about the book
A Portrait of Emily Price by Katherine Reay
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?
My Thoughts
I can’t explain how or why but once I started reading Dear Mr. Knightley (my review), I just knew I had to read every Katerine Reay book I could get my hands on. I fell in love with her bookish characters, sense of humor, and depth of emotion. So, as you can see, when I got the chance to review her latest release, I jumped at it!
Emily Price is a fixer. She repairs and restores just about everything she can get her hands on. The girl has serious skills! Emily works her magic on artwork, machinery, trinkets, leaky faucets, her sister… one of those things is not like the others… in my own experience, I can tell you it’s not good to attempt to fix your sister. Maybe it’s a big sister thing. To younger sisters everywhere, we’re sorry.
Benito Vassallo is visiting the States from Italy in order to help his aunt and uncle breathe new life into their restaurant, perfect his pizza dough recipe, and win Emily’s heart (a late addition to his list, effective the night he first meets her). I adore the sweet and innocent way that Ben woos, encourages, and protects Emily. So romantic!
Cultural, language, and relational elements in the story are engaging and gave this small town midwesterner a little taste of diversity! Two Katherine Reay books under my belt and two remaining on the tbr! We’ll see if I can get to them before her next release, win-win!
I requested the opportunity to read and review this book through the publisher. The opinions expressed are my own.
About the Author
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.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest
More titles by Katherine Reay
Are you a fixer? What or who do you find yourself fixing? Give me a little hint (5 words or less) about what I’m missing in Lizzy & Jane and The Brontë Plot if you’ve read them (no spoilers!) Be sure to add A Portrait of Emily Price by Katherine Reay to your tbr!
Faithfully Bookish 