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 … 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.
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“Do you think the universe fights for souls to be together? Some things are too strange and strong to be coincidences.”
The Girl in the Painting by Max Monroe draws you in from the first pages. I believe there are some really great elements to this book, as well as areas where it was unfortunately lacking. I enjoyed the premise and basis of the story, as well as the initial plot. It’s intriguing, soulful, and moving. Ansel’s grief and mourning over the loss of his eyesight and inability to paint is palpable. In these first chapters, The Girl in the Painting gripped my soul, held my interest, and kept me guessing. For me, as the book progressed, I found it predictable. While I loved Ansel – his brooding demeanor, sardonic humor, and intense passion were totally swoon worthy – I struggled to connect with Indy. As things came full circle I felt I understood her better, but for the bulk of the book I found her frustrating and nonsensical at times.
This was my first Max Monroe book, and enjoyed their writing style, voice, and humor. Overall, I do think The Girl in the Painting is an enjoyable and a book you should read. I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning and the end, I just wanted more from the bulk of the book. I’ll definitely give these authors another try and look forward to my next Max Monroe read!
This is Max Monroe’s best book to date!!! In my opinion of course. BUT IT’S SERIOUSLY THE BEST!!!
Gah!!! So. Many. Feels.
Ansel… My lord. This man. I can’t even. He is everything. The beginning of this book totally threw me for a loop. Like whoa. And I don’t blame him for being a jerk face. Indy enters the picture in the most interesting way. She’s kind of just feeling meh about her life. But after her and Ansel meet it changes things. For both of them. And it’s beautiful!
This book was fresh and unique and written so, so well! I really enjoyed the secondary characters and I really, really hope we’ll get more from this world.
“ , , ℎ . ℎ , ℎ ℎ ℎ ℎ .”
A unique, sexy, and compelling story from start to finish! Beautiful, erotic, poetic, and just magical! Within a span of a single chapter there is tragedy and there is hope, and that set the stage to what has become one of my favorite romances from this writing duo!
Amazon → https://amzn.to/2Ul3fmD
Amazon → http://mybook.to/TheGirlinthePainting
First off, I’m a huge fan of Max Monroe, they have some of my favorite stories out there and I’m always looking forward to their next read. But this one didn’t work out for me and it seriously bummed me out to say that. The blurb really sucked me in and I just couldn’t wait to know more about this story, it started off great and you’ll quickly have a place in your heart for Ansel. But the story line needed something a bit more and the characters went into my no-go zone for my romance reads.
I was really expecting this to be a bit more emotional, but it didn’t quite reach there at all. It really starts off that way and you can’t help but feel for everything that Ansel is going through. I don’t even want to imagine what he went through. I loved everything about him, definitely the perfect book boyfriend in my opinion. Smooth and charming when he needs to be, he feels everything to the depths of his soul, which ties into his passion of painting rather seamlessly.
One of my biggest issues was with Indigo, she definitely wasn’t my favorite kind of heroine and it hurt the story for me. And there’s a trope that I don’t read because of my personal hang-ups with it, but she (or well they both) cross into this territory and my turn off from this book was almost instant. She just wasn’t my favorite at all.
It really hurts me to not love this book more and I’m sure I’ll have one of the unpopular opinions, but keep in mind that just because I didn’t love this one, I won’t be reading more of their books. I love their books to pieces and am definitely looking forward to their next one.
**I RECEIVED A COMPLIMENTARY READER’S COPY FROM SOCIAL BUTTERFLY PR. THIS DOES NOT AFFECT MY OPINION OF THE BOOK OR CONTENT OF MY REVIEW**
I have never been they type to swoon over the sensitive,troubled artist type of guys in fact I’m the kind of woman that runs from them as fast as my feet will take me so I was hesitant to even begin reading but I promised I would leave an honest review surprisingly I was ok with Ansel it was Indy I had issues with. The book was well written as usual with Max Monroe, these ladies can write, but man do I miss their light rom-coms. This story follows along with their last handful of book in the heavy emotional and serious health issue themes. Reading a story about two people in an affair is not ok with me I don’t care if the unaware party is the most horrendous person on the planet or the person participating in the affair feels neglected there’s no excuse for this behavior and I’m actually really disappointed that this book was almost encouraging it. I was also checked out when the mention of a higher power bringing them together and the whole donor issue unfolded that was just too much as I said before this book was well written and I enjoyed the first quarter of it but it wasn’t for me if what I mentioned before isn’t a huge turn off for you then you’ll probably really enjoy reading this one but if one of the authors reads this please throw us bad boy billionaire series fans a bone and give us a witty charming rom-com again those books were/are everything
*4 Stars*
ARC kindly received in exchange for an honest review.
Another good story from Max & Monroe. Ansel and Indy definitely have a connection, and whilst the reason for this was something I picked up on very early on, this was still an enjoyable story.
Ansel was not the kind of character that I was too fond of at first, even if I could understand why he was acting out the way he was. Indy is an instantly likeable character that you just wanted to be happy.
Once these two connect, the chemistry is undeniable and watching and waiting for things to unfold is both fun and frustrating at times.
Also some great secondary characters who I would like to know more about, both Ansels brother and also Indy’s sister.
All in all another good read from Max Monroe and I look forward to what they bring next.
3.5 stars. I was pulled in from the start with the wonderful intro that sets up for terrific romance with some intrigue. It was fairly obvious from the beginning where the story was going but it was the journey to building an intriguing love story. I loved the sexy, broody artist, Ansel and his rock star brother. Their relationship was full of snark and brotherly love. Ansel’s seemingly charmed life changed in a flash and then the miracle happened which lead him to Indy, his muse. Like the guys, Indy and sis Lily are terrific characters. Opposites but really lovable. It took awhile to get to the full story of Indy’s tragedy and the tie to Ansel. Oh, the push/pull. The twist was not a surprise and definitely requires a suspension of reality. Still, I was cruising along and loving it until about halfway when our couple is getting to know each other and it was emotional and angsty. I thought okay, they are YA characters and it’s expected. Then I said whoo, WTF, these are two thirty-plus adults. I mean Ansel is thirty four/five! For me, the cutesy was just eye rolling. The behaviors, actions and conversations between Ansel and Indy at this point were immature for their age, their life experiences, and their career achievements.Annoyance aside, the story had me and I wanted the ending even if I knew the “surprise.” I will say that through all the angst and emotion Ansel’s treatment and care of Indy was a thing of beauty. I don’t know how she didn’t see what was staring right at her! I liked the writing, the fabulous characters and I can even go with the far-reaching scenario but the age vs actions thing was off putting for me. Hope we get stories for Bram and Lily. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC.
3.5-3.75 stars. I liked this book, but I had a few issues with it. I can’t go into what exactly my issues were without spoiling the book, so this may be super vague. Sorry. If you are on Good Reads, I have a review there with spoiler tags which states the issues I had with the book.
The Girl in the Painting is Ansel and Indy’s story. Ansel was a famous artist who lost his sight in an accident. He lives a very tortured existence as a blind man until he gets a life-changing eye-transplant, thanks to an organ donor. He awakens with memories of a beautiful woman in his mind, but he doesn’t know who she is. He paints her over and over, with her becoming his muse. Indy is an elementary school music teach, whose boyfriend gets tickets to a gallery showing of Ansel’s. She is shocked to discover that it is her picture in the exhibit. She has no idea how the artist knows her, but she decides to find out by meeting him and getting to know him.
Despite the issues I had with a few things in this book, I really liked Indy and Ansel. I loved them together. The love that they had overcame the issues that I had enough for me to still enjoy the book. I felt the extreme love between the couple. Period. Which trumped any issues I had. The mystery at play in this book, about why Ansel sees Indy in his mind and paints her before he ever meets her in person, has a very fated mates feeling. It definitely felt like they were meant to be and were a perfect match. They were fun and sweet together. I liked the mysterious feeling in the book. I also really liked the artist and musician aspect. The glimpse into painting and the art world was interesting.
So, overall, I enjoyed this book because I really liked Indy and Ansel and felt the love between them. They both really deserved their happy ever after and I’m glad they got it! I look forward to more from Max Monroe in the future!
My rating is mainly based on the cheating in this book. Cheating is a hard no for me, and it would have been nice to have a warning about it. While it’s made clear right from the start that Indy isn’t really into Matt, she should have just broke it off with him. It’s also said that he cheats on her, like that makes it okay. She didn’t even know that had happened when she cheated with Ansel. I finished the book because I wanted to see if Ansel and Indy were connected the way I thought they were. Honestly it’s hard for me to like them as a couple when their relationship starts off the way it did. The writing itself isn’t bad, so if cheating doesn’t bother you, this could be a good read for you.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.
My review will be brief and spoiler free. I am keeping this brief because I don’t want to spoil any of this beautiful book for you.
OMG! WOW!!!!!! I devoured this captivating book in 1 day! This book will stay with me for some time to come. It has so many feels! This is a tragic but beautiful love story of second chances and new beginnings but not without traveling a rough road. There is love, loss, tragedy, heartbreak, comedy, and steamy, sexy scenes. The characters are addicting and relatable. I loved the family dynamics on both sides. I loved Ansel and Bram (They are brothers. I love those names too!). They had a great brotherly bond. Indy was beautiful but broken but Ansel was broken too. They had such a connection. It was on another level. Indy’s sister Lily gave me a lot or LOL moments but she was also very supportive of Indy. I loved it. The plot was unique and beautifully written. I highly recommend reading this book. It was different, unexpected, and refreshingly unique. Thank you Max Monroe for writing such a beautiful love story!
****ARC generously provided in exchange for an honest review.****
Wow! I love Max Monroe. This brilliant writing duo has blown me away with their sexy romcoms and sports romance from the start. However nothing holds a candle to this intense, gripping, love story! Let me tell you, Ansel and Indy are off the charts fantastic. One of my favorite books of theirs ever. Such a beautiful blend of tragic loss and an unexpected inspiring new love. How tragedy and fate can change the course of someone’s life in the blink of eye. Really made me take stock sort of speak and appreciate that time is of the essence. Tomorrow is not promised. Live, Love and be Happy in this moment for it may be our last. Morbid but true. This story evoked many deep, intense feelings – all from their magnificent words!
This storyline is exquisite. The characters, both main and supporting, are phenomenal. The dialogue – omg some of the best witty banter and inner dialogue I have ever read. And I read A LOT. Plenty of unexpected. I love being caught off guard and surprised. This story unfolds so perfectly. Everything about Ansel and Indy’s past, meeting and consequent friendship is masterfully written. Despite their uncertainty, hurt both fresh and from the past, the bond and pull they feel is downright magical. A fantastic journey from mere existence to really living again and finding happiness. Glorious!
I am a huge Max Monroe fan, and have been since I read the first BBB box. They constantly reinvent themselves as authors, and this story is perhaps the most poignant, heartfelt story yet. I think Ansel is my new favorite MM hero, and that is saying a lot.
The Girl in the Painting is a true love story, complete with inexplicable connection and longing, all-consuming love, and sublime expression of feeling. It is not a crazy level of heat and humor like the BBB, Drs or Mavericks series, or a love-to-hate mystery like the Stone Cold Fox trilogy. It is a love story that rivals more classic love stories, that you could envision on a movie screen like a Nicholas Spark novel. It is a one-sitting read, not because it’s short, because you’ll be sitting for a long time, but because it is consuming. I could not put it down.
From page one, your heart is breaking for Ansel. You want to reach through the book and take him in your arms and help him heal. And when Indy is delivered to him, you let out a huge sigh of relief, and settle in for their tale to unwind. Reading how they heal each other is such a gift. A book to be consumed and treasured.