A review by emeraldmachireads
Painted Scars by Neva Altaj

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

“I love you so much, I would burn the fucking world for you.” ೃ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚ 

ᯓ★ Rating.
⤿ Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0
⤿ Spice: 🌶🌶🌶 3.0

› Genre: Dark Romance, New Adult Fiction
› Tropes: Mafia Romance, Age Gap, Arranged Marriage, Touch Her and You Die, Sassy FMC, Possessive MMC, Opposites Attract
› Fast-Paced, Dual POV

ೃ — Another recommendation from my bestfriend, and I loved this book so much! The story revolves around Roman, the Russian mafia boss. A failed assassination attempt has resulted in his knee being ruined and he's currently on a wheelchair and working through physical therapy to regain the ability to walk. Rumors start to spread that leads him needing a wife to distract his men from his lingering injury; and Nina, a badass painter, who needs to either marry Roman, or her father—who stole huge money from the Russians and lost it in a ponzi scheme—will be killed. As there arrangement begins, Nina must also be a very convincing actress as she role plays the Russian trophy wife.

First of all, I'm not sure if words are enough to describe how much I enjoyed this book. The plot, characters, and the banters were all perfect. It was surface-level writing, Neva Altaj did not focus mainly in describing the mafia stuff, but she still managed to do a great job in making sure that we would not forget that it's a mafia romance. Roman was not the usual mafia boss we read in other books—intimidating, dangerous, cold—he was just. . . him. And him showing his vulnerable side to Nina without hesitation made me admire him more. Plus, Nina was th character I didn't see coming. She's a total badass, and I loved it when she's not afraid in expressing her feelings. Their chemistry was so powerful, and it was so cute that they acted like they were in one team even thought they are just in an arranged marriage. Also, their height difference? Chef's kiss!

There's really a lot of things I adored in this book. There was no miscommunication and no push-pull in their relationship. Everything just went on smoothly, the main characters getting married for convenience to falling in love with each other. I am a fan of fast-paced and short dark romance, but I honestly wish that this book was longer. This is a perfect story for those who would like to get out of their reading slump. 

Note: The story contains triggering contents, so please check trigger/content warnings and read at your own risk.

› Finished: December 18, 2023
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