The Witch of Painted Sorrows

By: M.J. Rose

Narrated by: Natalie Ross, Phil Gigante

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

Sandrine Salome flees New York for her grandmother's Paris mansion to escape her dangerous husband. 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.

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 and a 16th-century courtesan, who opens up her life to a darkness that may become a gift or a curse.

©2015 Melisse Shapiro (P)2015 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Critic Reviews

"Rose's unforgettable full-bodied characters and richly detailed narrative result in an entrancing read that will be long savored." ( Library Journal)

Engrossing

I listened to this book and it was hard to even pause it. The sex scenes were delicious. It made me want to move to Paris, become a painter, and practice magic!! A must read for those who love history, art, witches and a good thriller.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Mumble, mumble toil & trouble

If you could sum up The Witch of Painted Sorrows in three words, what would they be?

Female narrator mumbles.

What did you like best about this story?

Seems like it could be interesting if you didn't struggle all the time trying to understand Ms. Ross narrating.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Natalie Ross and Phil Gigante ?

Phil was Ok, Ms. Ross sounded like someone with a mouthful of marshmallows speaking too fast through a pillow. If she could Slow down & enunciate it might be better.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Mumble, mumble toil & trouble!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

You will be swept away to Paris by The Witch!

MJ Rose knows how to create an atmosphere that sweeps you away right into the story! What's it about? Paris, late 1800s, the occult, erotic romance, characters you will want to get to know! This is the first book of a new series, The Daughters of La Lune. The readers were wonderful and the story entertaining (I do think Sandrine could have been more likable.) I will look forward to the next book in the series. Oh yes, quite a bit of sex in this, but it fits well in the story. Just want you to know so you won't be surprised!
Read it!

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Not as exciting as I had hoped

Breathy, soft spoken narrator.
The story was not very interesting to me. A lot focused around Paris and painting. The concept was good, but the story was not as intriguing, suspenseful or exciting as I hoped based on the synopsis.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Bored!!!

What disappointed you about The Witch of Painted Sorrows?

I just could not get into this story. I enjoyed the narrators, so stuck with it longer than I would have otherwise. It just never got going and I found myself planning menus & thinking about how much laundry I had left to do rather than listening to the story.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Maybe a Jenny Lawson or something.

Did Natalie Ross and Phil Gigante do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

They were great.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Witch of Painted Sorrows?

Since I didn't listen long enough to see where the story was really going, it's hard to say. I just needed something to entice me earlier in the story. When the description of the opals her grandmother wore was the most fascinating part of the story, you know you have a problem.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Whispers

The whispering voice of the narrator was distracting and annoying.

Bodice ripper, disguised as a period piece. Ugh.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Not exactly as I expected.

I had high hopes for this book based on the reviews. I was disappointed. The book was very slow until the last 5 chapters. I enjoyed the characters and wanted to like the book more, but it was slow and descriptive to a fault. Then when things began to happen they only partially happened. I will not be continuing this series.

What?

I didn't actually hear very much of this book. The story looked really good, however, I was unable to focus in on the story. The narrator spoke way too soft and fast to really be able to understand her. It could also be that because she is English and so with the softness of her voice and how quickly she speaks, because I am an American, I was unable to hear what she was saying. Too bad. But again it looks like a really good story and I will probably look this one up as a kindle read. Try it out for yourself and see.

Have to read the second book

I like this story in general. I need to find out if I like the whole story by reading the second book. Her characters were interesting and I liked the Paranormal aspect of the book. Yes I would recommend this book especially to people who liked the Paranormal genre. I need to read second book to the series. To be continued...

Excellent narration

I do love me some Natalie Ross and Phil Gigante. This story grew on me, and had some wonderful twists and turns. I did not, though, like it enough to listen to the rest of the series, since the narrators are different.