Blog Tour (Review): The Witch of Painted Sorrows by @MJRose

The Witch of Painted Sorrows Tour Schedule
Welcome to my stop on international-bestselling author M.J. Rose's virtual tour for The Witch of Painted Sorrows that is running from February 16th – April 30th.



Title: The Witch of Painted Sorrows (The Daughters of La Lune #1)
Author: M.J. Rose
Publisher: Atria Books (Simon & Schuster)
Acquired Via: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours
Release Date: March 17, 2015
Possession. Power. Passion. New York Times bestselling novelist M. J. Rose creates her most provocative and magical spellbinder yet in this gothic novel set against the lavish spectacle of 1890s Belle Époque Paris.

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.

Among the bohemians and the demi-monde, Sandrine discovers her erotic nature as a lover and painter. Then darker influences threaten—her cold and cruel husband is tracking her down and something sinister is taking hold, changing Sandrine, altering her. She’s become possessed by La Lune: A witch, a legend, and a sixteenth-century courtesan, who opens up her life to a darkness that may become a gift or a curse.

This is Sandrine’s “wild night of the soul,” her odyssey in the magnificent city of Paris, of art, love, and witchery.

READ AN EXCERPT.

Praise for The Witch of Painted Sorrows

“Rose’s new series offers her specialty, a unique and captivating supernatural angle, set in an intriguing belle epoque Paris—a perfect match for the author’s lush descriptions, intricate plot and mesmerizing storytelling. A cliffhanger ending will leave readers hungry for the next volume. Sensual, evocative, mysterious and haunting.” – Kirkus Reviews

“A haunting tale of possession.” – Publishers Weekly

My Review

M.J. Rose is one of the first authors that I ever reviewed as a blogger, so when I got the opportunity to read and review The Witch of Painted Sorrows, I was very excited. The Witch of Painted Sorrows is almost as good as what I've read in Rose's Reincarnationist series. I mean, we can all agree that Rose writes some beautiful stuff, right? Right.

HOWEVER... However, I'm not a huge fan of two things in the The Witch of Painted Sorrows, so that did make a bit of a disconnect for me. Infidelity is awful, even in literature, and I'm always uncomfortable reading it. I get it in the book though. I guess. Another thing that bothers me: possession and/or body snatching. I don't even like the implication of the possibility. I don't exactly know what my problem is with it, other than it scares the crap out of me, and it makes me very tense when I'm reading it. (Not in a good way.)

If I was going to do word association with The Witch of Painted Sorrows, the word I would use would be "evocative". Rose's writing sucked me into her scenes, and it was a little disorienting to put to the book down. I truly felt like I was there. That's not necessarily a bad thing because Rose writes Paris like no other.

If you're a fan of adult historical fiction, you won't go wrong in picking up The Witch of Painted Sorrows. Rose's writing is gorgeous, and you'll be hard-pressed to put it down.

- 3.5/5 Stars -

Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | iTunes


About the Author

M.J. Rose grew up in New York City mostly in the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum, the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park and reading her mother’s favorite books before she was allowed.

She is the author of more than a dozen novels, the co-president and founding board member of International Thriller Writers and the founder of the first marketing company for authors: AuthorBuzz.com. She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. Visit her online at MJRose.com.

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To satisfy FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received a copy of the book for reviewing purposes through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. The book was likely provided to the tour by the publisher or author, which has in no way affected the outcome of my review. All opinions expressed are rambling, honest, and completely my own.