Johanna Porter Is Not Sorry - by Sara Read (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Laugh out loud funny and poignant. I loved it!"--LORI FOSTER, New York Times bestselling author

Johanna is not a thief--and she is definitely not sorry.
In the back room at an elite gallery party, 40-something soccer mom Johanna Porter stands face to face with her younger self. The girl in the portrait, La Rosa Blanca, is fierce and fearless, and Johanna sees the great painter she almost was before her lover, the powerful artist Nestor Pinedo, torched her career.

When she cuts the million-dollar masterpiece out of its frame, rolls it up and walks out, it's not a theft. It's a rescue.

Hiding out in a shack on the Chesapeake Bay with La Rosa Blanca looking on, Johanna tries to paint again, but encounters only the cringe-worthy atrophy of her talent. When she reluctantly goes sailing with the injured surgeon two houses away, and chemistry flares between the struggling misanthropes, Johanna realizes that to fulfill the promise of her younger self, she's got to quit playing it safe.

Battling novice-thief paranoia, impostor syndrome and mom guilt, she can stay one step ahead of the law. But it will take an act of desperation to become the woman La Rosa Blanca was meant to be.

"Vivid, visceral, and sexy--I loved it."--JEN DEVON, author of Bend Toward the Sun

Don't miss Sara Read's next captivating book, Principles of Emotion, a smart, poignant STEMinist novel perfect for fans of Lessons in Chemistry

Review Quotes

"Debut novelist Read has created a thoroughly sympathetic character in this witty, quick, and emotionally turbulent tale that will have readers cheering for Johanna well after the last page."
--BOOKLIST

"Laugh out loud funny and poignant, this gem of a debut novel has it all, a messy soccer mom on the run, an art heist, dubious choices, and a heartwarming love story. I loved it! Sara Read is a writer to watch."
--LORI FOSTER, New York Times bestselling author

"Johanna Porter Is Not Sorry is...a fast read with a strong message about women learning to stand on their own, and powerful men who do as they please."
--Star Tribune

"I could gush about so many things in this book. I do want to point out the writing--it is brilliant! The plot is clever, mixing an art heist with payback, art, addiction, self-discovery, and even romance. I loved Johanna for her spunk and spirit."
--Susan Ballard, Subakka Bookstuff

"Johanna Porter is Not Sorry is a story of one woman's excavation of identity, and the inevitable mess before the beauty happens. Debut author Sara Read's prose is agile and evocative in this nuanced exploration of human imperfection, reminding us how sometimes the transformation we seek can only happen when we get out of our own way. Vivid, visceral, and sexy--I loved it."
--JEN DEVON, author of Bend Toward the Sun