Poppy believes sheâs a nobody without Meagan, her best friend since childhood.
Theyâre college roommates, majoring in fine art with high aspirations of becoming successful artists. But Poppyâs world shatters when sheâs suspended one semester before graduating.
Her controlling father, Pastor Wayne, sends her away to live in her motherâs abandoned homeplace while itâs being repaired. The same homeplace heâs forbidden his wife to visit, except for funerals, since theyâve been married.
Alone in a new town, in the North Carolina mountains, Poppy struggles to begin again. She convinces her mother to share stories about her familyâs past. She visits a nearby art gallery and develops a schoolgirl crush on the owner. She attends a local watercolor class, makes new artist friends and is dismayed by the instructor. She tells no one of her reoccurring dreams, but with the help of Liam, the town handyman, she begins to face issues leading to her own healing.
Will Poppy have the courage to stop living in Meaganâs shadow, develop her own beliefs and accept her true muse hidden away in long-buried family secrets?
Eat Pray Love meets the Sweet Magnolias series in June Rollinsâ debut novel, She Lost Her Muse.
Poppy believes sheâs a nobody without Meagan, her best friend since childhood.
Theyâre college roommates, majoring in fine art with high aspirations of becoming successful artists. But Poppyâs world shatters when sheâs suspended one semester before graduating.
Her controlling father, Pastor Wayne, sends her away to live in her motherâs abandoned homeplace while itâs being repaired. The same homeplace heâs forbidden his wife to visit, except for funerals, since theyâve been married.
Alone in a new town, in the North Carolina mountains, Poppy struggles to begin again. She convinces her mother to share stories about her familyâs past. She visits a nearby art gallery and develops a schoolgirl crush on the owner. She attends a local watercolor class, makes new artist friends and is dismayed by the instructor. She tells no one of her reoccurring dreams, but with the help of Liam, the town handyman, she begins to face issues leading to her own healing.
Will Poppy have the courage to stop living in Meaganâs shadow, develop her own beliefs and accept her true muse hidden away in long-buried family secrets?
Eat Pray Love meets the Sweet Magnolias series in June Rollinsâ debut novel, She Lost Her Muse.
Poppy Fieldsâs dorm room was a messâsketch pads and class notes lay scattered across the floor in haphazard piles mixed in with previously worn clothes and kicked-off shoes; a pepperoni pizza, ordered two hours ago, sat cold and forgotten on a cluttered desk, its open box covering a digital desk clock proclaiming 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 13, 2007. Poppy herself was an even bigger mess. Sheâd been creating art for as long as she could remember, but this was the first time she had shown this direction in her work to anyone.
As Devin Lee studied the full-sheet watercolor that was propped against the wall by Poppyâs bed, he felt the surrounding mayhem disappear. He considered the luminous night scene, where a woman stood beckoning beneath a stone archway covered with cascading white roses. Everything was bathed in moonlight. One could not help but feel something secret was about to happen, and should look away. But, the alluring figure and what lay beyond were too compelling.
Devin, a recent graduate from Albertâs Art Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina (where Poppy would also graduate from in May), had always had a high regard for his friendâs work, even if it was a bit too nice at times. He guessed, if he were being honest, he admired Poppyâs work ethic more than her actual work. But this painting was altogether different. It was spellbinding and he could feel himself being pulled into its mystical reality.
âPops, youâve been holding back. This is like nothing youâve done before.â
âI know,â she said, wringing her hands. âWhat do you think?â
He walked closer to the painting and inspected the soft-edged, glowing shapes. âIâm transported.â He stood to face her. âAnd I havenât a clue how you achieved those glowing effects and random textures.â
In that moment, Poppy loved Devin. His open admiration of her work made her feel sweet and warm, like a chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven.
He ranked right up there with Meagan Richards, her college roommate and childhood best friend, whom she depended on for honest feedback, even if they often disagreed. Meaganâs comments were usually critical and harsh while Devinâs were encouraging and kind. It made for a balanced blend.
Devin and Poppy had gotten to know each other during team projects before he graduated last year. When she graduated, she hoped to become his colleague at ArtViews, an innovative, grant-funded program that employed visual artists.
Poppy had it all planned out. Sheâd turn twenty-one on May 3rd and graduation was May 11th. Her father had always let it be known that when she turned twenty-one, she was on her own. Well, dear Dad, guess what? I want to be free of you too.
But everything hinged on getting this painting juried into the annual student exhibition, or else her plan didnât have a chance. The exhibition, entitled Albertâs Best, was held every January. Entries had to be created within the previous calendar year. Max Albert, Director of ArtViews and Founder of Albertâs Art Academy, was the Juror of Awards. The artist who won Best of Show received the opportunity to have studio space at ArtViews for one semester. During that time, the student was required to meet certain criteria in order to pass, and if they excelled, they were offered a job.
Winning Best of Show was a long shot, but the accepted paintings would receive a personal critique from Max Albert, and if this painting got accepted, she hoped he might notice her art and consider hiring her at ArtViews when she graduated.
Poppy thought Max Albert was already aware of her because in September, when he was at the Academy for the quarterly board meeting and visiting classes, he had stood by her shoulder and watched her work longer than any of her classmates. When heâd nodded and said, âShows promise,â before moving on to the next person, she had thought she would explode out of her skin.
But later she had wondered if heâd meant it. Meagan had been in class that day too, and when Poppy had been practically floating as theyâd packed up afterwards, her roommate had said, âWell, one thingâs for sure.â
âWhatâs that?â Poppy had asked, still glowing.
âMax Albertâs a perv.â
âWhat?â
âHeâs a perv. He only stood by you the longest because you didnât wear a bra today. He wasnât looking at what you were painting. He was peeking down your top.â
âThatâs not true,â Poppy said, turning as red as her hair, making her freckles almost disappear. She rarely wore a bra. She didnât think it mattered. Meagan only knew because they were roommates, no one else could tell.
âWell, he wasnât standing by you because of the tired bowl of fruit you were painting.â
Meaganâs comment had hurt, but was probably true. Her work was boring. She knew she chose safe subjects. Being a PK (Preacherâs Kid), she felt restricted and always worried what others would think. But, from that day on sheâd stopped censoring her art and hadnât painted another piece of fruit since.
She knew she had to stand out somehowâ She had to get hired at ArtViews. Then she would be in the city where she belonged, free to live her life free of her parents, Pastor Wayne and Shrinking Violet, her mousy mother.
But there was one huge problem that made her stomach lurch every time she thought about it. How could she submit this painting without her parents or any of their church members eventually seeing it? Even though Crider, her rural hometown, was only two hours northwest of Charlotte, it was a different world elevated on Bell Mountain at 3,000 feet near the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Living in Crider was like going back in time twenty years. People were much more into each otherâs business, imposing their judgmental, narrow views. And the preacherâs family was under the worst kind of scrutiny.
If her painting got accepted into Albertâs Best, it would be on the Albertâs Art Academy website, and if it received an award, it might be in the Charlotte Observer along with her name and maybe a photo of her standing in front of it. She could just imagine the fallout if the outspoken conservative church members of King James True Believers ever saw what their preacherâs daughter had painted. In their eyes, mystical fantasy came straight from Hell. Meaganâs mother, Mary Beth, was the church secretary, and could probably calm down the conservatives, but Poppy still worried. And worst of all, she feared her fatherâs wrath.
Devin had been watching Poppy for the last few minutes and was beginning to realize how anxious she was over this painting. He could see why. It wasnât the typical rainbow-hued, happy art of a little Miss Goody Two-shoes. This watercolor was from Poppyâs other side, the one she tried to hide; but this other side was clearly fighting to get out every time her brush touched the paper.
âPoppy, whoâs your muse?â Devin turned back to the painting. âI donât think sheâs ever sat for any of my classes.â He whirled back to her. âYou found someone new?â
âYou could say that.â She had created a series of paintings of this mysterious woman in different poses, who wanted Poppy to follow her through an archway beyond rose-covered stone walls. Poppy had told no one of the dreams that had begun in September after Meaganâs hurtful comment. Or the near-trance state she entered while painting from them.
âAnd youâre not sharing,â he teased. âCan you at least tell me the title?â
âI havenât decided.â
âPoppy, I know you. Youâve got ideas swirling around in that mind of yours all the time.â
âWell, there is one that keeps coming up.â
âAnd...?â
âIâm not sure.â She knew she sounded terribly uncertain. Which was something she would have to overcome if she was ever going to show this series of sixteen paintings she had begun to call Her Midnight Dreams. The watercolor that stood before them was the first sheâd painted. The other fifteen were safely hidden away.
âCâmon, Poppy. You can trust me, Iâm not going to ridicule your ideas like Meagan or condemn your art like your old man.â He gestured toward the watercolor. âItâs magnificent, whatever you call it.â
âWhat do you think of Bella Rosa?â
Devin smiled. âBella Rosa,â he repeated slowly, getting the feel of it. âBella Rosa is a perfect name for this work of art. Absolutely perfect!â
âDo you really think so?â
âPops, itâs great! Your painting will definitely get into Albertâs Best. Max Albert will be as transported as I am and probably hire you opening night.â
âI donât know. The values behind her right hand are a little weak.â
She was about to tell him why she was really hesitating when they both jumped at the key turning in the lock of the dorm room door.
The beautiful cover is what first drew me to this book. Once I read the synopsis, I was hooked and could not wait to start.Â
I like Poppy; she is real, relatable, and has common struggles that most young ladies have. She has a rocky relationship with her parents and is trying to break out of the role of "preacher's daughter" and make something of herself.Â
Meagan is Poppy's best friend and only looks out for herself. Poppy does not see this character trait in her best friend because she is too busy being thankful for the friendship. Meagan is spoiled and constantly looking to Poppy to help her out of sticky situations.
She Lost Her Muse by June Rollins is her debut novel. June Rollins is an artist with signature membership in the Southern Watercolor Society and Watercolor Society of North Carolina. She has twenty years of experience writing narrative essays.
This book held such promise from the synopsis, yet I was a bit disappointed.Â
I will start with the things I enjoyed about this novel. First, I love that it was set in North Carolina, as that is where I live! I enjoyed seeing Poppy's personal character development and addressing the issues that kept arising. I appreciated the way that Poppy interacted with the other ladies of the Monday art class. The dialogue, for the most part, was engaging, especially as the story got going. This story was complex and had a bit of mystery in it, with family secrets, adding an extra element to a contemporary story. The ending was much more interesting than the beginning. I also appreciated that despite one profanity this story did not have any explicit romantic scenes or an abundance of profanity, as I prefer clean reads. She Lost Her Muse would classify as a clean read.
My favorite line from the story:Â
"His open admiration of her work made her feel sweet and warm, like a chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven."
Now onto things that I did not prefer. I did not like that the storyline was predictable. I did not enjoy the homophobia, the demeaning language used concerning eating disorders, and the judgmental attitudes of Poppy's dad, who is the preacher but does not act like one. I also did not appreciate the way Christians were portrayed in the book. Most of them came across as judgmental, gossipy, and only seemed to care about themselves. There was not enough of a balance. I felt like there were too many characters without enough development toward the middle, as I got lost a few times, wondering, who is this again? I did not like that once the story got really interesting it skipped three months and ended up leaving many things unresolved.
Despite everything, I do feel like this debut novel is worth reading. It is real, raw, and you cannot help but root for Poppy. When I picked up this book, I did not realize it was the first in a series, so I am glad to report that there is a second book coming and should resolve the issues that were left hanging. Those who like Kristen Hannah, Jodi Piccoult, and Ann Brashares will enjoy this one.