A Portrait of Emily Price by Katherine Reay

I haven't read a light Christian romance in quite some time, and felt like I'm quite "over" the romance genre in general, but I'm glad I had the chance to review this one.  It isn't too heavy on the romance and is extremely light on the Christian aspect, although being from a Christian publisher does ensure no awkward surprises and  decent cover art.  A Portrait of Emily Price is 335 pages of 47 short chapters.  There are sixteen discussion questions at the end of the book that are helpful for thinking things through further, alone or with your book club.

In this novel by author Katherine Reay, Ms. Emily Price faces several trials and working through them changes the way she sees life.  Through losing her job, finding a calling, falling in love, relationship trials with family and language barriers, she continues to look for the good, to fix what she can, and grows up into the woman she was meant to be.  I found this story relatable, fun, and intriguing.  The leading man was a hopeless romantic and it was a true "love at first sight" story, but it was more than that.   His whole family was very real, and the reader may fall in love with them all...and want to fly to Italy or learn Italian before the book is over.

 There were literary and art references throughout - some I understood and some I did not, but it made me feel like this was an author who knows her stuff.  I have not yet read any other books by Reay, but will keep my eye out for more.  I would recommend this to anyone looking for a lighter read.  (I read it in a couple of weeks, while keeping up with some book discussions I am in.)

From the publisher:

Emily Price—fix-it girl extraordinaire and would-be artist—finds herself in Atlanta, repairing objects damaged in a house fire. As she works to restore the home and dreams of one family, she strives to keep the pieces of her own life in perfect order and secure her own happy ending—a gallery show of her own. There is no time for distractions, especially not the ultimate distraction of falling in love.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”