THE GIRL IN THE PAINTINGby MAX MONROE
Ansel Bray, an artist known around the world for his tragic hiatus from the canvas.
Ansel Bray, a broody, handsome man not known by me, at all.
Long dark hair, blue eyes, and dimpled cheeks. I’ve never met her, but her image is imprinted in my mind. An angel muse who inspires me to paint again.
There is something about him. Something that spurs a need to be as close to him as possible. A need to find out why.
There is something about her. Something that draws me in. Something that urges me to find out what her presence means.
Why does the girl in his painting look so much like me?
Who is this girl, and why can I see her so vividly?
I shouldn’t fall in love with him.
I shouldn’t fall in love at all.
But fate plays her hand.
But fate has other plans.
The lines of my life will blur.
The needs of my heart will change.
What a beautiful mess we’ve made.
"She's a red string tied to my finger, and I can't forget her."
Unpopular opinion warning: I need this review to come across as me being upset at the lack of emotional depth needed to carry off this storyline, and not the thought that Max Monroe can't write a story. I want to stress that while the story had an amazing synopsis and plot, the execution lacked immensely for me. As predictable and clichéd as this one was, it was ok - a decent read. I think I went in with higher expectations than I should have, and knowing that this one was supposed to be more heartfelt and emotional, the boldest emotion I felt was let down. When this is the opening line of the book, I should be awarded the emotions to accompany it:
"Do you think the universe fights for souls to be together? Some things are too strange and strong to be coincidences. "
-- Unknown
-- Unknown
I know I have some favorite authors that write FATE like it's as simple - and necessary - as breathing, and they set the tone from the beginning and roll with it through to the end. I love when an author can effortlessly tell me a story that shows me why the universe works in tandem with FATE. I didn't quite get that with this one. I have always heard Max Monroe was an amazing read: their stories are funny, the banter is hilarious, and the heroes are swoony. And before I get any farther in this review, their newsletters are THE BEST author newsletters I receive and I read them from the beginning to the end, religiously. I feel like those are a good "introduction" to them and their personalities, so signing up for this one felt like a no-brainer for me. Needless to say, I was very excited to jump into a more emotional book by this well-loved duo as my first read by them - and I thought, what a great opportunity for me to "meet" them. I don't do a lot of romantic comedies because I like the more powerfully emotional ones - the ones that leave me feeling raw and gritty. I prefer those because I want to feel my stories. However....
"To my soul, I know this isn't some random coincidence."
This book lacked the very necessary heaviness that was required to actually pull off the emotions needed to emphasize the journey these two characters took. Not only did it lack any actual emotion, I think it had the opposite effect on me because it angered me. That's not what the authors were going for, of that I can assure you. For involving my #1 favorite trope ever, I couldn't help but hate the heroine for her actions. H A T E. I couldn't connect with her at all and she felt very dry to me. She was one bad excuse/decision after another, and that felt very off-putting. I know there is supposed to be drama in every book - necessary for plot movement, but some of it is not necessary and when I start picking out things that bother me, other things start to stick out too. I nitpicked all her complaints about her job and lessons plans and anything else she mumbled about. I understand taking liberties with stories. I really do, but make them believable and not eye-roll worthy. Or laughable. So I know that's on me, and I get it, but that was one of those things that emphasized the distaste I felt for Indigo. Her ridiculousness was....well, ridiculous.
Ansel, though? All sorts of sexy. I won't lie. Swoony has a big ol check next to his name. His whispered comments gave me goosebumps. His promised affections gave me the anxiety pangs and butterflies. His turmoil? I felt it. He really was a brooding, tortured artist and they pulled that off exceptionally well, enough for me to empathize with him and hope against hope that this worked out for him. I just couldn't get on board with Indigo. <sigh> I didn't even feel Ansel and Indigo's pull to one another - like, at all, and that's the saddest part for me.
I didn't hate it...I just didn't love it.
I realize I am in the vast minority with this review and my opinion, but I will still do a giveaway even though I wouldn't recommend this to anyone looking for an emotional book. Max Monroe die-hards will love this, and for that, I'm happy to give a copy away. I will most definitely read more from them because I can't seem to stop laughing at their emails, but that also tells me that I need to stick to their comedy and stay away from their drama. That synopsis gave me all kinds of promises, and I'm bitter because I feel like they were all broken. I know there should have been some emotion built into this one, and yet I just didn't get that emotional gut-punch that I was set up to feel. I will definitely read Max Monroe again, and I will take recommendations for the best comedy of theirs to read, because I can only imagine those will be side-splitting funny.
"All you can do is lead with the best intentions, and then it's up to fate to decide."
~BEE
~MEET MAX MONROE~
Over two years ago, a dynamic duo of romance authors teamed up under the pseudonym Max Monroe, and, well, the rest is history...
Max Monroe is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of more than ten contemporary romance titles. Favorite writing partners and long time friends, Max and Monroe strive to live and write all the fun, sexy swoon so often missing from their Facebook newsfeed. Sarcastic by nature, their two writing souls feel like they’ve found their other half. This is their most favorite adventure thus far.
~CONNECT WITH MAX~
Max Monroe is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of more than ten contemporary romance titles. Favorite writing partners and long time friends, Max and Monroe strive to live and write all the fun, sexy swoon so often missing from their Facebook newsfeed. Sarcastic by nature, their two writing souls feel like they’ve found their other half. This is their most favorite adventure thus far.
~CONNECT WITH MAX~
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