Name: A Portrait of Emily Price
ISBN: 9780718077914

Katherine Reay

"Emily Price, art restorer and would-be artist, finds herself in Atlanta, restoring objects recovered from a house fire. As she strives to make all the pieces of her life fit, secure a gallery opening for her own art, and care for her sister and mother, she finds herself enthralled by Chef Benito Hillam, who is in town from Italy visiting his brother Joseph, Emily's boss. Ben spends all his time cooking and repeatedly proposing marriage to Emily. When she calls his bluff and accepts, Emily follows Ben home to Italy"--

A Portrait of Emily Price

Celeste Richardson

Just because something is broken doesn’t mean it’s not beautiful. Emily Price is an art restorer, and a very talented one, at that. If something is broken, Emily is going to do everything in her power not only to fix it, but to make it even more beautiful than it was before, because fixing things is just what she does. But when Emily falls in love and extends that “I can fix it!” attitude to include her husband’s Italian family, chaos ensues.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, more so than any of Reay’s books since her first, Dear Mr. Knightley. It was sweet and uplifting and just the mental palette cleanser I needed after last month’s heavier, darker reading. Reay writes Christian romantic fiction with large doses of humor and classic literary references. Her second and third novels both fell kind of flat for me, but I really loved Dear Mr. Knightley and so decided to give her newest book a try. I’m glad I did. Emily was realistically flawed without being unlikeable, and her Italian in-laws were a beautiful mess. I loved Ben so much; he reminded me of my husband. In fact, almost every character in the book reminded me of a family member or close friend, or in one case a friend’s mother. 

And the art in this book. Wow. I’m not the biggest fan of visual art in literature, because I generally have a hard time visualizing the paintings or sculptures or whatever other art forms are being described. But I could see Emily’s restoration work her own paintings in my mind’s eye. They were incredibly well-described without becoming monotonous or boring. I also learned a lot about art restoration techniques without feeling like I was reading a textbook, which was enjoyable for me. And the Tuscan setting was gorgeous. I could feel the sunlight on my face and smell the bubbling pasta sauces. I’ve always wanted to visit Italy, and this book reawakened that desire.

The characters, art, and setting were all wonderful. But what I really loved was how seamlessly Reay added in her faith elements. They never felt forced or heavy or trite. Faith became real to Emily throughout her story. She learned that there were some things that she could never fix. But that didn’t mean that Jesus couldn’t fix them for her. All in all, this was a lovely Christian romance that taught me something about the power of art and the strength of families. And, even when the art fades and the family is broken, there is nothing that Jesus can't restore.

always, annej 〄

I have decided. I'm going to read every book Katherine Reay had written and will write. 

The Portrait of Emily Price didn't only tackle about joy, the endless joy of finding home. It's more of acceptance, through acceptance that we'll be able to find joy. It's not always about fixing things, trying to look for broken things to get your thoughts lost into. It was more of being part of the story, to share the joy of every moment with the people you love, and also the pain and loss. 

This book had made me fall in love in a place I've never been, I saw Italy in another view and promised myself I would go there, once all these craziness in the world subsided. I have felt the love poured by the author while writing this and that writing is her power. The book offers home but it was successful in doing so only because the author knows how to make her readers feel home - how to envelope them with words they needed. I love that it doesn't only focus on one setting but as the story journeys, the people also traveled to other places too. There are also lots of foods that made me crave continuously. I found myself wanting for pizza in the middle of reading this and found a spaghetti instead so I ate. The author's voice is so strong, it inspired me to get my pen and write my own story too. As the book wrapped me in the cozy vibes of the story, the love, loss, acceptance, joy, starting anew - in that order, I feel like I'm home. I found the essence of simply being me. I don't have to shrink myself to be a part of them, I needed to be me and still be a part of all these. I have loved reading books and writing poems and prose since but this book empowered it all. I am more inspired, how simple yet how much joy life could bring if I'll be able to learn how to love myself, to accept what was and to feel joy in able to be more at home.

Heather Wood

This is a reread for me and even more beautiful the second time. When I'm not rushing through Katherine's words to find out what happens, I'm able to savor the beauty and nuance of the writing.
I love her characters; they always say so much more than they say, which means I often miss things in the first, faster read. I liked Emily's maturity in this book. I would have been so overwhelmed and lonely in her position, I would have been in tears regularly. She trusted her new husband and knew how to give him space, and I love that.
This is not an overtly Christian book, and it could have been. Jesus is there but it not named, which is sad, but He is there. The gift, grace, is mentioned, but oh how much sweeter it is when we know the Gifter. And we can find great joy knowing how He finishes stories.

A Portrait of Emily Price

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