Sandrine Salome flees New York for her grandmother’s Paris mansion to escape her dangerous husband, but what she finds there is even more menacing. The house, famous for its lavish art collection and elegant salons, is mysteriously closed up. Although her grandmother insists it’s dangerous for Sandrine to visit, she defies her and meets Julien Duplessi, a mesmerizing young architect. Together they explore the hidden night world of Paris, the forbidden occult underground and Sandrine’s deepest desires.

I think this book was exactly what I needed after the romp that was the last two books of the Leviathan Wakes series. It's quiet and arty and introspective. It was mythological and historical and magical and subtle above all else, and I really loved it. ( )

A bit disappointed by this one, it started well and the last couple of chapters had me engaged but a bit meh for me - I have the other two in this trilogy so I hope they are better. Also this trilogy were very much cover buys as they are stunning. ( )

Actual Rating: 1.5 Stars
The Witch of Painted Sorrows was a sore disappointment for me. When I first heard about it, I was super intrigued by the synopsis and cover. I don’t read many books set in historical time periods, but the promise of remarkable fantasy and romance aspects pulled me in. Who am I to turn down two of my favorite genres? Also, being published under Atria Indie played a factor into my ARC request. I usually end up loving most of the Atria Indie books I read like The Sea of Tranquility, Hopeless, Sweet Thing, etc, so of course I was pumped to dive into it.

As an avid reader, I’ve become pretty fast at reading, but The Witch of Painted Sorrows seemed to take me forever to finish. In comparison to the time I usually take to finish a book, it felt like I had been reading the book for the whole day. It moved so slowly! I almost DNFed it multiple times but continued to dredge through in hopes that it would improve. Sadly, that was not the case. It seems like I’m a black sheep for this one, but I just couldn’t get into it. I couldn’t connect to any part of the book at all.

The main character was pretty much crazy and irritating. She refused to take the advice of her grandmother, and virtually accepted the presence of La Lune which is weird. The pacing of the novel was very slow, but then there would be parts with massive amounts of info dumping, which I admittedly skimmed at times. The romance was honestly unappealing. I mean, there’s a scene in which Sandrine tries to seduce Julien while he’s asleep O.o The end had little resolution yet there’s no direct sequel (the second book is about another character).

Overall, the synopsis of The Witch of Painted Sorrows was intriguing, but sadly it was not the book for me. ( )

Although the first in this series, this is the third novel written by this Author and, to be honest I’ve not read either of the previous two. However the synopsis intrigued me and held a certain promise, so I set off to wind my way through its pages.

I’m going to come straight out and say this; I did not like the main protagonist at all. I did not understand her or her motivation for anything she did, and had even less understanding for those things she didn’t do but probably should have. As much as I tried I could not find myself either empathising or sympathising with her in anyway which resulted in her just being a downright annoyance throughout the whole novel. Why she had to keep banging on about her one and only failed attempt at watercolour painting just confused the heck out of me, and she seems to use this as an excuse for all her bad behaviour and dishonesty when related to art school. I did feel sorry for her Grandmother who tried her hardest to steer the lead character in the right direction but was constantly ignored and dismissed. But again I was also disappointed in her, for a woman who had made a living in her given profession she was not very strong willed at all, and usually ended up just giving in to the main character for the sake of a quiet life I felt.

So why did I give this book a three thumbs rating? As already said it was not the characters that helped the novel achieve this rating, but rather the location and the way in which the Author used the words on the page. The streets of Old Paris leapt of the page through the descriptions of the courtyards around which people made their homes, and the words rolled of the page not in a rush and bluster but as if they were taking a leisurely stroll down the Champs Elysees on a warm summer day. As much as I enjoyed the relaxed way in which the book was written I felt somewhat let down too; after all the synopsis had promised witchery and there was nothing remotely ominous and witchy that I could find in these pages. Maybe I like my witches too dark, and the kind featured here were just so innocuous they escaped my attention.

If you are already familiar with this Author, you may just enjoy this book; as for me I doubt very much that I will be reading anything by her again... as the saying goes ‘it wasn’t you, it’s me’


Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2015/10/19/review-the-witch-of-painted-sorrows-the-da...




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I have for a while now wanted to read an M.J. Rose book. The stories in the books have intrigued me and I love the covers for them. I was quite glad when I got the chance to read this new one.

Sandrine Salome has left her husband and fled New York to take refuge at her grandmother's house in Paris. But she discovers when she gets there that her grandmother is planning to turn the house into a museum and she also forbids Sandrine to visit the house. But she can't help feeling drawn to the house and one day she defies her grandmother and goes to the house and there she meets Julien Duplessi, the architect that is to turn the house into a museum. With Julien, Sandrine feels something she hasn't felt with her husband; passion. But will the passion ultimately destroy her? Because the women in her family are said to being under a curse; that they should never love anyone that that will only lead to destruction...

I was quickly drawn into the story of this book about courtesans, witches, possessions, and passion. It was an intriguing story and very beautifully written. Sandrine starts out as a young woman in mourning for her father and for her failed marriage, but as the story progress she changes, she starts to paint and it consumes her. But as she learns more and more about her family's story about La Lune, the famous courtesan she slowly starts to lose herself to La Lune. Was La Lune a witch? A woman desperate to live again century's after her death? Sandrine's grandmother tries everything to keep her from the house, from painting. Everything that has to do with La Lune, but Sandrine is in love and love is the very thing that La Lune feeds on...

As I read on I soon got a feeling of doom about the ending. I just knew that this book couldn't end happy and the ending was...let's say I really want to read the next book in the series!

In the end, I just want to say that I’m I enjoyed reading The Witch of Painted Sorrow very much and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series and other books that M.J. Rose has written.

I received a copy from the publisher and france book tours in return for an honest review! ( )