Painting Rain by Annette K. Larsen Series: Books of Dalthia #4
Published by Hidden Falls Publishing on 2/20/16
Genres: Romance
Pages: 217
Source: Blog Tour
My content rating: Nothing more than kissing
My rating:
How do you heal your heart after tragedy leaves you broken? When the person you loved didn’t deserve it and they can’t earn your forgiveness because they’re already dead? How do you move on, and heal, and love?
If you’re Princess Lorraina, you paint.
A year ago Lorraina watched Tobias die, and she still doesn't know how she's supposed to heal—or forgive. How can she when she’s still running away? In an attempt to reinvent herself, she steps outside her comfortable life as princess and seeks the tutelage of a master painter—a man who is not at all impressed by her pedigree, and demands not just talent, but emotional honesty.
Struggling to learn what’s being taught, she finds herself drawn to someone who not only knows her secrets, but who she once considered far below her notice. Now she is compelled to seek him out despite knowing their relationship would be forbidden if discovered. Staying away from him doesn’t seem possible when discovering him may be the key to healing her heart and rediscovering herself.
Painting Rain is a sweet story about a woman coming to understand herself and learning to stand on her own two feet. Princess Lorraina was introduced in the first three books in this series, but each of the books can be read as a standalone – I missed book three, and while it was referenced a couple of times, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything that was important to the current story. However, I do suggest reading at least the second book because that’s where Raina’s story truly begins. This book takes place in the aftermath of that second book.
What Fed My Addiction:
- Raina’s Growth. When the book started, I have to admit that I had a bit of a hard time relating to Raina – mostly because I had just reread my reviews of the first two books and remembered all the reasons I didn’t like her in book two! She had rubbed me the wrong way and I believed that she was to blame for much of the tragedy that occurred with Tobias (read the synopsis if you want to know more about that). So, the fact that Raina had won me over by midway through the book was quite an accomplishment. In this book, Raina has realized her own culpability in everything that happened. She’s realized that she’s spent her life pushing people away and she is truly trying to change. She’s rebuilding her relationships and making a real effort to better herself. At first, I was skeptical, but she eventually won me over and I saw her truth more clearly.
- West. There was nothing I didn’t love about West. He had spent years making sure that Raina was safe and he had seen the good in her, even when others weren’t able to. In fact, I think it was eventually seeing Raina through West’s eyes (even though we weren’t getting the story from his POV) that made me eventually soften toward Raina. He saw her in her unguarded moments – the times that she fell apart when others weren’t watching – and he had seen her vulnerabilities. Moreover, he appreciated her art and encouraged her in a way that no one else could.
- Art. I loved Raina’s artistic instruction and how she learned to paint, not just technically well, but with her whole heart and soul. There were lots of interesting details about painting instruction that fascinated me as well. And I loved the fact that Raina had to learn to put her passion into her work and she couldn’t rely on West or anyone else to find that passion.
What Left Me Wanting More:
- Excuses? Like I said, I wasn’t a fan of Raina in the previous books. And, at first, I felt like the beginning of the book had to backtrack too much and give us excuses for Raina’s behavior. In the end, her perspective won out and I was able to see her pain in the situations that led us to book two, but it definitely took me a while to warm up to Raina.
If you’re a fan of historicals and/or clean romances, I’d definitely give this series a read. While none of the books have struck me quite the way that first one did, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading them all. (I need to pick up the third book in the series, since I apparently missed that one!) I give this book 4/5 stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the author via I Am a Reader in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
“Now.” Master Sterrino stepped toward me, grabbing my arm and pulling me forward until I stood in front of the canvas. He jabbed a finger at the blank expanse. “This is your one chance. This is it. So I suggest you take it! If you are so convinced that I should spend my time teaching you instead of a worthier candidate, then prove it!”
My chest rose and fell as I battled my emotions. I fought for poise, for dignity. I fought for the righteous indignation I had felt only moments before.
But his words screamed through my head, over and over until all I could hear were the words Tobias had spoken to me. What’s pathetic is that you have one chance. And this is it. I—am it. I’m your one chance to choose, and you won’t take it!
It had been a long time since I’d felt this kind of burning anger, and I hated it. I hated that Sterrino had found a way to fling me back into the muck that I’d been in throughout my youth, that he could make me feel isolated and unwanted. What did he want? For me to paint something angry and disgusting? To tear open my healing heart and smear my own blood all over the canvas? I had put up with Dante’s provocations—his odd mood swings—all in the hopes of having a chance to work with this man, to show him what I could do. Now as he stood there, mocking, I couldn’t make myself move.
“That’s what I thought,” he said with grating satisfaction. “Brilliance comes from experiencing life, from true love and true loss. I didn’t expect a privileged member of the royal family to be acquainted with either.” He raised one eyebrow as a final challenge.
True loss? He wanted to know what my loss looked like? “Fine.” I stalked over to the paints. “You want me to paint something you’ll understand?” I ignored the brushes and thrust my hand directly into the bowl of deep black, scooping out a handful and slapping it onto the canvas in globs. I grabbed a rag and smeared the paint until it spread in uneven, clumsy strokes across most of the canvas. But I couldn’t leave the black uncontaminated, so I grabbed two more rags, dipping one into the gray and the other into brown, smearing them on top of the black, mixing everything into a muddy mess. If pain and angst was all he wanted to see, then I could certainly give him that. I had spent so much of my life pushing people away—afraid that any close attachments would make me weak, that having fun with my sisters would make me less worthy of my title. I knew what isolation, anger and fear would look like. I threw the rags aside and curled my hands into claws, then dragged my fingernails over the canvas, slashing through the paint, criss-crossing in jagged, broken stripes. I scrubbed my hands on my skirts, forgetting that I had abandoned my apron, and moved on to the bowl of red. The final touch would speak of blood because that had been the ending of my tragic story. The story that I would just as soon have left behind but which Sterrino seemed determined to drag out of me. I grabbed a jar of linseed oil and dumped some into the red, mixing it until it was thin and fluid; then, cupping my hands in the bowl, I filled them with crimson liquid before flinging it at the canvas. It splashed across the surface, dripping down in rivulets. I shook my hands forward, splattering the edges with the excess paint from my hands, then took two steps back, my breathing labored as I took it in. What I had created was angry, torn, and ugly. Exactly what I had wanted. Exactly what I thought Master Sterrino deserved.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to tamp down the burning in my chest caused by the blatant reminder of the pain I used to cling to so desperately. I tore my gaze away, refusing to claim it as my own and spun to face Master Sterrino. He was staring at me, his eyes intent but unemotional.
I flung one paint-caked hand toward my work. “There you have it,” I declared. “Enjoy.” I sank into a mocking curtsey, but as I did, it reminded me too much of the way I used to treat people, of the way that Tobias used to taunt and humiliate, and I hated myself for stooping to such depths. I turned without meeting his eyes and stalked out of the studio.
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Author Annette K. Larsen
I was born in Utah, but grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona and St. Louis, Missouri, the fifth of seven children. I attended Southern Virginia University and Brigham Young University, where I studied English and Theater. I now live in Idaho with my husband and four children. I have Charlotte Brontë to thank for the courage to write novels. After being bombarded with assigned reading about women who justified abandoning either their families or their principles in the name of love, I had the great fortune of reading Jane Eyre. And that was it: finally, a heroine who understood that being moral and making the right choice was hard, and sometimes it hurt, but it was still worth it. After rereading it several years later, I realized that if I wanted more books to exist with the kinds of heroines I admired, then I might as well write a few myself. My books are about women who face hard choices, who face pain and rejection and often have to face the reality of sacrificing what they want for what is right. The consequences are often difficult or unpleasant, but in the end, doing what’s right will always be worth it. I believe there is no substitute for good writing or good chocolate. Fortunately, one often leads to the other.
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8 responses to “Painting Rain by Annette K. Larsen – Review & $50 Giveaway”
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This is a series I hadn’t heard of before but one I keep seeing pop up on many blogs.The story itself isn’t one I’d usually go for, while I do love romances they’re usually more in the YA or NA genre so a historical one is kinda new to me. Nevertheless, the story does sound interesting and I’m curious about the whole tragedy that happened with Tobias and how our MC moves on from that. Great review as always.
I don’t read many historicals either, but this series got me hooked with the first book.
I honestly just don’t think this is a book that I would love. I like the sound of it, and I enjoyed your review, but I just don’t have that pull of interest with it. Maybe there is just something wrong with me!
Not every book is for everyone. There are plenty of great books out there that I just wouldn’t read because they’re not my type of book.
The series does sound pretty interesting and I think I’d rather start from the beginning before getting to this book. The excerpt is really good and had my attention from the first words so I’d like to give this series a read!
Yes, I’d start from the beginning. You COULD read this book alone, but I think you’d miss out that way.
This one sounds okay but I’m not sure–something to think about. Nice review!
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