Title: A Portrait of Emily PriceAuthor: Katherine Reay
Published by: Thomas Nelson on Nov. 1, 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 368
Format: eBook, ARC
Source: Thomas Nelson, NetGalley
Book Rating: 7.5/10
Art restorer Emily Price has never encountered anything she can’t fix—until she meets Ben, an Italian chef, who seems just right. But when Emily follows Ben home to Italy, she learns that his family is another matter . . .
Emily Price—fix-it girl extraordinaire and would-be artist—dreams of having a gallery show of her own. There is no time for distractions, especially not the ultimate distraction of falling in love.
But Chef Benito Vassallo’s relentless pursuit proves hard to resist. Visiting from Italy, Ben works to breathe new life into his aunt and uncle’s faded restaurant, Piccollo. Soon after their first meeting, he works to win Emily as well—inviting her into his world and into his heart.
Emily astonishes everyone when she accepts Ben’s proposal and follows him home. But instead of allowing the land, culture, and people of Monterello to transform her, Emily interferes with everyone and everything around her, alienating Ben’s tightly knit family. Only Ben’s father, Lucio, gives Emily the understanding she needs to lay down her guard. Soon, Emily’s life and art begin to blossom, and Italy’s beauty and rhythm take hold of her spirit.
Yet when she unearths long-buried family secrets, Emily wonders if she really fits into Ben’s world. Will the joys of Italy become just a memory, or will Emily share in the freedom and grace that her life with Ben has shown her are possible?
Review:
Warm, sentimental, and charmingly sweet!
This is a lighthearted contemporary romance story that touches on life, love, family dynamics, secrets, loss, guilt, art, and delicious food.
The characters are complex, genuine, and likeable. The writing is well done. And the plot takes us on an emotional, soul-searching journey from the restaurants and art galleries of Atlanta to the ancient villages and beautiful landmarks of the sprawling Italian countryside.
Overall, this is a nice, pleasant, easy read that will leave you daydreaming of Italian food, Italian art, not to mention Italian men.
This story is due to be published on November 1, 2016.
Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following links.
Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Book Depository
Thank you to NetGalley, especially Thomas Nelson, for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.
About Katherine Reay
Katherine Reay is a writer, wife, mom, continually rehabbing runner, compulsive vacuumist and a horrific navigator…
She graduated from Northwestern University and earned an MS in Marketing from Northwestern as well. She then worked in marketing and development before returning to graduate school for a Masters of Theological Studies. Moves to Texas, England, Ireland and Washington left that degree unfinished as Katherine spent her time unpacking, raising kids, volunteering, writing, and exploring new storylines and new cities.
The Reay family (with a great sense of permanency) now resides outside Chicago, and Katherine pursues writing with more focus. She writes character-driven stories and non-fiction that focuses upon examining the past and how it influences our present experiences.
