A Portrait of Emily Price
Written by Katherine Reay
Narrated by Kate Rudd
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Emily Price learns that not everything broken is meant to be fixed as she follows her heart and finds her joy in the charming Italian countryside.
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?
- Contemporary romance set in Italy
- Full-length novel
- Also by author: The London House, A Shadow in Moscow, and Dear Mr. Knightley
Katherine Reay
Katherine Reay is a national bestselling and award-winning author who has enjoyed a lifelong affair with books. She publishes both fiction and nonfiction, holds a BA and MS from Northwestern University, and currently lives outside Chicago, Illinois, with her husband and three children. You can meet her at katherinereay.com; Facebook: @KatherineReayBooks; Twitter: @katherine_reay; Instagram: @katherinereay.
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Reviews for A Portrait of Emily Price
47 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5An underlying theme in this book deals with the bitterness of a major character, who because of something that happened decades prior, now vents all that pent up frustration on everyone around her. She, for all practical purposes, could have been the villain in this story, with her negative influence.
On a positive note, I loved how Emily handled the situation with the guilt-ridden teenager, offering a listening ear. Ben fell flat to me, though; his character didn't feel genuine. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Family ties bind. They also gag. In a Portrait of Emily Price, the big question seems to be how all the different relationships will support or sabotage Emily's chance at an exciting new life.Emily sets out for a new start as an art restorer in Atlanta, but is swept off her feet into an avalanche of a romance. This upends her life and rushes her pell-mell into a different life than she expected. When reality sets in, Emily must decide who she is and where she belongs.Reay writes in such a style to carry the reader along with almost wild abandon, then dismay, then melancholy and shock. All this is affected as the reader easily empathizes with Emily's predicaments and feels her emotions as his/her own. Reay leads the reader back and forth through the gamut of emotional turmoil, and it took me a while after finishing to return to inner equilibrium.What I would have liked to have seen in the book would be a stronger emphasis on faith. While faith is mentioned, neither it nor prayer seem to play a major role in characters' decisions.This was a fun read, and provided to me as a complimentary copy by the publisher and NetGalley. I have freely chosen to leave my own, unbiased opinion.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What an astonishing book I just read. The story is so emotional, exciting, breathtaking and filled with history I had to read it all the way through to the end. It is not easy yo put down a book that is so expertly written. I learned a lot about Italy through the eyes of the author. She captured the beauty of the land and people with brilliant words that painted a picture of pure beauty. I loved the food that was described and could smell the pasta cooking on the stove. This is one story that will stay with you for years to come. The story has captured the meaning of family in such a way that it has left me emotional but filled with hope.Emily has a gift that many admire. She can reconstruct things and make them beautiful again. I found her work to be fascinating and the author described her work with great detail. I wanted to watch Emily work and listen to her as she brought something that had been destroyed back to life. As she is working on a family's home she finds out that she is going to be out of a job. Her chance meeting with Ben was mesmerizing and enchanting. Ben has come from Italy to help his family's restaurant out. Ben has everything going for him with his good looks, being a master chef and Italian. Who could resist this man of many talents. Joseph is Ben's brother and has been doing his best to keep the business going. There is definitely some friction between the brothers but Emily can't figure out what it is. Emily has started to help do some restoration in the restaurant and help Joseph out. I loved how they both shared the same interest in art and their talks were fascinating. I was a bit surprised when Ben suddenly asks Emily to marry him. They had only known each other for two weeks. She had plans to stay and work with Joseph. Ben's charm was to hard to resist and off she goes to get married. When they reach Italy I'm sure she was overwhelmed with what she had just done? Was she to impulsive? Will Ben's family accept her?The story is so much more than restoring paintings and old relics. It's a look at a family that has been torn apart by something that happened a long time ago. Emily is not easily accepted by Ben's family , especially his mother. She is cold and distant. I loved Ben's father and found him to be so enduring and lovable. What is the secret that broke the family apart? Why won't Joseph come home to visit his family? The author shows us through the eyes of Emily, brokenness , anger, unforgiveness and rediscovery. Her art captures each element and opens hearts that have hardened by pain and shunning. There is a part in the story about a painting that has long been covered up. The biblical reference is unmistakably the most powerful part of the story. The painting depicts a time when sin was thrown upon a woman that almost destroyed her. How this story is reflected back to Ben's family is emotional and I loved how the author used it to show how shame and guilt can cause someone to become bitter. What is the significance of this painting to the family? Can it bring healing and hope ? Can Joseph forgive the past and reconcile before it is to late? I kept thinking of "Beauty from ashes." Our lives may seem like they are in ashes and there is no hope, but God sees the beauty and gives us hope, joy and restoration. I received a copy of this book from The Fiction Guild. The review is my honest review.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tuesday, November 22, 2016A Portrait of Emily Price by Katherine Reay, © 2016A restorer's job was never to enhance, simply reveal.--A Portrait of Emily Price, 22.My review:A new town, a new project, my same tools ~ trustworthy in my hands. A life uncovered to restore. Drawn in, I am enhanced. My ready impression of Emily; alive, aware, feeling, quietly and astutely studying all about her. After a fire, restoration begins ahead of her arrival ~ the barebone basics ready for her fine touch and renewal with lives revealed in the gatherings.Helping another, and finding yourself....restoration work was like a sophisticated paint-by-number exercise. Great skill meant you stayed in the lines and matched your colors, textures, and viscosity to perfection.--Ibid., 53.Life happens as you continue at what you know. Filled in lines with happiness and joy from succession forward.I like how Emily is able to space her time ~ knowing when to stop to go to the next cycle of grace. She is beyond what appears and sees into the heart of another ~ their memories, and their goals to hold on to what they have known to be able to advance to where the next step takes them. Life. Forward.Benchmark places. Recording now to a place in the future you will look back on. I succeeded there and can go forward here. So beautiful to see Brooke with eyes of hope ~ the young girl within.~ restoration ~ It was a field based on the finite nature of any work––a work already in existence.--Ibid., 91.A dream and a melody. Ben and Joseph, brothers so different yet so near, yearning for respect and care from each other though many hours apart. Dreams in action, formidable to touch without an interloper willing to stand between to interpret their visions into actions.Emily has a trip ahead of her, and in turn, may find more of herself exposed, revealing a discovery closest to her heart.***Thank you, author Katherine Reay for a special story and Thomas Nelson for sending a review copy. This review was written in my own words. No other compensation was received.***