Painted Devils

I've been in a bad reading slump for a while now but I should have put my total trust in the author because her delightful writing made me gobble this up in just two days. I was already in love with these characters from book one and fascinated by this world of gods and witches and ghosts and thieves and more, but the author manages to give us an even more fun, engaging, fast paced thrilling adventure in this sequel, along with some very very sweet romance.

While the tension is taut from page one till the end and that last page will leave you breathless for more, it's the earnest relationship and communication between our two demisexual leads that has my whole heart. Vanja and Emeric's talks about what it means to be together, overcoming trauma to be able to trust and love someone, breaking down the social mores of intimacy and building something unique to them, it was all written with care and a delicate touch, and will definitely leave a mark on any reader. And I can't wait to see what more the author has in store for them in the next installment because it's surely promising to be very intense from the word go.

Oh my goodness! Did I like this even more than the first one?! Possibly. It is a very well executed treatise on trauma and how it makes you feel worthless and undeserving of good things. My heart kept breaking for Vanja even as she got some healing. I need the next book IMMEDIATELY. :

I loved [b:Little Thieves 54017820 Little Thieves (Little Thieves #1) Margaret Owen https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610346141l/54017820.SY75.jpg 68799441] so much and I was like “how can the 2nd one be even better?” and Margaret Owen was like “Vanja accidentally started a cult”

Perjalanan Vanja di buku pertama berakhir dengan menjatuhkan Margrave yang jahat, mematahkan kutukan yang mematikan dan menemukan cinta dengan prefek junior Emeric Conrad. Vanja memutuskan sebelum melanjutkan hubungan dengan Emeric lebih lanjut, dia ingin mencari jati dirinya. Namun dalam perjalanannya kini, Vanja tidak sengaja menciptakan dewa The Scarlet Maiden. Cerita ciptaannya ini semakin melebar, hingga Emeric diutus untuk menyelidiki hal ini dan The Scarlet Maiden asli malah muncul untuk menandai Emeric sebagai tumbal untuk dikorbankan.
Untuk ujian terakhirnya, Emeric ditugaskan untuk menentukan, apakah Vanja bersalah atas fraud atau The Scarlet Maiden benar-benar ada bukan ciptaan Vanja. Sementara itu Vanja mencari solusi alternatif supaya Emeric urung menjadi tumbal untuk The Scarlet Maiden.
Alternatifnya, Vanja diminta oleh The Scarlet Maiden untu mengumpulkan setetes darah dari 7 bersaudara laki-laki. Tanpa diduga dalam perjalanannya untuk mengumpulkan tetes darah ini Vanja menemukan apa yang sudah lama didambakannya.
Sama seperti buku pertamanya, awalnya penjelasan disana sini agak membuat bosan dan bingung. Namun ketika sampai di bagian akhir, semua penjelasan itu ada dengan alasan tertentu. Aku sangat menyukai seri ini dan akan membaca buku ketiganya.