Review: A PORTRAIT OF EMILY PRICE by Katherine Reay

Release date - 1st November 2016
Book length - 336 pages
Available on - www.amazon.com | www.amazon.co.uk

                                          BLURB
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?

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REVIEW
A PORTRAIT OF EMILY PRICE by Katherine Reay is an emotional and compelling tale about family, love, grief, and past mistakes. This novel is a slow starter and it was only when the setting changed to Italy, that I really became engrossed in the narrative and connected with the characters. Emily has always been a fixer, and that is one of the reasons that she is such a talented restorer, but it is when she moves to Italy to be with Ben, that she begins to uncover her true self and her own art. But when Ben's mother and Aunts make things difficult for Emily, she struggles with where she really fits in this world. Only Ben and her father-in-law Lucio make her days brighter. The author effortlessly transported me to Italy, and through her description, the community and the sights and sounds of this unique place, came alive in front of my eyes. With secrets, sadness, and all-consuming love, A PORTRAIT OF EMILY PRICE by Katherine Reay is a beautiful tale that will touch your heart, and I highly recommend it.

BOOK RATING - 📖📖📖📖 4.5

Author Bio:
Katherine Reay has lived all across the country and Europe and has just moved with her family to Chicago. She is a writer, wife, mom, runner, and, most randomly, a tae kwon do black belt. Her debut novel, "Dear Mr. Knightley," is a contemporary story with a dash of Jane Austen and other nineteenth century writers thrown in for the fun of it. Her subsequent novels, "Lizzy & Jane" and "The Bronte Plot," feature stories of hope, reconciliation, family, some seriously good food and travel. "A Portrait of Emily Price" will be released in November of this year. For more information:
Website - katherinereay.com
Twitter - twitter.com/Katherine_Reay
Facebook - www.facebook.com/katherinereaybooks

*Book received from Netgalley.com