The Witch of Painted Sorrows by M.J. Rose 

The Witch of Painted SorrowsNarrated by Natalie Ross & Phil Gigante

If you’re looking for an audiobook that is unique, defies romance sub-genre conventions, and has a fantastic, theater-like narration performance, then The Witch of Painted Sorrows may well be a great choice for your next listen. This story combines a number of my favorite romance sub-genres, including historical and paranormal romance, to produce an interesting combination that will likely appeal to lovers of either sub-genre.

Bringing to life what living in Paris, France, may have been like at the end of the nineteenth century, The Witch of Painted Sorrows explores both the intense, bohemian art scene, as well as the influences of the occult that permeated certain circles of the Belle Époque. While the unusual subject matter would likely have been enough to initially draw my attention to give this title a try, without a doubt what absolutely sold me as I started listening was the off-the-charts performance. One word of caution though – if adultery is a hot button topic for you, then you may want to skip this one, as this romance ventures into the world of free love and mistresses that were somewhat prevalent in the day.

Escaping an evil husband, Sandrine Salome finds herself traveling from New York to Paris, where her paternal grandmother resides. While she had previously visited her grandmother before she married, it has been a long time since she has returned, due in part to her grandmother’s insistence that she stay away from her unusual lifestyle. Another ominous warning that her grandmother imparted to Sandrine – avoid ever falling in love, an easy feat so far in her life, given her marriage of convenience to her father’s associate.

Strangely, upon her arrival Sandrine finds that her grandmother is no longer living in her lavish mansion which boasts museum style paintings, jewels befit for royalty, and which is frequented by dignitaries. Instead the man who opens the door, Julien Duplessi, claims to be an architect who is cataloging the unique art pieces housed in the mansion. Against her grandmother’s wishes, Sandrine continues to visit the mansion, where accompanied by Julien, she begins to learn a whole new world both within its walls and in Paris’ underground nightlife. It’s one that is filled with dark, deep desires, art, and magic. But can Sandrine stay safe, both from her husband who will no doubt hunt her down, and from the mysterious pull that continues to drag her deeper and deeper into a life in which she may ultimately relinquish all control to a sixteenth century spirit – a witch and courtesan – which is destined to possess her?

Paralleling the style they used to narrate Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series (where both narrators perform together in the same scenes – Ross performing all of the female roles and Gigante the male roles), Natalie Ross amd Phil Gigante render another production that will make you feel like you are listening to a big budget, summer blockbuster, albeit of the romance variety.

The Witch of Painted Sorrows is a story that is particularly suited for this unique narration style as it is written almost entirely in the first person from Sandrine’s point of view. This writing style provided for natural transitions where Natalie Ross performed all of the parts which recount Sandrine’s internal thoughts, as well. Moreover, both Ms. Ross and Mr. Gigante do a marvelous job of producing distinguishable age, accent, and personality appropriate voices for each one of the numerous characters of the same gender, which means you can sit back and enjoy the story without the need to carefully pay attention to dialogue tags.

Another facet that makes the narration extra special is the Ross/Gigante team’s recreation of special effects. For example, there is a scene where a character is locked in a compartment, and you can actually hear the difference between the more muffled sound of the character that is trapped versus the one that is outside trying to aid in the escape. This is just one example, among a number of others, and these special touches give this performance a very special, different feel – more akin to audio theater – and combined with the other noted factors, this swayed my decision to rate this narration an A+.

All in all, whether you are a fan of historical romance or paranormal romance, or are just looking for something completely different to listen to – but subject to my warning above concerning adultery – I highly recommend The Witch of Painted Sorrows for its unique characteristics.

BJ


Narration:  A+

Book Content:  B

Steam Factor:  For your burning ears only

Violence:  Minimal

Genre:  Historical Romance/Fantasy

Publisher:  Dreamscape Media

 

 

The Witch of Painted Sorrows was provided to AudioGals by Dreamscape Media for review.

2 thoughts on “The Witch of Painted Sorrows by M.J. Rose 

  1. I wish I could get into Natalie Ross’s voice/narration style, but I just can’t. I end up reading books narrated by her. The little laughs she does seem forced to me. Maybe it’s her high voice, don’t know. Narrators skills are sure subjective!

    1. Hi Gale, narrator styles are definitely subjective. I absolutely love the narration style used in this title, but I know that not everyone does. As always, it’s a good idea to sound sample any title before buying.

Comments are closed.