Painted Blind – Michelle A. Hansen

Painted Blind – Michelle A. Hansen

Editura: Createspace

Data aparitie: 3 mai 2012

Numar pagini: 331

Sinopsis:

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.

Parerea mea:

Romanul Painted Blind mi-a fost oferit pentru recenzie prin bunavointa editurii Createspace si a autoarei Michelle A. Hansen, carora le multumesc pentru ocazia de a citi aceasta poveste perfecta. Din aceleasi motive, recenzia va fi tradusa si in engleza.

De cand am citit primele carti din seria lui Aimee Carter, Goddess Test, eram innebunita sa mai descopar alte carti inspirate din mitologie, iar intamplarea a facut sa dau de Painted Blind – culmea, neavand habar ca este exact ceea ce caut! Sinopsisul m-a cucerit inca dinainte de a ajunge la jumatatea sa, asa ca am ratat al doilea fragment. Asadar, cand am inceput cartea, stiam doar ca o adolescenta da de probleme din cauza unor poze compromitatoare si ca este salvata dintr-o situatie jenanta de catre un tip..invizibil. Atat. Prima pagina mi-a lasat cumva impresia ca citesc o carte cu vampiri, probabil de aceea nici nu mi-am dat seama de primele indicii introduse in carte. Dar apoi, incet incet, am inceput sa descopar cu entuziasm semnele ma ca inselam si ca in Painted Blind nu o sa apara nici un vampir.

Acum vreo 15 ani citeam Legendele Olimpului. Nu mai tin minte prea multe amanunte, dar stiu ca legenda lui Psyche si a…(hmm…mai bine nu dezvalui numele ca sa nu va stric surpriza) unuia dintre zeii Greciei Antice a fost preferata mea! Am adorat-o si ani la rand imi aminteam uneori de ea si de cat de mult mi-a placut. Iar acum descopar o carte ce are ca sursa de inspiratie exact acest mit! Din momentul in care am inceput sa intrezaresc speranta ca ar putea fi exact acea legenda reinterpretata, am debordat de entuziasm si nerabdare sa aflu intreaga poveste.  Ideea de baza a povestii este aceeasi pe care sunt construite aproape toate legendele zeitatilor: el zeu, ea muritoare, aparitia unei povesti de dragoste incarcata de obstacole, teste, dusmani si amenintarea unui final deloc placut. Dar modul in care autoarea a reusit sa imbrace miezul romanului pentru a obtine o poveste completa este admirabil. Pe tot parcursul cartii am fost in totalitate fermecata. Personajele sunt credibile, actiunile si gesturile lor par atat de firesti incat uiti ca citesti un roman fantasy, iar unele replici ale protagonistilor sunt atat de amuzante incat este imposibil sa nu chicotesti, chiar daca esti in public iar cei din jur iti arunca priviri ciudate. Un plus il constituie si faptul ca eroina nu se incadreaza in nici unul dintre modelele clasice. Nu este nici genul de protagonista ce asteapta sa fie salvata de Fat Frumos, nici genul de luptatoare apriga, careia nu-i poate sta nimic impotriva. Nu reactioneaza mereu asa cum te-ai astepta, nu ofera mereu cea mai politicoasa sau cea mai potrivita replica, ci dimpotriva, de multe ori ai senzatia ca ii trateaza putin nedrept pe cei din jur. Iar asta o face sa fie incredibil de reala.

Carcotasii ar putea spune ca spre sfarsit, romanul aduce cu unul dintre volumele seriei Twilight. Nu stiu daca autoarea a fost sau nu influentata de aceasta serie. Intr-adevar, exista cateva aspecte ce ar putea aminti de aceasta, mai ales cele legate de viata familiala a eroinei. In plus, dupa o serie de teste, avem parte de scena in care Erik o insoteste pe Psyche acasa la ea, pentru a-l cunoaste pe tatal ei, pentru a-i dezvalui adevarul  si pentru a-i cere acestuia permisiunea sa plece impreuna. Suna cunoscut, nu? J Dar, din punctul meu de vedere, Painted Blind ofera o poveste mult mai buna! Cartea are o actiune mai captivanta, aventurile prin care trece Psyche sunt categoric mai tensionate, iar personajele sunt infinit mai bine construite.

Bile albe:

– Cred ca este prima carte in care reusesti sa cunosti atat de bine personajele secundare. Portretele acestora sunt atat de bine conturate incat ajung sa rivalizeze chiar cu cele ale protagonistilor. Am avut momente in care ma simteam mai atasata de Aeas, Titus sau Thomas decat de Psyche sau de Erik.

Bile negre:

– Partea de la inceput, modul in care Psyche ajunge sa fie hartuita de presa pentru ca a pozat (oarecum) nud intr-o campanie publicitara mi s-a parut putin exagerat. Avand in vedere ca actiunea cartii se petrece in prezent, nu vad de ce o astfel de intamplare ar declansa un asemenea haos. Am avut senzatia ca partea aceasta parca nu ar fi fost analizata indeajuns de mult, ci a fost doar o solutie de compromis, pentru a putea porni intriga de la ea .

English version:

I received Painted Blind by courtesy of Createspace publisher and Mrs. Michelle A. Hansen, the author of the book. Thank you for offering me the chance to read this wonderful story! Because English is not my native language and because, until now, my reviews were only written in Romanian, please accept my excuses for the possible mistakes.

Since I read the first books of Aimee Carter’s series – Goddess Test, I was desperate to discover other books inspired by legends and mythology.  As it happened, I found Painted Blind, but I had no idea that these pages were exactly what I was looking for. The synopsis caught me before even having the chance to finish reading it, so I missed the second paragraph. Therefore, when I began reading the book, I only knew that it was about a girl having problems because of a discreditable photo and that she was saved from a difficult situation by an invisible guy. That’s all. I don’t know why, the first page gave me the impression that I was reading a vampire story, so probably that’s why I didn’t notice the first hints. But then, I slowly began discovering (enthusiastically!) that I was wrong and that in Painted Blind I won’t meet any vampires.

About 15 years ago I was reading The Legends of Olympus. Of course, I don’t remember a lot of details, but I do know that the legend of Psyche and…(hmm..I’d better not reveal the name so I don’t spoil the surprise)…one of the gods of the Ancient Greece was my favourite. I loved it and over the years I kept remembering the story and how much I liked it. And now I discovered a book inspired exactly by this myth! From the moment I began glimpsing the hope that this could be exactly that legend, I felt overenthusiastic and eager to discover the whole story. The premise of the book is the same on which most of the gods legends are built: he is a god, she is a mortal and we have a love story full of different obstacles, tests, enemies and the threat of a very unpleasant ending. But, the way the author managed to cover the book’s core in order to obtain a complete story is beautiful. I was charmed the whole time. The characters are credible, their actions and gestures look so careless that you almost forget you’re reading a fantasy novel.  Some of their remarks are so funny that it’s impossible not to giggle, even if you’re reading in a public area and you find yourself getting all those weird looks because of it. A pro is that the female character is not enclosed by the classic types. She is neither the weak female character waiting to be saved by Prince Charming, nor the mighty fighter that can overcome anything alone. She’s not always reacting the way you would expect her to and she is not offering the most polite or appropriate remark. On the contrary, sometimes she’s a little unfair in treating the people around her. But this only makes her incredible real.

The grumblers might say that the ending is a little similar to one of the novels from the Twilight series. I don’t know if the author was inspired by those novels but indeed, there are few aspects that could remind you of the series, especially the family life of Psyche.  Even more, after a couple of tests, we have the scene where Erik accompanies Psyche to her home, in order to meet her father, to tell him the truth and ask for his permission to take her away. Sounds familiar, right? It may, but from my point of view, Painted Blind offers a much better story! The book has a more enthralling action, the adventures of Psyche are certainly more tensed and the characters are designed better.

Pros:

– I think it’s the first novel in which you can get to know the secondary characters that well. Their portraits are outlined so well, that they could even rival with the ones of the main characters. I had moments when I felt more attached with Aeas, Titus or Thomas than with Psyche or Erik.

Cons:

– One part from the beginning, when Psyche gets harassed by the paparazzi because she posed (almost) nude in a public campaign, seemed a little exaggerated. Considering that the book’s action takes place in our time, I don’t see why such a thing would generate so much chaos. I’ve got the sensation that this part wasn’t reviewed enough and that it was only a compromise solution in order to cast the plot.

Alte recenzii care te-ar putea interesa: The Goddess Test (seria Goddess Test, volumul 1) – Aimee Carter Goddess Interrupted (seria Goddess Test, volumul 2) – Aimee Carter