio: Shane, be still my heart! He did such an amazing job as Julien and his accents are incredible. Siiri was also fantastic! As always, Lauren is the queen of casting narrators!

Wow! What a surprise!

This book was definitely a departure from what you expect from Lauren Blakely but it was absolutely incredible. A beautiful love story that I would describe as Night at the Museum meets Mannequin, and I couldn’t have loved it more. The uniquely visual storytelling made this play as a stunning movie in my head and it took me back to the museums I have visited where this romantic adventure was playing out. Shane East was phenomenal and brought all the magical and mysterious characters to life exactly as I imagined. I would love to have more books like this from Lauren Blakely.

A very different Lauren Blakey book

I’m still processing this LB book bc it was so different from her typical romances.
Loves: Location! I’ve seen these paintings in the museums in Paris and absolutely loved the locations all around Paris described in this book. Will need to listen again before I go to Paris in the future ❤️; appreciated LB trying something beyond her typical book; the romance was sweet, but I loved the mystery and intrigue; Shane East was perfect (as always).
Still processing: the magic/fantasy aspect of this book, which is typically something I avoid…

LOVE

Can Lauren Blakely and Shane East do anything wrong? Seriously....this story was different and captivating. So enjoyable.