Synopsis: Seventeen years old and agoraphobic, Psyche Middleton vows her dad will never see the risqué photos she took during a summer modeling stint abroad, but one of them ends up on a billboard in her Montana hometown. Now everyone—especially her dad—can see it. And yet, somehow, those are the mundane things in her life because she is about to fall unexpectedly, head-over-heels in love with Erik, a mysterious young man who rescues her from a crowd of admirers, and who she’s never actually seen because…he can make himself invisible.
As strange as this may seem, it’s about to get even stranger. Erik takes her to his palace in an idyllic kingdom, and she is swept into the beauty and culture of his world, but his affection has one condition: she may not see him. Overtaken, intrigued, and still not wholeheartedly believing he’s real, Psyche is going to have to decide if she can love him blindly; because if she can’t, she may lose him forever.
Review: Let me start by saying wow! This book was so different than anything else that I've read (in a good way). I love retellings of Ancient Greek mythology, and Painted Blind is a modern version of the Psyche and Eros myth. This retelling is so well done. I literally read it in one sitting.
I don't want to go into the story-line to much beyond the above posted synopsis. I don't want to give anything away, and if you're familiar with Psyche and Eros, you probably have an idea of what is going to happen. I will tell you about the characters, and about the writing though.
Psyche made a choice she is a little embarrassed about now. We've all been there at some point - we're out of town on vacation and do something daring or out of character...you know - the whole "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" kind of thing. We don't expect it to catch up with us when we return home. In Psyche's case, her behavior while out of town catches up with her in a big way! Along with being daring, Psyche is also independent and fun. She has normal teenage insecurities, but she's not one of those gorgeous girls that tries to get attention all the time by saying how ugly she is. She's very real. A normal teenage girl that a lot of us can relate to.
Erik, our hero, saves Psyche from her embarrassing moment. He is mysterious and quiet. We don't always know what he's feeling or thinking. He wants a girl that will love him for who he is, and not what he looks like. Trust is very important to Erik. I can't tell you more about what happens without giving the story away. Will Psyche keep Erik's trust? Is Psyche the girl Erik is looking for? You will have to read Painted Blind to find out.
The world building in this book is amazing. The story-line is so well done. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Psyche's character is well developed. Erik, as I said is so mysterious, but that's kind of the point. I like Aeas and Titus. They are awesome secondary characters. The grammar, dialogue and spelling are all impeccable. Overall, this book earns 5 stars.
About the Author: Michelle A. Hansen was raised in southeastern Washington. She earned her bachelor of arts degree in English teaching from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and taught high school English for six years. She and her husband have four children.
http://www.michelleahansen.com/ (my website & blog)
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13640928-painted-blind (Painted Blind on Goodreads)
http://www.facebook.com/michelleahansenauthor (my author facebook page)
http://www.facebook.com/PaintedBlindnovel (Painted Blind's facebook fan page)
@michelleahansen (Twitter)
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1 comment:
Nice review!
A friend of mine recommend this book to me. She was really excited about it. I'm glad you feel the same way.
This is definitely going to my TBR list!
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