Reviews tagging 'War'

Painted Scars by Neva Altaj

5 reviews

abicaro17's review

dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

I love Roman and Ninas banter omg!!! Nina, is an artist who is blackmailed into marrying the head of the Russian mafia after her father embezzled 3 million dollars. Roman, is the leader of the Russian mob who is learning how to walk after an explosion that destroyed his knee. I love this book. I was kicking my feet and giggling the whole time. My only issue is the whole "Nina is like a sprite she's so small" thing. It's weird anytime an author does this and Nina is not an exception unfortunately. Otherwise the banter, plot, and conclusion were all awesome and it was a fun read overall. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Body horror, Gun violence, Stalking, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Torture, Medical content, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Body shaming, War, Sexual content, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Grief

sameeha_r05's review

dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and War

fnicholee's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, and Violence

ednam0dewannabe's review

dark emotional funny fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Sexual content

Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Vomit, War, and Domestic abuse

keiwald's review

dark slow-paced

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

1.25

The writing style is lackluster. 
No imagery, so descriptive narrative. Not spicy. 1/5 spice. 

While duel first person perspective, you don't get any emotional insight into the character unless they say "I'm angry" or "im sad". It's all tell, no show. 

I read this because TikTok mentioned

the man orders his men to sit when she walks into the room to midigate her PTSD response to tall men

. That scene is not in the book. The girl tell him she noticed he did that, but as the reader, we were never shown that. Had we seen it, it would have gone a long way into showing his protective and caring nature, but saying it doesn't have the same impact, especially with no other conversation about it.

That's one example, but the whole book is written that way. I am to believe she is a phenomenal artist, but the author describes her work in colors and items. 
A man with megaphone head. Mostly grayscale. 
That tells me nothing! What is the flow? Use words with different connotations! Does the shadows cast across the subjects face, obscuring the lift of his smile? Does the run radiate through the air and toss dancing sparkles through the ocean waves?

The author did not paint a single scene in that book. 

That's before the red flags in the relationships and the

divorcing because of legitimate trauma responses to the mafia life, then getting remarried because she loves him and can over come it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Gore, Vomit, Violence, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and War