I’ve read this book previously, must have been under a different publisher. I enjoyed reading it again and it still deserves every one of its five stars! I love there being a disabled character too, not enough representation of people with disabilities in fiction. You won’t be disappointed in this lovely romance.

I enjoyed reading Emily's Art and Soul. This isn't a fast paced or action packed type of novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat. This is a sweet story focused on Emily's coming to terms with a lot of changes in her life and discovering who she is and what she really wants. Argento writes well and the story includes a bit of humour, family, and romance.

Not sure why this has such a strong rating. I gave up very close to the end because the characters and the story are so one dimensional and it becomes so cliched. It's a short story at best, made unnecessarily long with superfluous detail like Andi drives a Toyota Camry, what they cooked for dinner, the name of the drinks they ordered at the bar and by the time it gets where it's going it's just a complete anti-climax. Couldn't recommend it but clearly liked by some.

3.5 stars. All around sweet read. Nothing much happens in this book but I do enjoy slice-of-life'y books. I liked the characters and I liked the low key chemistry. What I didn't enjoy is my most hated trope - communication issues. It's certainly not the most egregious of comm issues but it's still annoying.

Emily's Art & Soul is a sweet late in life love story and a love between two sisters. Emily is a teacher, getting divorced, and is taking care of her younger sister Mindy who has Downs syndrome. Her co-worker is Andi who is an out lesbian and then become best of friends. This is a cute story that I would recommend for my friends to read.

3.5 stars This was an enjoyable romance about discovering one's true sexuality. It also touches on people with disabilities and learning to cope after the loss of a loved one. This is a nice afternoon read with worthy characters.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Emily's Art and Soul is a very good romance. We see Emily suddenly caring for her Down's Syndrome sister, while finding herself and coming out as a mature woman, and testing but ultimately resolving her relationship with new best friend Andi. Overall the book is an easy and enjoyable read, but it is a little rushed and forced at the end. I like books where I learn something new and that is true in this case with Mindy's lovely personality.
Overall a worthy read, I liked it a lot, and it is recommended.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an unbias review.

Emily's Art and Soul is an enjoyable story about a 35-year-old woman who is just coming out of a divorce where she wondered why she was in the relationship in the first place. Her mother has recently died and she is now in charge of taking care of her sister who has Down's Syndrome. Her life has been turned upside down. This is when she meets Andi, a fellow teacher, and becomes friends with her. Over time, Emily begins to realize that she has been hiding who she really is, that she is gay. After playing the field and experiencing some lesbian encounters, she can no longer hide her feelings for Andi and their relationship takes off.

I found for the most part that the story was enjoyable. There were times in the book where I felt the story was too formulaic. The pacing of the story was varied throughout, with some parts being covered almost moment by moment and others were covered at breakneck speed. The last few chapters seemed much too fast, almost like the author was trying to come up with a way to end the book as fast as possible. The interaction with Emily telling her father she was gay, him blowing up at her, the whole fiasco that creates with Andi and then 2 days later her father is ok with her being gay seemed very unrealistic and is part of the pacing issues the book has.

Overall the story is good and I enjoyed the character development between Emily and Andi. It just didn't flow as well as I would have liked and the ending chapters just seemed to fly by way too quickly. It is a good quick read, but not ones of my favorites.

I think that Mindy was the star of this story!

I also really enjoy the banter between Emily and Andi. Their journey to getting together was frustrating, at times. Even though, when we're told, it makes sense why Andi was quiet at first.

The misunderstanding they had when Emily didn't communicate as fast as Andi thought she should was a stereotypical situation in this time of cell phones, messaging, and instant access. It's too bad that Emily's response was to think "I should do better" instead of explaining that she wasn't even looking at her phone.

All around, a really good book.

I was totally and pleasantly surprised by this book! I believe it was self published at some point before and has now been picked up by Bold Strokes Books.

Recently divorced Emily has also recently started a new job in a new city, and her younger sister with Down's syndrome has moved in with her after their mother passed away. Theres a lot of big changes in Emily's life, but none as big as her coming realization that she may be attracted to women. She enlists her new friend Andi to help her navigate her new dating world, but as the two women spend more and more time with each other, they realize that what they're looking for has been right in front of them all along.

I loved how natural this book was - easy dialogue and realistic situations. It was a comfy, cozy, and fun read. I liked how Emily discovered her sexuality and explored it as well. It made for a very realistic story. The friendship she and Andi has was beautiful evolution into something more! Their relationship was super cute and really sexy - they had great chemistry.

I felt like the ending started to get a little rushed, a lot happened and was resolved very quickly. But I can't give this anything less than five stars because I enjoyed it immensely and couldn't stop reading.

I really enjoyed the authors descriptions of various artworks - they really came alive on the page and added a lot to the story.

This is my first book by the author and I'm sure it won't be the last.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Being a fan of Ms Argento’s I was very pleased to see this book because having read her earlier work I just knew I’d more than likely enjoy this new book as much as I enjoyed her other books. Emily Sanders didn’t have any plans to get divorced or move to a new city and starting a new teaching job but she certainly didn’t plan on taking on the care of her younger sister Mindy who has Downs syndrome when her mother unexpectedly passes. Fellow teacher Andi Marino is an out lesbian and quickly becomes best friends with the very straight Emily. When Emily finds herself identifying as a lesbian she decides to ask her new friend Andi to fix her up with other women so she can explore this new world she finds herself. Problem is Andi has fallen in love with Emily. A very nice, gentle read. Very, very enjoyable.
ARC via NetGalley

Emily Sanders is facing a few challenges in life. She's recently divorced from her husband, her mum passed away and she has to take care of her 23 year old Down syndrome sister. But the biggest challenge of all comes in the shape of her new co-worker, Andi Marino who is beautiful, caring and a lesbian. Andi not only becomes her best friend but makes Emily wonder about her own sexuality.

Despite the seriousness of certain issues touched by this novel such as bereavement, Down syndrome and coming out at 35, this is a positive and humorous story. Ms. Argento sets this light tone through the leads' dialogues which are funny, full of banter and innuendo. Even Emily's interior monologues while examining her sexuality are amusing. Her explorations into the lesbian world provides a peculiar but, at the same time, familiar point of view. There are a few hilarious moments like the speed dating incident or the golf scene which are done really well.

Written in third person from the point of view of both main characters, the leads are well rounded and credible. As a 'friends to lovers' romance the author skillfully transforms their budding friendship to an increasing intimacy. Mindy, Emily's Down syndrome sister, is a great secondary character, very realistic in her traits and interactions with other people. Her fresh outlook on life and her 'best friend' declarations help to keep the upbeat tone.

I think the author draw a lot of her life experience in this book (her brother has Down syndrome, it's set in the area where she lives and, like Emily, she is an artist specialised in oil paintings) which makes the story sound really authentic. My only issue with this book is that the light tone set throughout the novel is lost temporarily in a forced conflict between the main characters. Even though the conflict seems realistic it sticks out like a sore thumb. Luckily this is a short interruption of what otherwise is a very entertaining read.

Overall, a light and humorous story of the 'friends to lovers' trope along with a late coming out. 4 stars.

ARC provided by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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A sweet romance for that 1st time love.

If you're looking for something about that 1st time love then this is the book for you.
Well written and a story that will keep you turning the pages.

Would I recommend...YES

Outstanding!!! I loved the chemistry between the characters. The way Andi was with Mindy just melted my heart. I am so happy I was able to enjoy such a sweet romance that also had me laughing and wanting more.

Emily’s Art and Soul by Joy Argento is a very light-hearted contemporary romance that left me with a good feeling as I read it. This is a coming out and a coming together story, first as friends and later as lovers. I also like the fact that the main characters are in their middle age, so this is a late coming out for Emily.

The novel had several elements that I enjoyed including a sometimes subtle and sometimes goofy sense of humor. To me this made the characters seem more real. The pace of the story is good, and though the storyline is mostly about the coming out and the budding romance, it kept my interest and was an entertaining read. My favorite character was Mindy, Emily’s younger sister who has Down Syndrome. Ms. Argento did an excellent job creating this character, and I enjoyed seeing her every time she appeared in the story.

If you want a sweet, feel good romance that will leave you with a smile on your face, this would be a good book to choose.

I received this book from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

This story was nice, But after they got together I was dying for the book to finish. What more do we need ! then i started to get very annoyed by some of the dialogue going around so un realistic sometimes. the majority of it was very enjoyable. so I do recommend giving this book a shot.

Giving a free copy en exchange of honest opinion

Emily moves from Rochester to Syracuse to start fresh after divorce. Shortly after moving her mom passes away and she decides to have her sister Mindy who has Down’s syndrome come to live with her. So now she is in a new city, starting her new job as an art teacher at the local High School, no friends and her sister to care for. Emily meets Andi on the first day at work. She is instantly attracted to Andi but is conflicted because she is straight. Emily and Andi become fast friends at the school year progresses.

There was a lot of things I liked about this book. I really liked how Emily and Andi got to know each other before pursuing each other. They get along very well and have great chemistry. I also really like Emily’s relationship with her sister Mindy and how Andi interacts with Mindy. I also enjoyed how Andi let’s Emily do her thing instead of just immediately telling Emily that she likes her. The books just moves well. There are a couple of things that did bother me. The angst at the end felt fabricated. It sorta of didn’t fall in line with the story. Also there was a point in the book that felt repetitive.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I give this one 4 stars.

3.5 Stars. This is a review for the new version of Emily’s Art and Soul being released in a few days. Argento self-published a version of this book back in 2011. I don’t know how much of the story has changed since she signed with Bold Strokes Books because I never read the original. However, this new version was a nice sweet read.

I’m still out of work for the next couple weeks so I actually spent most of the day trying to think of what I wanted to say about this book. This was a pleasant read and I thought it was well written, it’s just the kind of book that not a lot happens. It was on the line of almost being not enough to keep my attention. I’m glad that didn’t happen and I made it through without being bored but I’m struggling to think of talking points and that doesn’t happen to my opinionated self too often.

This is a later in age coming out story. The story was pretty sweet with likeable characters. Many other reviewers mentioned the humor, I personally didn’t really think this was funny, especially not laugh out loud funny. But keep in mind my book funny-bone seems to be broken. There is very little angst. A tiny bit popped out towards the end but it was still really light.

If you are looking for a lighter storyline with only a tiny bit of angst, this book may be for you. I liked this enough that I would read another book by Argento in the future.

This story deals with the issue of the coming out of the closet at a mature age, after being married and after a divorce. But although I personally do not relate to this, I think it's pretty well developed. The book also deals with intellectual disability with very good taste and respect.

Emily is a high shool art teacher, recently divorced, she is starting a new job in a new city and has to take care of her sister, who has Down syndrome, after the death of her mother and the lack of capacity of her father, mired in great sadness after the death of his wife.

In her new job, she meets Andi, the math teacher, who becomes her friend and offers to be her guide at school and outside of school.

Although Emily feels an instant attraction towards Andi, not considering herself gay does not understand her reaction very well. But his coming out of the closet is not completely related to Andi, to her chagrin. Because Andi, out and proud lesbian herself,  must asist to a series of Emily's attempts to figure out her real self, sexuallity related: blind dates, an attempt to date a woman that she meets in an art market. And Andi always remains stoically at Emily's beck and call, wether to advice her or to take care of Mindy, Emily's sister.

The story is pretty enjoyable, romantic and sweet. I've really liked it and recommend it.

This was a disappointing romance novel. Both characters lacked chemistry and Emily's sexual exploration seemed forced. Emily is divorced and lives with her special needs sister.. while at her new job she meets Andi and begins to experience sexual feelings her. They go on a few friendly outings and Andi begins to really like Emily but she seems to think Emily only likes her as a friend. Then Emily does a 380 and begins to date other women. This abrupt change of pace takes us away from the budding romance between the main characters.

Eventually Emily realizes her feelings for Andi and pursues her. I was unconvinced that they really cared for each other. The story lacked depth and characterization.

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.