Rivers Returns to Her Romance Roots with Unexpected and Redemptive Love Story
The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers ISBN: 978-1-4964-0790-0 | Hardcover: $25.99
Carol Stream, Ill.—February 16, 2018—The Masterpiece, Francine Rivers’s riveting and highly anticipated tale of redemption, grace, and love, released on February 6, 2018, from Tyndale House Publishers and quickly skyrocketed to bestseller standing. In its release week, the title debuted at #6 on the Publishers Weekly Bestsellerslist (based on book sales data from Nielsen BookScan), #15 on the New York Times Combined Print & E-Book Best Sellers list, and #16 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.
In her new novel, the widely acclaimed Rivers returns to her romance roots with a probing tale that reminds us that mercy can shape even the most broken among us into an imperfect yet stunning masterpiece. She delivers big-canvas storytelling at its finest, inspired by Ephesians 2:10—“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” In bringing this promise to life, Rivers employs two broken characters with gritty and difficult pasts to demonstrate the healing work of the Savior.
Successful LA artist Roman Velasco appears to have everything he could possibly want—money, women, fame. Only Grace Moore, his reluctant, newly hired personal assistant, knows how little he truly has. The demons of Roman’s past seem to echo through the halls of his empty mansion. But Grace doesn’t know how her boss secretly wrestles with those demons: by tagging buildings as the Bird, a notorious but unidentified graffiti artist—an alter ego that could destroy his career and land him in prison.
Like Roman, Grace is wrestling with ghosts and secrets of her own. After a disastrous marriage threw her life completely off course, she vowed never to let love steal her dreams again. But as she gets to know the enigmatic man behind the reputation, it’s as if the jagged pieces of both of their pasts slowly begin to fit together . . . until something so unexpected happens that it changes the course of their relationship—and both their lives—forever.
Consistent with her body of work, brokenness, healing, and redemption are prevalent themes of the story. Rivers shares that her goal in writing this novel is for “readers to know that no matter who you are, where you come from, [or] what you’ve done, when you accept Jesus, God will make you into His masterpiece.”
Trade reviews of The Masterpiece have been consistently strong. Booklist said, “Readers will marvel at Rivers’s storytelling arc encompassing the reconciliation of gritty past misdeeds with the work in progress of a life of forgiveness.” Kirkus added that Rivers “. . . deftly threads Roman’s and Grace’s lives together as they tiptoe around their emotional scars,” assuring that “fans of Christian romance will delight in this tale of salvation through love.” Publishers Weekly concurred, saying, “The tale will have her long-standing fans hooked. And the fully formed Roman will likely garner her new ones.” Library Journal added, “This character-driven romance will enthrall her many fans.” Romantic Times designated The Masterpiece as a Top Pick, calling it “. . . an amazing, beautifully written tale to be savored and pondered and shared with others.”
New York Times bestselling author Francine Rivers has published numerous novels—all bestsellers—and she has continued to win both industry acclaim and reader loyalty around the globe. Her Christian novels have been awarded or nominated for many honors, and in 1997, after winning her third RITA Award for inspirational fiction, Francine was inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. In 2015, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). Francine’s novels have been translated into over 30 different languages, and she enjoys bestseller status in many foreign countries. She and her husband, Rick, enjoy spending time with their children and grandchildren. Visit Francine’s website at www.francinerivers.com.
Tyndale House Publishers, founded in 1962, is the world’s largest privately held Christian publisher of books, Bibles, and digital media. Tyndale has published many New York Times bestsellers. The largest portion of its profit goes to the nonprofit Tyndale House Foundation, which makes grants to help meet the physical and spiritual needs of people around the world. Tyndale was founded to publish Living Letters, which later comprised part of The Living Bible, a contemporary paraphrase of the Bible that became a global publishing phenomenon. Tyndale now publishes the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT), the translation of choice for millions of people.
Contact: Katie Dodillet, katiedodillet@tyndale.com, 630.784.5275
