The Lady with the Dark Hair by Erin Bartels

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Esther Markstrom has banked her whole life on her familial ties to the great artist Francisco Vella. What will she do if that is lost? How will she respond to a change in identity? Can she believe that she is still somebody with value even if what she has believed her whole life isn't actually the truth?

Viviana Torrens has been orphaned and left without family. She has run for her life, changed her identity multiple times and simply wants a place to belong where she can be who she really is. She just wants to paint and to be recognized as having something of value even as a female artist in a time in history where women artists were not recognized or appreciated.

Both ladies are caught in an identity crisis. What will they do? I'll leave you to read the book, though that question isn't completely answered in the book for either lady. But the journey that they both go through is in the book and you, as the reader, can search for yourself what you would do in their situations. 

I know that doesn't give you much about the book, but that is all I'm going to say at this point. Erin Bartels has done it again with a great book. I'm not huge into art, so in that way, it's maybe not one of my favorite books, but yet the questions in the book still apply to real life today. Do I have an identity outside of what I do and who my ancestors are? Can I still have worth when my current life is turned upside down?

I really enjoyed the book and received a copy from Revell in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions expressed are my own. 

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