Teen Review: The Man Painter

The Man Painter (Painter Series #2) by Melissa Turner Lee
Release Date ~ September 20, 2012
Self-published
E-copy received from author for review

Goodreads Synopsis
Secrets can kill a relationship. But the secrets Holly and Theo keep from each other in the start of their relationship could mean the death of either of them. Fritz holds all the cards, and raises the stakes in this deadly, more adult conclusion of The Painter Series.

When I finished The Earth Painter, I was dying for the sequel to come out.  I built up this book to be amazing in my mind.  I was really excited when I got a message on Goodreads asking if I wanted an ARC.  Obviously, I said yes.  When I started reading the PDF, I found that it did not reach my incredibly high standards and wasn't up to par with the first book in the series.

1. A Great Story Involving the Painters:
   
   One of the best parts of the previous book is of course the other painters, such as Biology and Physics.  The storyline that surrounded them was really exciting to read about, and I also thought that a lot of work was put into it.  Their story contributes so much to the ending, which I thought was a fairly surprising ending.  I liked how we get to see a bit more about their friendship with Theo.

 

I think that the reason I did not enjoy this book as much as the previous one is because like it says in the synopsis, it's more adult.  I think that the more adult way of telling the story I found really hard to connect with, and I found some of the characters to be completely annoying. 

 

 I really liked the romance in the previous novel, and I found it really sweet.  In the sequel, I found it moved far too fast for any lasting relationship to.  Holly acted incredibly immature sometimes, which I thought was a big step backward for her character from the book before.  Some things just didn't make sense to me.

 

I think that if you're an older, adult reader, you might connect with this book more.  I'm a younger teen, so if you're older and you liked the previous book, you might very well like this one.  There are some good parts in this book, but it just didn't do it for me.

 

 



Teen Review: The Earth Painter

The Earth Painter (The Painter Series #1) by Melissa Turner Lee
Release Date ~ August 28, 2011
E-copy received from author for review

Goodreads Synopsis:
 When a self-conscious young woman discovers the boy in drama class is actually the immortal who painted the world into being, she becomes the target of another painter who hates humanity. The Earth Painter is a Young Adult Supernatural Romance set in the small mill town of Chesnee, SC. It revolves around Holly Scruggs, who's family has just moved back to Chesnee after her dad lost his job along with pretty much everything they owned. Her image conscious parents correct her to the point of brokenness until she meets Theo. He is the artist responsible for all the beauty of the land and he thinks Holly is beautiful too. Together they will fight against Fritz, the water painter who hates humans and is hiding a secret under the high school.

1. Theo-
   Theo is by far my favourite character in this book.  He's a bit strange, but he is really sweet, especially to Holly.  He starts to mend what Holly's parents(well, her mother) have broken.  She learns to love herself again.  She doesn't in a really need way, though.  She doesn't depend on Theo to shower her with compliments.  He brought out the best in her.  I thought it was really cool the way he explained to her about his world.  He's a bit socially awkward, but he doesn't even notice.  He is adorable.
2. Fascinating Concept- I thought the idea that there were these beings called "Earth Painters" painted the world was really a fascinating concept.  It was so cool that all the different sciences were personified.  Geology, Biology, and all the others are mentioned here.  The painters created the world and everything in it, except for humans.  This was a really unique idea that I thoroughly enjoyed.

 I devoured this book in the span of two days.  I read around 30% of it one day, and then I devoured the rest the next night.  This book was a truly captivating experience and I am anxiously waiting for the next book to come out.