“It’s a bit depressing how facts seem to hide more than they reveal.” – Molly Goode, museum curator Less than a year on the job, Molly finds herself tasked with at a make-or-break crossroads with Evelyn Fox, the frosty and exacting Director. In order to carry out the final bequest of their longtime benefactor, George […]
via Review: Love’s Portrait — Omnivore Bibliosaur
The theme for this year’s BSB book festival blog tour is ‘fun’, and what the word means to us. Well, to be frank, I always approach the word ‘fun’ with the appropriate amount of cynicism and measured caution that the word deserves. This is because how I interpret the word ‘fun’ entirely depends on the […]
via Breaking down fun by Anna Larner — Bold Strokes Books, UK
Molly Goode draws you into the book and into her from the first dialogue. Committed, passionate, idealistic, open, funny, giving…she is completely adorable. The other MC, Georgina Wright, starts off tilting towards being an Ice Queen, but is mercifully, as open to Molly as Molly truly deserves.
Brief synopsis: Molly is a newly appointed art curator of a museum. Wright Foundation is one of the main benefactors of the said museum. Georgina’s father willed a fairish number of artifacts to the museum, and now Georgina has to hand over the bequest. She seems to be dragging her feet and Molly is assigned the task to get Georgina going on it. However, the first time the two MCs meet, Georgina has come to the museum to find the provenance of one particular painting of one of her ancestors’, Josephine. At that point Molly doesn’t know who Georgina is. The painting captures Molly’s imagination and the story unfolds on two levels: the growing relationship between Molly and Georgina and the relationship between Josephine and Edith (the painter of the portrait) two hundred years back.
This was a complex story to cultivate but has been excellently executed. While all the characters are beautifully developed but the tortured Josephine and completely lovable Molly really burrow into your heart. The relationship between the two MCs grabs you and the chemistry is oh, so there.
Definitely recommended.
Review by Best Lesfic Reviews
This book pulled me in so amazingly fast I’m pretty sure I got reading whiplash. It was awesome (except for Evelyn, I would like to flatten her nose a couple of times in rapid succession, although, I think that that was the purpose of the character).
It’s the story of Molly and Georgina. Molly is an art curator who is passionate about her job and about diversifying the museum where she works for’s collection.
And when Georgina’s father dies she is put in charge of a foundation that sometimes supports the museum. Also, she has to pack up her father’s house, which is near the museum. She comes to a painting that is neither going to the museum with her father’s other art, or willed to her, and so she enlist’s Molly’s help (through the entirely unpleasant director of the museum, Evelyn) to find out who painted the portrait of Georgina’s ancestor and why.
Needless to say, they get closer as they work together to solve the painting’s mystery, but, they both have issues (of different sorts) and so the question is, can they overcome their pasts to enjoy their present and future?
What was most impressive about this novel was the emotion throughout the book, the whole novel seemed to vibrate with all sorts of different emotions. Especially the stuff that was set in the 1800s, which I loved.
It was an amazing book, complex and compelling.
I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.
Review by From Bella To Ylva
Looking for something to read over the Easter holidays – maybe in a beer garden with a pint or in the bath with a large glass of wine or flat out on the sofa with a cadbury creme egg?
Have a listen to me read from my new novel Love’s Portrait and see if it might be the book for you this Easter.
The Lesbian Talk Show is podcast channel for women about women.
Listen here
Here’s what some lovely people have had to say so far…
Sparks fly between Molly, an art curator, and Georgina, her museum’s aloof benefactor, as they research the portrait of a 19th-century lesbian social activist and try to convince the museum’s board to display it. – Publishers Weekly
What an interesting book this has been! There is a passion that flows throughout the whole story and that surrounds you completely…it is really interesting and very, very recommendable. – Netgalley
I loved it, it’s got a bit of class and a gentle pace that curls around you. – Clare Lydon
It’s the perfect mixture of love, romance and belonging. – Kitty Kat’s Review Blog
It’s not too much of a leap to say that, if Jane Austen was writing lesbian romance fiction today, she might have come up with something akin to ‘Love’s Portrait’! – Goodreads
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Love’s Portrait is a vibrant contemporary lesbian romance with a historical twist. Sparks fly between Molly, an art curator, and Georgina, her museum’s aloof benefactor, as they research the portrait of a 19th-century lesbian social activist and try to convince the museum’s board to display it.
***
“My intention?” Molly instantly thought again of Edith’s gravestone. The absence of her achievements or mention of who she might have loved or been loved by. Molly took a deep breath. “I want visitors to know that love between women exists throughout history. I want to correct the omission of this truth in the museum and in our public consciousness. What’s more, I want Edith to be able to recognize herself in her display. For her to say that’s me—that is my work, that is my passion, that is my love. You have captured me as I see myself.”
Love’s Portrait, April…
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Thanks Kitty. ♥♥♥
‘Love;’s Portrait’ is a perfect mixture of love, romance and belonging. Molly Goode is a fine art curator in Leicester, wishing to bring more diversity to the museum where she works. Georgina Wright is an important benefactor, albeit a reluctant one. She comes across as a bit of an Ice Queen but spending time with Molly begins to thaw her cool exterior. When Georgina needs help to research a painting in her collection, Molly is instructed by her boss to take on the task.
I liked Molly from the start. She was sweet, a bit ditsy and completely unaware of how wonderful she is. She worries about saying and doing the wrong thing and I found her completely adorable. Georgina was a woman in pain, dealing with grief and hurt, and I had high hopes that Molly would be the woman to see her through that. I felt compelled to…
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