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booknerd113's review against another edition
3.0
A picture is worth a thousand words and this story delves into what they are in each of her portraits. I really liked the premise of the story but I felt it lacked the depth each painting deserved. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable read (particularly the story of Iris and her portrait). Just don't expect a literary masterpiece.
brianajae's review against another edition
4.0
I like the books of Isabel Wolff. They aren't groundbreaking but the stories are really nice. I read other reviews that said this one was very predictable. While there were parts that I could see coming, others surprised me fully. It kept me reading.
vnesting's review against another edition
4.0
Ella is a successful artist who is able to get below the surface with her clients to paint portraits that illuminate who each person really is -- from the politician with a secret to to the beautiful eighty-year-old with a hidden sadness to her sister's annoying American fiance. As she talks to and develops an understanding of each of them, she learns even more about herself. But she longs to know more about the father who abandoned her years ago, and her mother is always evasive when Ella asks questions. This is a quietly moving story of secrets from the past and how they effect the present.
morgansbookshelf's review against another edition
2.0
This book was a struggle to get through. Everyone was so ridiculous. Ella was boring and I just didn't get her even from the beginning, like how she hated Nate based on one conversation. She just seemed immature for a woman in her mid-thirties. Her mother was a nightmare and there were too many side stories with all the sitters. The one part that stood out to me was the wedding, it was so chaotic and frenzied that it was like reading a scene from a movie. Oh, and the editing was horrendous. Anyway, bargain bin books are always a risk and this wasn't one worth taking.
moncoinlecture's review against another edition
3.0
2,5 étoiles, en fait.
Bien mais sans être fascinant non plus. J'ai davantage aimé les relations entre le peintre et ses modèles que l'histoire d'amour, qui n'a pas fait battre mon petit coeur. Malgré tout, on évite la dégoulinade et les apitoiements sur soi-même, ce qu n'est pas pour me déplaire.
Billet plus complet à venir sur le blog.
Bien mais sans être fascinant non plus. J'ai davantage aimé les relations entre le peintre et ses modèles que l'histoire d'amour, qui n'a pas fait battre mon petit coeur. Malgré tout, on évite la dégoulinade et les apitoiements sur soi-même, ce qu n'est pas pour me déplaire.
Billet plus complet à venir sur le blog.
jenmiller253's review
4.0
I really liked it but there is a lot of time spent of adultery. I am still not sure what the message about it is. One relationship worked out and one didn't. Both were painful for the people around them. For a major theme of the book it didn't give clear answer to the situation. Is the author trying to say love can conquer all but only sometimes? Maybe the author meant it to be unclear but I am still not sure how I feel about the message of the book.
ceeceerose's review
4.0
Once again, Isabel Wolff and her chick lit do not disappoint. Yes, it’s light. Yes, it’s predictable. But, it’s fun. And Wolff is a strong author who can create strong characters and semi-believable tales. This one finds the main character Ella Graham as a popular portrait painter in London’s inner circles. Her newly-engaged sister commissions a portrait of her fiancé and Ella encounters problems when she finds herself attractive to the fiancé. Other fascinating storylines stem from the different clients Ella is assigned to paint, but the main focus is Ella’s woes with her sister’s fiancé. Wolff combines just the right combination of wispy prose with heartfelt stories and quality writing for this to be a perfect weekend read!
linz2783's review
5.0
Thoroughly enjoyed this just as much as A Vintage Affair, read this in one day and was very engrossed in the characters!!
moncoinlecture's review
3.0
2,5 étoiles, en fait.
Bien mais sans être fascinant non plus. J'ai davantage aimé les relations entre le peintre et ses modèles que l'histoire d'amour, qui n'a pas fait battre mon petit coeur. Malgré tout, on évite la dégoulinade et les apitoiements sur soi-même, ce qu n'est pas pour me déplaire.
Billet plus complet à venir sur le blog.
Bien mais sans être fascinant non plus. J'ai davantage aimé les relations entre le peintre et ses modèles que l'histoire d'amour, qui n'a pas fait battre mon petit coeur. Malgré tout, on évite la dégoulinade et les apitoiements sur soi-même, ce qu n'est pas pour me déplaire.
Billet plus complet à venir sur le blog.
bdietrich's review
2.0
I had a difficult time getting into this book because the main conflict is the protagonist learning about her father whom she had always thought abandoned her. Since I don't identify with that -my parents have been happily married for 24 years-, I could not picture myself in her shoes. Additionally, I love reading to learn about other professions (from a sociological aspect), but The Very Picture of You did not go into as much detail about being a portraitist as I would have liked (unlike, for example, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, where I learned loads about journalism and publishing). However, as expected, this rom-com of a novel ends happily with everyone finally paired together in the last ten pages.
...Reflecting upon that last sentence reminds me of various comedies of Shakespeare's (i.e. The Taming of the Shrew, Measure for Measure, etc.) where the romantic leads play cat and mouse but don't seem to get together until the last scene. I never liked these sorts of plots, and that is why those plays of Shakespeare's were always my least favorite (as compared to The Merchant of Venice), which could have resulted in why I didn't like this book as the happily ever after happens in the last ten pages instead of depicting character development.
...Reflecting upon that last sentence reminds me of various comedies of Shakespeare's (i.e. The Taming of the Shrew, Measure for Measure, etc.) where the romantic leads play cat and mouse but don't seem to get together until the last scene. I never liked these sorts of plots, and that is why those plays of Shakespeare's were always my least favorite (as compared to The Merchant of Venice), which could have resulted in why I didn't like this book as the happily ever after happens in the last ten pages instead of depicting character development.