Hunted by a murderer who has terrorized her since childhood, Juliana Thorne is forced to seek protection from a powerful enemy.But Damien Villa is a far cry from an ideal savior.The mysterious billionaire harbors his own sinister plans for revenge, and if Juliana isn’t careful, she may just find herself playing right into his hands.
I enjoyed this one. It was a good start to Juliana and Damien’s duet. I didn’t find it as dark as the other books I’ve read by this author, but the potential is there for book two to be darker. As always, the writing was excellent. The plot was intriguing. It leaves us with a lot of unanswered questions and motivations, so I can’t wait to get my hands on book two.
A Touch of Dark, (Painted Sin Book One) by Lana Sky
Juliana Thorne wears a mask of fake smiles and lies. She has learned how to pretend that everything is ok by the best but the mask she holds up the world is getting heavy.
Damien Villa is a talented blind artist who can create beauty out of nightmares on canvas. Art is everything to Damien, but family means more. An injustice has been brought to his family and he wants revenge.
Heyworth Thorne saved her when she was 8 after she escaped a kidnapper and gave her a home. She has been running from her memories ever since. Every year on her birthday her abductor sends her gifts that bring her nightmares back to life. Damien sees Juliana to an end, a pawn to use in a chess game. He just doesn’t count on her being a puzzle that intrigues him to solve. Plans change with the same end game, but can he really use her? The storm clouds are coming, and she is afraid of what might be waiting for her in the dark. With one monster looming in the background can she trust the one in front of her to protect her. Damien banishes the visions of her nightmares but is it out fear or a hope of protection?
Just like all of Lana’s books, the story slowly unfolds on its own time and can’t be rushed. Juliana has followed a script every day and never deviates until she meets Damien. Being with him has given her freedom, but it also let her nightmares more power over her. Damien might be blind, but he can see more than you think. When Damien first meets Juliana, he doesn’t think she deserves a second thought, but she surprises him. He isn’t used to being surprised and I think that’s one of the reasons he keeps going back to her. She intrigues him. Damien likes control in all things whether it’s in his art or business dealings and he can’t control her. These two constantly circle each other never knowing what the truth is and what is a lie.
Lana sky has done it again, another thought-evoking book that is sure to make everyone crave more. This was so hard to put down and I finished it in one sitting; definitely a day well spent. The characters were written beautifully and brought out raw, spellbinding emotions in me. Can’t wait to read book 2!
Wow! I love the writing of Lana Sky. In this book she portrays two damaged characters who have definitely had their share of tragedy in their lives. I loved the two characters even though you don’t fully understand them. The chemistry between the two characters is amazing and with how Lana ended this book, I got some answers but was left with so many more. I am reading the duet so I was able to move on the the second book immediately but if I had to wait for the next book to come out I would have been eaten up by the anticipation. Definitely recommend this book to dark and suspenseful romance lovers. I recieved a review copy of this story and am leaving a voluntary honest review.
Damien and Juliana
Wow! So much happened in book one, my mind is going nuts! This is a full on twisty suspense with an enemies to lovers trope.. only the two main characters aren’t in love yet. Lol.
Damien. A very talented artist and head of a crime syndicate- who happens to be blind.
Juliana has her… issues. Her and her friend from childhood were abducted, the friend being murdered and Juliana was found found days later, barely alive…. And she’s got a stalker named Simon that leaves her “presents” every year on her birthday that’s left her full of anxiety and internal distress. The suspect to her childhood trauma was never caught…
Not to mention, her father, a judge, who’s in quite some trouble for messing with a case of his, accused of racial bias and manipulating the system.
When you start to gather all the information as the story unravels, I couldn’t stop reading. It’s a race to the finish line on what’s going on with Juliana.. you know she’s not safe.
Damien figures that out too. He’s a really hard and cold character. He really has no desire to be with or to even be around Juliana yet he decides to humor her and paint her… she desperately wants to, being a new fan of his work and all.
What price would you pay in exchange for your body?
“Just pretend that you actually give a damn… Pretend you want to keep me.”
I have a feel book two is going to give all all the action and answers I’m dying for!
I received an Advanced Reader Copy for an honest and voluntary review
This book is another fantastic gem by Lana Sky!! The mysterious characters and intriguing mysteries surrounding this story are phenomenal!! This page turner really leaves you guessing, as you try to figure out the mysteries of the past!! Juliana has a troubled past. She is left scarred by a traumatic event. She has been adopted by a judge. Judge Thorne also has skeletons in his closet. Some of his enemies may be after Juliana. Or could it be someone from her past?? Juliana meets a mysterious blind artist named, Damien. Could this broody, possessive alpha be Juliana’s hero or something else?? I very highly recommend this book!!
This story is gripping, mysterious, intriguing, and dark. Damien is dangerous, plays psychological games with Juliana Thorne. What does he want from her?
Who is this Simon who always leaves a present on her birthday. And what secrets is her father hiding? Juliana has flashbacks to her tormented, troubled childhood that the repercussions still plague her as an adult. Yeah it’s that good. I’m on the edge if my seat listening to this awesome story. Whats going to happen in the next story.
Amber Bray is phenomenal in her narration. She brings all emotions, voices, intensity that are needed to portray everyone in this story. I wish I could give her 10 stars for her performance. Yeah It’s that good!. Thank you for a great listen.
audiobookobsessionreview
oh goodness this story was addictive. Once started I couldn’t stop listening to it. I had to find out were the story was you and how it was going to end. Amber Bray was excellent in her narrative of the story. she was clear and well spoken. She added so much to the story whith her character transitions. I loved Damien and Juliana together with their sharp banter. Juliana at times was lost in her back and forth but she is quickly growing on me throughout the story. This story is so full of suspense and mystery. It has twists and turns that add to the story and keep you glued to the edge of your seat. I can’t wait to find out what happens in the next book.
A Touch of Dark
Painted Sin, Book 1
By: Lana Sky
Narrated by: Amber Bray
Lana Sky is fast moving to the top as one of my favorite dark listens. She can bring a story to life, at times make me cringe but I just love it! This story is not only thrilling, but its extremely sensual. Julianne has had a tough life, and now things are coming to a head. Wandering into an art show, she is taken with some horrific yet beautiful art. And when she meets Damien, the artist she finds she is unsure of whether to like him or run! This story had me from the first line. Julianne is broken, and as we get to know her, things only get worse. Damien is charismatic, alluring and dangerous and the chemistry between these two is palpable. The offer he makes is almost impossible to resist! But the secrets and the uncertainty are so think and the revelations unbelievable. Leaving us with a cliffhanger, make sure to have book 2 ready and queued to find out what happens next!
Amber Bray gives an incredible performance. It’s passionate, and her inflections bring out the brokenness of Julianne. She pulls in the feeling of suspense with ease, giving Damien an accent with that dangerous feeling. It’s a wonderful listen!
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Where do I begin with this review……. I have no idea because I was completely blown away by this story. It had so much in it. I felt like I was on a roller coaster. One minute I was high and the next I was low wondering what was going to happen next and just when I thought something was going to go one way it went the other and I was caught off guard.
I will say this Juliana and Damien are amazing characters that will have you so invested in their story that you won’t be able to put the book down. There is suspense, darkness, romance and so much more in this one story you will be blown away from it. I loved the ending because it wasn’t a huge cliff hanger more like more questions I had.
Five Stars is not enough! I absolutely love reading this author’s work, each book miraculously is better than the last. I have no idea how she does that but obviously this author is truly talented and has an amazing and fantastic imagination. This book which is the first in the Painted Sin series will steal your breath away. The characters are the most complex and broken which just adds to this amazing story line. What is our heroine’s role? A victim, a pawn, a daughter, a broken and irreparable soul? I think you will find that Julianna is a combination of them all, at least I did. I cannot recommend this book enough, this is a must read for any reader that loves a darker story filled with twists and layers that will keep you captivated. I cannot wait to read more of this series and see what happens next! Enjoy!
What even in God’s name happened?
I’ll be honest I was absolutely confused what was happening for a solid 20% of the beginning of this book. But it was the good kind of confusion because I never wanted to stop reading. I kept devouring this book in hopes of answers and boy did I get them.
Honestly, the climax of this book left me shook and I was like well who do you trust anymore?
Juliana is a very enigmatic character. She has so many layers that it’s impossible to find out what exactly is she going through at a point. I will say that I am heavily invested in her and I definitely want to see what turn her story takes next.
Damien is quite possibly the grumpiest most secretive man I’ve ever read. I honestly cannot figure him out even though I really really want to. His intentions still aren’t clear but he for sure is invested in keeping Juliana closer to him.
Also, this book was insanely sexy in a dark and oh my god one of them is definitely going to die kind of way. I have weird interests.
Dark, and twisted!!!
This is the first book in the Painted Sin duet, and the riveting, and tormented story of Damien, and Julianna. This book is a whirlwind of darkness, suspense, mystery, and emotion. Damien, and Julianna, are both damaged souls, haunted by their past, and tormented by their traumas daily. Julianna is drawn to Damien, unable to stay away from the darkness, and danger. This was an intense read, the characters are well developed, and they drew me in to their web, I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
If you want a definition of intense, it would come under the title of “A Touch of Dark!!!” This is my first book by this author, and absolutely won’t be my last. I MUST read the next book. I’ve already increased my TBR list with other novels by Ms. Sky. I cannot return to Damien and Juliana’s story! This book was so darn good, I am going to read it again!
OMG! What did i just read?!
Juliana and Damien are beautifully flawed characters and this story simply sucks the reader in from chapter 1 all the way to the you knew it was coming cliffhanger! I cannot wait for the next book in this series!!
I read a free copy of this book and this is my voluntary and enthusiastic review.
A written Ravel’s Bolero.
THAT is what this book puts me in mind of.
The ever increasing, ever constant, patient buildup to a shuddering climax.
Only this build up is one of terror, of past horror that sticks to the heroine & reader alike. Like a mist that swirls around you, deceptively light but everywhere, never fading only growing thicker. And darker. And more malevolent until you feel your throat constricting, your breathing becoming more rapid, more shallow. We feel Juliana’s all encompassing, never ending terror that is always teetering on a razor blade ready to rip us into the horrid past that claims the present.
Ms Sky is masterful IMO at this: I felt almost claustrophobic at times, empathized with the heroine’s futile attempts to drive the demons swirling around her away, even if for only a few precious moments. We are privy to her POV through the entire book, but even with this awareness we only learn Juliana’s past in small slices at a time. Tiny peeks into childhood trauma that impacted her mind & a sadistic & evil predator who annually ensures she is never able to forget or move forward.
And Damien is a mysterious & tantalizing anti-Hero. Overpowering, dominant, intense, huge, cold, gorgeous, a painter. And blind. Because we never get his POV his character remains deliciously enigmatic: is he friend? foe? monster? Does he care for Juliana? At all? Or is she merely a pawn in his determined & focused rage for revenge?
This is a dark, twisted, frightening plunge into deep black waters of an abyss. But one intense, mesmerizing build up of tension, suspense, danger & death. Like Ravel’s Bolero the reader is drawn deeper & deeper into the author’s creation, we are pulled there on tenterhooks & we know very well a shocking climax is awaiting us.
Wonderfully written, haunting, emotionally gutting & heartbreaking, with a heroine I found myself hoping against hope would find at least some degree of healing, someone who truly cared for & about her, some glimmer of peace.
This one will drag you through an ever escalating emotional wringer as well as increasingly taut tension, but it is one stupendous ride.
Every time I read a Lana Sky book I am just blown away with her storytelling abilities. Each of her books have engrossed me to a level of not wanting to function as an adult. I have a hard time putting down and walking away from any of her stories, and A Touch of Dark ranks up there with all the rest. Lana Sky can write a male character that may seem so far from being redeemable that you can’t help but want to smack some niceness into him. But yet, there is just something so attractive about a fierce, unyielding male that makes my ovaries wake up and scream “I want you!”. And it seems those ovaries want Damian Villa.
Juliana Thorne has been terrorized each and every year on her birthday from a monster from her past. Can the monster that she is drawn to, protect her and chase away the storms? Or will he bring a thunderous quaking of his own? What is Damian Villa’s end game? What motive’s lie beneath the mask? I have way more questions than I have answers to!! I REALLY NEED THE NEXT BOOK!!
Talk about fantastic! I eat up dark, twisted and sinister books and I devoured this one. Julianna has been protected and sheltered beyond belief due to a tragic event from her past but when she means Damien and he is other level mysterious what transpires will have your head spin. This does end on a cliffhanger but book 2 is not a long wait and for one am counting the seconds!!
I voluntarily reviewed a advanced readers copy of this book
This is a DEFINITE read…5++Stars!
Wow and Wow, I loved the book! I kept looking at the page numbers to see how many were left. I was trying to figure out if there were enough pages for everything to work out. And was I surprised, cannot wait for the next book!!! I loved the characters, especially Damien Villa, the good-looking criminal who has an interest in the beautiful Juliana who has a tragic past that haunts her daily and puts her life in danger. This is a major page-turner. Lana Sky writes fabulous books that I look forward to reading as soon as they are out. Read this book today!
This is the first book in the Painted Sin Series. Wow! This story is beautifully dark, twisted, and captivating! I love all about it! Juliana and Damien are great characters. Damien is powerful, dark, and intriguing. Juliana is beautiful, intriguing, and broken. Her past is heartbreaking. The secondary characters are intriguing, and they take an important part in this story. The storyline is really well written, breathtaking, and filled with mystery, secret, and intrigue. Impossible to put it down. I like these stories when you have conflicted feelings: You want to know what happened, but you’re afraid of. Well Done! The chemistry, and the slow burn between Juliana and Damien is nothing like what I have read before. This is exactly the kind of story you want to read again just after finishing it. I truly loved it, and I can’t wait for the audiobook version of it. If you like dark romance, this one is for you, you have to believe me. I highly recommend it. Now, I can’t wait for the next book in the Series, A Taste Like Sin. I need to know what will happen next. I want to know more about all the characters, even the bad ones!