Reviewed by Cindy
TITLE: The Painted Phoenix
AUTHOR: Sara Kay Moll
PUBLISHER: Ninestar Press
LENGTH: 273 Pages
RELEASE DATE: July 20, 2020
BLURB:
With paintbrush in hand, Nate Redfield takes a city full of ugliness and makes it beautiful. His quiet, empty life is a refuge from a harrowing past, and although he has nothing to love, he also has nothing to lose. Standing up to the syndicate is a good way to end up with a hole in his head, but Nate is not afraid to die.
For once in his life, he’s going to do the right thing, even if it kills him. And it probably will.
But the most dangerous criminal in the city—a man whose sadism and ruthlessness have become local legend—decides to spare Nate’s life. On the streets, Ras is a cold-blooded syndicate enforcer, and makes no apologies for it. But he pursues Nate with a tenderness like nothing Nate has ever known. While no amount of violence could compel Nate to betray his moral compass, love leaves him defenseless.
The vibrant portraits Nate paints tell every story but his own: a lost little girl who thinks of him as a father, a lawyer who tempers justice with compassion, a crime boss and an art thief, and the killer who stole his heart. Ras offers him the love he’s yearned for all his life, if only he is willing to close his eyes to the violent truth. But his story is not one of compromise. It is the story of an indomitable spirit, rising like fire from the ashes of his past.
REVIEW:
There’s so much going on in this story. Nate is a man who just wants to find some happiness in his life and feels like it will never happen. So when he takes a stand against his crooked boss, he expects it to be the last good thing he does.
But when the unexpected happens, Nate has no idea how to deal with it.
Ras is interesting. He’s unapologetic about everything he is and it makes him an extremely interesting character. There’s no doubt he loves Nate, but it’s how he shows his love that makes things a little…dangerous for everyone involved.
This story didn’t go where I was expecting it to go. The big redemption arc I was thinking would happen is no where to be found. There’s not a whole lot I can say about it without giving too much away, but I really liked that the author didn’t take the easy way out.
Scarlett and Ash present a kind of balance to Ras’s personality and I enjoyed seeing their dynamics all working together.
Sierra is Nate’s true heart. He loves the little girl with everything he has and is more than willing to give up everything to make her world better.
The focus of this story is Nate and his struggle to make a better life for himself than he thinks he deserves. He has to fight to overcome years of emotional abuse to be able to convince himself to reach for the joy that’s there for the taking…if he’s brave enough to take it.
This story is not your typical romance and if you’re looking for sunshine and roses, you won’t find it here. But if you’re looking for an honest, heartbreaking story about people who don’t magically find all the answers to life, then I can highly recommend this book. Nate will break your heart, but in the end, he get’s what he truly deserves and makes the best life he can for himself.
RATING: 
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