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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I LOVED this book! It is my favorite Max Monroe book so far! I don’t want to give any specifics about the book because I do think it is best enjoyed by going in blind. I really enjoyed reading about Ansel and Indy’s connection and developing relationship. The unexpected connection between the two characters was not a total surprise to me; I kinda had it figured out by chapter 4. But that did not affect my enjoyment of their story. I liked all of the characters and was happy to see the growth that the 2 MCs showed during the course of the book. I also loved some of the serendipitous events that occurred throughout the book and that kept throwing Ansel and Indy together. This book is told in dual POVs and has a HEA ending. There are serious moments in this book, but there are also funny, lighthearted moments. I highly recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a romance with a unique storyline!
Oh my heart, . Indy and Ansel story wrapped from the first page up until the very ending. Such a beautiful emotional love story. I don’t even know where to begin just know that this is the most beautiful emotional love story I’ve ever read. The way you’re involved since the incident with Ansel the broody artist and then with Indy the music teacher that no longer plays.
It was fate that brought these two together and the way everything unfolded was so damn beautiful. I’ve never read a book with tears in my eyes for the hurt, the love and the lost. These two slowly developed a friendship that then turned into more. But nothing was rushed and oh my so beautiful. You witness their lows and their highs before they met each other and after they met each other. The change in Ansel after meeting Indy was just heartwarming and Indy that poor girl slowly came around and ahhhhh.
One thing for sure these two had in common were amazing parents and amazing siblings. As a matter of fact, I want Bram who is Ansel’s brother to hook up with Lily, Indy’s sister, lol. These two would be perfect for each other because they are nothing like their siblings. I think we need to read more of Ansel and Indy also.
Gah! This book!! It’s such gorgeous love story. The fab duo of Max & Monroe completely blew me away with this standalone. It had so much heart and gave me all the feels. The Girl in Painting is kind of story that will grab you and hold you from the very beginning until the last page. Oh my gosh, I devour every word. It’s so different from a typical Max Monroe book but just as amazing.
I absolutely loved the connection between Ansel and Indy. They’re so meant to be it makes my heart full. I love a broody yet swoony hero and Ansel is just that. Ahhh! I love him so much.
I don’t want to give too much away. I feel this is one is best if you go in blind but I highly recommend this one if you believe in fate and in love.
ALL THE STARS
I don’t even know what to say right now except for WOW!!!! Max Monroe hit this one right out of the park. I mean, they are seriously some of the best writers EVER.
The Girl in the Painting is the all new phenomenal novel by the fantastic duo, Max Monroe. I know that whenever I pick up one of their stories, I can almost always guarantee that I’ll love it. This one though, I didn’t just love it, I freakin’ ADORED it. It gave me ALL. THE. FEELS. This book was so different from anything they’ve ever written before and I could not get enough. It was so beautifully written, and the characters…OMG they were incredible. I fell in love with the both of them. It’s honestly one of the best love stories I’ve read.
“Relationships are hard, and marriages are even harder. But I can tell you, whoever this girl is, if she’s the one for you, if she’s meant to be an important part of your life, there won’t be any question. You’ll be able to feel it.”
Ansel and Indy are two amazing characters. They both are so drawn to each other and feel a connection that neither can explain. Neither are looking for anything but fate keeps putting them in each other’s way. Will they take a risk? Or will they ignore what’s right in front of them?
“I need it all. I need her. My sweet love. My once-in-a-lifetime, written-in-the-stars, forever-starts-right-now kind of love.”
All I can say is that this is by far Max Monroe’s best work to date. It was so emotional. I had tears streaming down my face and my heart ached. If you haven’t picked it up yet, I really recommend doing so. You will not regret it!
4.5*
I adore Max Monroe’s romcoms- I mean they brought us Thatch and Whorgie for Pete’s sake, how could I not? But honestly, I really love the books where they’ve branched out from the laughs and given us something a little deeper, a little more serious, like the Stone Cold Fox trilogy, and now The Girl in the Painting. I think this book just might be my new favorite of theirs. I know Ansel is my new favorite MM bbf, sorry Thatch!
The Girl in the Painting was such an enchanting story. It was one that I wanted to zip through- I wanted, needed, to know everything about these characters, and I wanted to know it now! But I made myself read it slowly so I could savor every bit of Ansel and Indy. Because these are two utterly endearing characters and their story really captured my heart.
I’m not going to go into a lot of detail here, as this is one of those books that’s best read without knowing a lot about it. It’s such a compelling story, with some fun light-hearted moments mixed in to keep the feels from being overwhelming. Because you’re definitely going to feel, and hopefully you’ll experience that same pull towards Ansel and Indy that they feel towards each other. This book, their story, is one that just completely charmed me.
I am blown away by The Girl in the Painting!! I don’t even know how to put it into words just how A-MAZ-ING this book is. I really didn’t know what to expect when I started but I wasn’t expecting it to grab me by the heart and make me feel all of feels I felt.
Ansel and Indy. They share a connection that they just can’t explain. Until they can and it stems from a devastating time in their lives. Their love story is just plain beautiful and full of witty humor that Max Monroe is brilliant at.
This is one of those that is going to stick with me for days. Like major book hangover!! This book, yea, it’s a MUST read!!!
5 star review The Girl In The Painting by Max Monroe
Where do I start? Max Monroe you have done it again.
Ansel Bray is an artist with a haunted past, he starts painting again and his muse is an unknown woman who gets his juices flowing again.
Ansel and Indy are drawn to one another and although neither of them understand it, they accept that it is what it is. There is something breathtaking about the two of them , the relationship formed and their journey. The Girl In The Painting was one of those books that touched me to the core.
As I have come to expect from Max Monroe, this was a beautifully well written story told from alternating points of view that riveted me from the first page to the last. It also had my emotions all over the place. If ever two people deserved to find love, it is Ansel and Indy.
This book will give you all the feels and I highly recommend you one click.
This book. Even though the title is deceptively innocuous, the feels you’re going to have are decidedly deep. The writing duo of Max Monroe has become synonymous with the pair of authors best known for penning witty and/or steamy rom-coms filled with characters that become like real people you expect to know and have real lives outside of the pages of their books…however, in this contemporary romance they prove they’ve got the chutzpah to crank in the feels department, as well.
Although I had figured out pretty early what direction we were headed in, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book in the slightest, literally this was a one-sit read for me. I sat down, picked it up and didn’t put it down until I was done. Of course, the killer soundtrack helped…(wink, wink, nudge, nudge…it’s like you know me!)
I received this book from the authors in exchange for an honest review, 4 stars.
WoW!!! This book is definetly not this kind, that I would expect from this two amazing women.
They always know how to made me smile or even more laughing very, very loud !!! The Girl in the Painting made me breathless, and left my heart cutted in milion pieces. For sure….Mrs Max and Monroe take me to a very unexpected journey were emotions overwhelmed me many times!
After ending this amazing story I still have mess in my head, maybe I’ll repeating again but I’m in shock…. Max and Monroe created perfect story linie, I’ve devorued this, not-that-short book in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down.
Ansel and Indie are great characters. I liked how Max and Monroe showed them us. THIS COUPLE were perfect for each other. Indie history was painfuly for me, but I loved that Ansel was enough stuppborn to figh for this woman heart.
Propably You could think.- gah it’s story like milion other books have…. but I can assure readers every kind – Max and Monroe created beautifull love story, that has been written in the best writting style. This book taking bookish souls and hearts irretrievably!
Higly recomended title!
Max Monroe has done something extraordinary with The Girl in the Painting. This book ht me on another level. It was tragic and heartbreaking and full of pain and loss and suffering. But it was also brimming with art and beauty and music and healing.
I liked Ansel a whole heck of a lot. He was broody and guarded but his art spoke what was truly in his heart. And when he finally got to feast his eyes on his Venus, he was stunned stupid for a moment. I loved how he was called to Indy. How she unknowingly inspired him. How he tried to do the right thing even when it wasn’t what he wanted but what she needed.
Indy. That sweet and sad woman. There was something so beautiful about the way she carried her pain. She couldn’t explain the reason why she was pulled to Ansel but she couldn’t stay away. I loved that she was able to let her guard down and Ansel in. Seeing her laugh and light up and live for the first time in years changed the game.
And when the truth of just how Ansel and Indy were connected came out, it was a drama bomb and they were both thrown off kilter. The magic of Max Monroe struck gold again. There is just something so special about The Girl in the Painting. Was it a bit predictable? Yes. Did I mind? Not one bit. I was so wrapped up in the chemistry and romance and wonder between Indy and Ansel that I couldn’t stop reading and I certainly didn’t want it to end.
Max Monroe has a knack for getting me so involved with a story that I start reading and the next thing that I know, it’s a few hours later and the book is almost finished.
This book stayed true to that.
It’s not exactly a book with lots of laughs, like so many of their others. But it is probably their best book yet in terms of feels.
I definitely loved it and will reread it soon.
At the beginning of The Girl in the Painting, Ansel is an obviously angry man who’s lost his sight. That alone is bad enough, but as he’s a painter, it’s even worse. So his bitterness is understandable. But then a visit to his doctor yields positive information. Cue 4 years later and Ansel is still a moody, broody man, but his vision has returned and he’s been painting again and is on the verge of an exhibition of his work. And it’s here where Indy sees herself in his painting. She’s never met the artist, never even heard of him, so how is she so prominently displayed in his work?!
Guys, I LOVED The Girl in the Painting!! It’s quite unlike some of Max Monroe’s more recent stories, but it’s soooo good! It’s kind of angsty and heartbreaking in places, but honestly, Ansel and Indy (love those names!) are perfect together, perfect for each other. I do have to admit I love me some broody men, even if they do get on my nerves, but Ansel’s broodiness is particularly attractive when paired with his artist mindset. And the little twist, although I sorta predicted it, is a great device in their story. I love how it moved the whole story forward and made everything make sense. I really cannot say enough great things about TGITP so I’ll just leave here – it’s a beautiful, slightly angsty, moving story and Indy and Ansel are a fabulous couple. Bravo Max Monroe!!
Oh this book was everything! It was so much more than I expected and that is saying a lot since I love these authors but it was deep, emotional and shocking. What I really loved (besides the great characters and awesome writing) was that the story was so different than others I’ve read but yet it still had everything I love in a romance story.
Ansel and Indy have some serious obstacles in their lives. For years they have each suffered separately. Neither knew the other existed until one fateful night changes everything about their future.
I absolutely loved this book and devoured in record time! This book definitely has to be at the top of your must read list!
Oh this book was everything! It was so much more than I expected and that is saying a lot since I love these authors but it was deep, emotional and shocking. What I really loved (besides the great characters and awesome writing) was that the story was so different than others I’ve read but yet it still had everything I love in a romance story.
Ansel and Indy have some serious obstacles in their lives. For years they have each suffered separately. Neither knew the other existed until one fateful night changes everything about their future.
I absolutely loved this book and devoured in record time! This book definitely has to be at the top of your must read list!
This review can be found on my blog: professorromance.blog.
My first foray into Max Monroe was through an ARC for 4th and Girl (see my review here). The meet cute for that book along with its humor and character development captured me and lighted my Max Monroe fire. After that book, I read their Jerk series and their Billionaire series. I honestly have never laughed as much at a book as I did with that series. As far as I was concerned, along with Jana Aston, they owned the crown for rom-com Queens.
When they began teasing a new book through their Facebook group, of course I was on board. Signing up for an ARC was a given. However, when the cover and blurb reveal were dispatched for publication, I was intrigued. This didn’t look like their typical rom-com fare. Around the same time, they posted the Spotify playlist for this book (find it here). Then, I knew. This wouldn’t be like the books I’d read by them. And, after reading it, I was right.
Unlike my other review posts, I usually give some brief, very basic synopsis of the book. I am going nowhere near it this time. I want everyone to read this with only Max Monroe’s blurb in your mind. There is too much special with this book to divulge any of its secrets, so I won’t.
Instead, what I need you to know is this:
I cannot move past this book yet. I finished it in one day three days ago (it’s Thursday, the 28th), and it will not leave my soul.
I am obsessing over the playlist for this book. I listen to it every day so I can try to recapture the magic of this book.
This book has a visceral, cinematic quality to it. There are two scenes in particular: a scene in the subway and a scene in Ansel’s studio that played out in my mind like I was watching a movie. Additionally, this book reminded me of a certain movie (of which I will not name because it will give you too much information — if you want to know it, then PM me). It played through my soul like a movie reel.
If you like cosmic, soul-deep connections in your books/romance tales, then you NEED this book. Those types of stories (see authors like Jewel E. Ann, Dylan Allen, Kennedy Ryan, etc) are my favorites because the connection between the characters is more than sex, more than sweet meet-cutes, more than the circumstances of the story. They reach into your heart and re-arrange it. The Girl in the Painting is this type of book. It is the type of story that stays with you days, months, years later.
Ansel and Indy are individuals who survive the grittiness of life to find connection. Together, they are poetic, magic. You cannot have one without the other and derive any meaning from the story. Their pairing is the brilliance of this book.
I am fairly certain, if you’ve read this far, that you know the gravity of this The Girl in the Painting to me. Max Monroe shocked me with it. They’ve reminded me once again why I will always read their books. Whether they are making me laugh uproariously or cry through a box of tissues, I’m officially hooked on their brand of romance.
P.S. When you read this book, please listen to the Spotify playlist. You will not regret it.
Overall: ++
Take your breath away amazing…Max Monroe outdid themselves with their latest book. The story of Ansel Bray and Indigo “Indy” Davis is nothing short of one of the most beautiful, heartfelt books I have ever read. No spoilers here.
I need half stars! 4.5 for sure.
This story was just so well put together and lovely. The characters are relatable and likeable, even when they are being a total nightmare or completely ridiculous. Ansel and Indy are fantastic characters, and their story is just so enjoyable to read.
I will say that I figured out a number of the twists really early, but it didn’t detract at all from the story. This was a beautifully constructed work, through and through.
I was prepared to hate Ansel for a lot longer than I did. I was ready to fall head over heels for Bram (maybe soon if he gets his own story) but ended up doing it for Ansel, more than once. I wanted to relate less to Indy, but dang if she isn’t super likeable! The art / music tie-ins and flavor of this book are rich and something to be savored.
Admittedly my eyes rolled at the opening blurb because it seemed a bit ostentatious, but it was really not that oversold. This was truly great, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
A tragic accident takes something very precious from the famous painter Ansel Bray- his sight. He is offered an eye transplant and prays it will work. Years later he is back in his studio painting an image he can’t get rid of; a beautiful woman with the deepest blue eyes.
Indy Davis lives a quiet life. She is a music teacher and lives by her playlist. One night she goes to an art gallery opening and stumbles upon a picture that looks just like her. Emotions flood her and she can’t seem to know why this artist painted her.
A chance that, when I open my eyes, the world around me is no longer empty and black, but is instead vivid and bright
Ansel finds out that a painting looks like a beautiful woman. He meets her and they begin a friendship that is easy. Indy and Ansel have a lot in common as they grow from friends to more.
When she looks at me, when she looks into my eyes, all she sees is him
This story is beautiful and had me hooked so damn fast. I just can read their love over and over. See more on release day on A Day With Ethel- YouTube-
https://youtu.be/v397S6ld9No
Magic. This book is pure magic. From the second I started, I couldn’t stop. I wanted to savor this book but I also wanted to plow through to the end.
This duo is insanely skilled at rom-coms and I think it’s amazing how well they write books outside of that genre. This book was angsty and heartbreaking and hopeful. It made me believe that fate exists and that everything in life happens for a reason.
This is definitely going to be one of my favorite books of 2019! Now, I just need some more Bram in my life 🙂
*This is my voluntary review of an advanced reader copy*
I finished this book about three days ago and I’m still trying to find the right words to describe The Girl in the Painting because it was THAT GOOD! I always know when I read a new book by Max Monroe that it’s going to be a great read and this book is no exception. I love how these ladies constantly surprise me. It’s never the same book, with different characters, over and over again. I’m not going to recap the book because it’ll give too much away.
However, these two quotes from the book have stayed with me:
From Ansel Bray, temperamental artist, creative, broody, handsome hero, who can’t get Indy Davis out of his head:
“She’s a red string tied to my finger, and I can’t forget her. Can’t shake her. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing, what I’m focused on, she’s always in the back of my mind, her name is always on the tip of my tongue.”
From Indy Davis, music lover and teacher, talented, beautiful, skeptical heroine, who has never met Ansel Bray before seeing her face in one of his paintings:
“…those eyes. I feel like they can see everything. Like they can see me. All of my good and my bad and my ugly. All of my imperfections. All of my hopes and dreams.”
Even though I had an inkling of where this story was heading, it didn’t stop me from enjoying the ride ~ the ups, downs, happy, sadness, love, loss and back again. This book is a roller coaster of emotions and it was my pleasure to read every word. Can’t wait to see what’s next from this uber-talented duo.