A Portrait of Emily Price by Katherine Reay (Review)

Paperback: 368 pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson (November 1, 2016)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0718077911

ISBN-13: 978-0718077914



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?

My Review:

This was a good Christian fiction romance book. Emily and Ben connect from the first time they meet. It is hard to believe that they would marry after only knowing each other two weeks though. Emily then goes back to Italy with him. I love the author's descriptive writing. I felt like I was in the book. The first half is set in Atlanta and the second mostly in Italy. There were some supporting characters also. I liked Ben's sister and his father. I never warmed up to his mother. The first part was like a fairy tale and the second half reality. Emily  runs into issues being in a country she doesn't speak the language and with people she does not know. Some of Ben's family is welcoming and some not so much. It is not a fast paced book which was fine with me as I enjoyed the descriptions. The conclusion is satisfying. Recommended to fans of Christian romance fiction.

Katherine Reay has enjoyed a life-long affair with the works of Jane Austen and her contemporaries—who provide constant inspiration both for writing and for life. She is the author of three previous novels, and her debut, Dear Mr. Knightley, was a 2014 Christy Award Finalist, winner of the 2014 INSPY Award for Best Debut, and winner of two Carol Awards for Best Debut and Best Contemporary. Katherine holds a BA and MS from Northwestern University and is a wife, mother, runner, and tae kwon do black belt. After living all across the country and a few stops in Europe, Katherine and her family recently moved back to Chicago. Visit her on line at katherinereay.com Facebook: katherinereaybooks Twitter: @Katherine_Reay


Review copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay (Review)

Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson (November 5, 2013)

ISBN-13: 978-1401689681

Samantha Moore has always hidden behind the words of others—namely her favorite characters in literature. Now, she will learn to write her own story—by giving that story to a complete stranger.
Growing up orphaned and alone, Sam found her best friends in the works of Austen, Dickens, and the Brontë sisters. The problem is that she now relates to others more comfortably as Elizabeth Bennet and Jane Eyre than as herself.

Sometimes we lose ourselves in the things we care about most.

But life for this twenty-three-year-old is about to get stranger than fiction, when an anonymous benefactor (calling himself “Mr. Knightley”) offers to put Sam through the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. There is only one catch: Sam must write frequent letters to the mysterious donor, detailing her progress.

As Sam’s program and peers force her to confront her past, she finds safety in her increasingly personal letters to Mr. Knightley. And when Sam meets eligible, best-selling novelist Alex Powell, those letters unfold a story of love and literature that feels as if it’s pulled from her favorite books.

But when secrets come to light, Sam is – once again – made painfully aware of how easily trust can be broken.

Reay’s debut novel follows one young woman’s journey as she sheds her protective persona and embraces the person she was meant to become.



My Review:

I loved this book. It is a fantastic debut for Katherine Reay. The characters and plot are well developed and interesting. I was captivated from the beginning and could not read fast enough. I had to know what happened next. I am a fan of the classics also which is not a requirement to read this book but helps. Sam is a loner  girl in the foster system and ended up at Grace House. She has trouble relating to others and lives in her books. She gets a special scholarship to college that requires her to write letters to a secret donor she calls Mr. Knightley. The author does a good job telling most of the story through letters. There are good supporting characters also like Kyle a fellow foster child. Also there is a little love interest that develops between her and an author she meets named Alex Powell. There are a few twists and turns. This book is on my keeper shelf and I can't wait to read her next book. Highly Recommended. :)





Katherine Reay has enjoyed a life-long affair with the works of Jane Austen and her contemporaries. After earning degrees in history and marketing from Northwestern University, she worked as a marketer for Proctor & Gamble and Sears before returning to school to earn her MTS. Her works have been published in Focus on the Family and the Upper Room. Katherine currently lives with her husband and three children in Seattle. Dear Mr. Knightley is her first novel.

Review copy provided by Litfuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.