Reviews

Painted Scars by Neva Altaj

pot_of_insecuritea's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.5

welcometomyescape's review against another edition

3.0

Wwwwhhhhhhyyyyyyyy?? This book has so much I don't like - toxic platonic/family relationships marketed as normal, a trope that irritates me that I can't say without spoilers, an extreme borderline creepy height difference and describing her early on either as a teenager or looking like one, a buttoned up ending unnecessarily, telling their feelings/growth instead of showing it, etc etc.

But I didn't hate it, and it still gave me the vibes I was looking for?

I liked Nina and the art aspects, how she had a slightly weird trait that made her ideal for the situation, and her overall until like the last 15% of the book I felt like I was reading a completely different character.

Also the smut was so ridiculously fast it gave me phantom pain for the character and no. If you don't want to write those scenes, cool, make it a closed door book. I don't want to read three sentences of rushed "slammed it in" "best one minute orgasm of my life." Like noooo just don't include it at all!

kendall_ereader's review against another edition

2.5

Not  bad but it is very light to me. It was boring to me. I was deciding if i should quit it. I'm not reading the next  book in the series. The was very basic and i didn't feel anything. I was shocked a few times only because of the

money

. Tik Tok overhyped this one.

HE has a foot fetish. She is scared of men taller than her. They got a divorce because she saw him kill the guy who hurt her and they got back together after 3 months. The nickname for him is dangerous kitty in russian and her nickname is little one in russian. The smut is so bad, it reminds me of a middle schooler. It lacks so much. The mafia is barely mentioned in this book. I get why Nina divorced him but he saved her. THE WHOLE PLOT was "WHO IS BUGGING MY HOUSE?" All i can picture is 70 year old walking with cane instead your 35. NO WOMEN WANTS TO CALLED EXOTIC. Never heard a man call a women , never again. BRANDO IS THE BEST CHARACTER IN THE BOOK, The dog is the best!!

shelly1012's review against another edition

emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

jalvarez's review against another edition

4.0

Okay, the hype was worth it. TikTok was finally right with this one. If you’re into mafia book romance then this is for you and it’s less than 300 pgs. I’ll say a 3.75 stars overall, but give it a 4. Not the best mafia romance book I’ve read, but definitely entertaining and I’ll keep reading until I’m not lol.

laurencedumas's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

kaelasbooked's review against another edition

4.0

if you know me, you know I love a mafia book but also throw in a marriage of convenience & I’m sold! I also think i have a thing for Russian Mafia men whose names start with an R. I first loved Ronan Markov and now Roman Petrov… YEP. low level spice and I shocking still loved it so much. I need a man to call me malysh/malyshka ughhhh
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

rararararaz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bookshelfbabe24_'s review against another edition

5.0

This was amazing!

I really loved this story! Roman making the men sit when she enters a room so she doesn’t get triggered is a major swoon! I love that and him helping her get over her fear on him being on top of her hit something deep! That’s very compassionate of him! I love Nina and Roman together! That breakup had me ready to throw my iPad lmaoooo! I can’t wait to read the rest of the books. I’m nit putting this series off any longer!

cala_p's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

As hyped as this book is, I definitely thought I’d enjoy it more. It was just okay. Unfortunate because with the plot and the characters, it was set up to be amazing. Something really inspiring and emotional, but fell pretty flat for me. The characters had little chemistry and I didn’t feel them falling in love. Then randomly toward the end, she decides she can’t handle a criminal and has the stupidest third-act breakup that felt entirely unnecessary for the sake of drama. 

It kept me entertained, sure, but not in a way that has me binging the entire series in one go. I will continue and try a few more but maybe on an occasional basis rather than binging them back-to-back.

Favourite Quote:

“I will be killing anyone who dares to hurt you,” I whisper. “I’ll just make sure you don’t find out next time.”