Painted Scars

just poorly written

3,75/5

That was cute. A little too fluffy than what I expected for a mafia romance. It was my second mafia romance and I was expecting something more unhinged but it was still fun.

I have to admit: the synopsis didn't encourage me to read it. What did was someone on reddit describing the plot as “a mafia man asks his pretend wife to act like a complete idiot to fool his men” which is a much better way to market the book IMO.

Also ngl, I had trouble getting into the book as a Pole. See, I read the author's note about the Russian words, and “Malysh” sounds like Polish “Małysz” who is one of the (still) most popular Polish athletes (even though he's retired) so when I read it in the note all I could see is Adam małysz during ski jumping competition and a Polish commentator screaming “Fly, Adam, Fly!”

But I digress.

Regarding the author's note however, it's a complete bullshit because while I appreciated the thought, after reading it I think the author made a complete mistake. She defined “kukolka” and “milaya” which have been used once each, and “piroski” which have been used maybe twice or thrice.

But do you know what wor was missing from the mini dictionary? Pakhan.

Do you know how many times it has been used? 50. 50 times and there was no definition.

Apparently it means a crime boss. I had to google it.

All in all, the book was fun, I loved Nina pretending to be a complete imbecile and everyone buying that. BUT despite the supposed danger they were in, it felt like low stakes. I didn't feel like the danger was that bad, maybe because of the fluffy vibes??

PLUS The whole bookstakes place in a span of a few months. The author didn't convey it well: it felt like a few days at most. Seriously, the pacing of this book was unreal and not in a good way. Also the fact that they got married after 2 days was... No.

I also disliked how her intimacy issues got resolved at the very end, it was rushed and felt like his dick cured her fear. Seriously, that's not how it works and I disliked it too.

I'm going to leave this review with my favourite scene:

“Got it, kotik”
I close my eyes and shake my head. “You do not call a Russian pakhan “kitten”, Nina. I have an image to uphold here.”
She narrows her eyes at me, schools her features to embody seriousness, and touches my nose with her finger.
“My deadly kotik. Better?”

Enjoyable read

• Bratva / Mafia
  - Mention of Abuse
  - Violence and Torture
  - Disability
  - Age Gap
  - Marriage of Convenience
  - Possessive / Controlling

Este libro es malo, malo, pero malo malísimo, infumable, estoy 100% segura de que mi primo de 10 años escribe una historia con más sentido y mejor reestructurada que está, Dios mío, y luego viene otra cosa

Not at all what I was expecting – but that isn't a bad thing. It is weird to read a mafia book that isn't dark and this one has little touches, truly not even a lot of violence. It was surprisingly sweet and I loved the dynamic between the main characters.

If you're looking for a sweeter mafia read where the main characters are not afraid of each other and are open/mostly honest with each other as well, I recommend this one.
OR if you're looking to dip your toes into mafia/dark reads this might be a good starting point.