Painted Blind

by Michelle A. Hansen

Psyche Middleton vows her dad will never see the risqué photos she took during a summer modeling stint abroad, but one of them ends up on a billboard in her Montana hometown, where everyone—especially her dad—can see it. That becomes the least of her worries when she meets Erik, a mysterious guy who rescues her from a mob and who she’s never actually seen because he can make himself invisible.

Erik takes her to his palace in an idyllic kingdom, and she is swept into the beauty and culture of his world, but his affection has one condition: she may not see him. Enchanted, intrigued, and not wholeheartedly believing he’s real, Psyche can’t bring herself to love him blindly. When she betrays his trust for a glimpse of his face, Psyche ends up at the mercy of Erik’s controlling mother, who demands that Psyche prove herself in order to be reunited with him. Psyche knows love is never easy, but this is ridiculous. She agrees to complete three impossible tasks to prove her devotion to Erik—or die trying.

This modern retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche is a fantastical journey filled with laughter, danger, and the indomitable power of love.

Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Young Adult, Romance, Retellings, Greek Mythology, Paranormal

331 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2012

About the author

Michelle A. Hansen was raised in southeastern Washington. She earned her bachelor of arts degree in English teaching from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and taught high school English for six years.

Michelle loves Pepsi and Doritos more than chocolate. She loves summertime and hates to be cold. She has had three near-death experiences. She’s addicted to office supplies and has an irrationally large stash of pens and notebooks.

Reviews

[TJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE REVIEW

Why this book?

The myth always interested me

What I thought

This is a modern day retelling of The Cupid & Psyche myth and its absolutely my favorite. I devoured this book I couldn't wait to see what happened next. Psyche falls in love with the invisible Erik and gets convinced by her jealous friend that she must see his face. When she does the whole adventure to win his love starts. She must complete three tasks set by his mother Aphrodite or she will never see his face or hear him talk again. But that doesn't stop him from from stopping by invisibly now and again. This was full of romance, adventure, friendship, great characters and Greek mythology. It had Great characterization, characters you wanted to root for. I can't recommend this book enough this is a must read.

[Giselle · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Electronic Advanced Reader Copy was provided by the publisher for review. Quotes have been pulled from an ARC and may be subject to change.

I joined the blog tour for this because I thought the premise sounded so interesting. I seriously thought it was a contemporary romance and that she was an artist of some sort. Boy I'm sure glad I was wrong. This is the retelling of Eros and Psyche. I love mythology tales, but I only know the most popular ones. So imagine to my surprise I haven't heard of this one. I’m so grateful to join this tour, because I enjoyed it immensely.

I highly recommend this book, not just for the beautiful love story even though it was instant, but because Psyche never gave up on Erik. I just wished they fell in love a lot longer. I also wanted to know more about Erik. There was a lack of personality happening there, just because Psyche saw him as perfect. I loved the secondary characters though. I felt I knew them more than I did Erik.

Michelle writes so beautifully, adding details here and there. The pacing is perfect as it picks up in different chapters and slows down in others to give us a break from the emotional cries. I can't help but love the world she has painted. It actually seems like paradise. On the other hand, Hades is exactly how I would picture it. Pain and suffering beyond belief, I couldn't help but feel a little scared. It was too vivid, too real. Too freaky! Maybe it had to do with the fact that I read it late at night?

The only thing that should change is the cover. The cover lacks personality and could be a beautiful cover if they redesigned it.

Take a chance on this one, I highly recommend it. This is one of my favourite reads I’ve read this year. I want to read it again because I’m sure I missed something.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a few reviews for this book and decided to check into this book. I picked it up at Amazon for four dollars for my kindle. Yesterday afternoon when I sat down to read I decided to take a peek at it before I started back into the books I'm supposed to be reviewing. I stayed up until after midnight to finish this book and I never got back to the books I was supposed to be reading. oopsy. That should tell you how much I was enjoying the book though! :)

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It had romance, mythology, and that suspense element that keeps you wanting to know more. Very enjoyable writing. I'm really looking forward to reading more by Michelle Hansen.

It's funny though, the different takes on mythology in different books. I just read Goddess Interrupted where Hades is a good guy and Persephone harmless (mostly) and this book Hades and Persephone have gone bad and the underworld is horrible, evil and scary place.

If you enjoy Mythology you really ought to check this book out.

There were a few instances of mild swearing.

[Jude · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have this serious issue where I can't seem to actually read the summaries of books. I thought Painted Blind was a contemporary romance novel about blind dates, which is the reason why I signed up for the tour (this happened between one and two months ago). And before I started reading the novel I went back to read the summary - to refresh my memory - and encountered a totally different thing: an invisible dude? She falls in love with an invisible guy? What the hell? It sounded dumb. Completely delusional. My first thought when I started the book? Oh God, I'm gonna hate this one. My first thought when I finished the book? Oh God, this is one of my favorites. He. He. And HE.

I have absolutely no idea where to begin with this book. It started out with a mixture of fantasy and romance, but somehow the story completely transitioned to the point where the first half of the book was one story, and the other half a completely different one. All of this in a good way. It turned adventurous, deeply romantic and I got chills at times. This aspects are not mentioned in the summary, and I don't want to go too far because, it's not really a spoiler, but you'll be more surprised if I don't tell you (I know I was).

This book blew me away. So many elements, so many details, so many characters and changes! Not once did I lost track, and there was no dull moment. Each character was well developed and I fell in love with every one of them as they were introduced into the story. Psyche was never annoying, she was strong and sarcastically funny. Erick was also fantastic. They both made mistakes and learned and payed the price for them - Literally - But I really want to make emphasis on the rest of the characters: Aaeas, Rory, Titus. Tomans, even Savannah and Theron; they were all magnificently done. They were all so rich and so different and I really, really felt connected to all of them.

Painted Blind was simply amazing. I had never read anything like it, or met characters like those. The cover isn't bad, but it does absolutely no justice to the book; even the title seems a bit off. But even this won't stop me from giving this book 5 stars (on Goodreads).

[Herman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Painted Blind by Michelle A. Hansen: Enjoyed this retelling of a ancient story, (Tell you the truth I don't know the original story) In this one Eros a god a.k.a Erik Savage, falls in love with a human name of psyche.
so far so good although my questioning mind is wondering Why dad did you name your daughter Psyche? The author never said so who knows, anyway this girl is beautiful a teenage model who did a photo spread reduplicating the famous painting Birth of Venus by Botticelli which pissed off Eros's mom Aphrodite (Why who knows Gods and Goddesses are really touchy about their image I guess) So it's a slowly evolving love affair first he loves her then she f's it up by breaking one of the rules so he tosses her away and she goes to the ends of the earth to win back his love Mom gets involved send her to hell she survives wins back her love and frees another who was unjustly condemned over all a nice story especially the later part of the book because it kind of dragged on a bit at the beginning. There were a few idiosyncratic quirks which the heroine has that plays into the plot and her character development although how she developed her fear of crowds or being touched and of heights we again are not told, so good story the pacing is a little slow and go, the writing is simple almost always in the first person narrative voice seldom in a passive of second or third person view the best parts for me were the trip to the underworld and the weakest were how simple and two dimensional some of the secondary characters were and how many blank areas of information existed where real background character development should have been, Psyche's Mom? Hello, who was she why is she not in her life? etc. So those missing inconvenient details brings it from a four star to a solid three and a half star read if your not as picking about story structure as I am then this is a sold 4 star read but I can only give it a three star review recommend it for a Middle schooler's Christmas stocking .

[Lyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is also posted HERE.

Out of all the mythological retellings I've read over the past year, Painted Blind is my favorite. The world-building is sublime; the plot is relatively fast-paced; and the characters are engaging. The writing is beautiful - the descriptions of Erik's world are intricately detailed - and not a page of this book bored me. Though I pretty much knew how the story will progress since I am well acclimated with the myth of Cupid (Eros) and Psyche, Michelle Hansen threw little plot twists here and there to make this story truly her own.

I love how Hansen portrayed Psyche. Usually, when authors attempt to make a beautiful girl insecure and frightened of all the stares and attention, everything falls flat. They make the girl sound too whiny and ungrateful - and most of the time irritating - but that isn't the case for Psyche. Sure, she may be described as being unearthly beautiful, but like every girl who has to go through life with eyes feasted upon her every move, she quakes under the stares. Like every girl thrust into the public eye for something she's not proud of, she does everything she can to hide herself. The way Hansen talked about Psyche's fear of people and unwarranted attention was definitely believable, and in no way did I even doubt how Psyche felt throughout the book.

What I loved the most about this book was its supporting characters. While I didn't blink my eyes in disbelief about Psyche and Erik's love, I never felt like I actually got to know Erik as opposed to his servant, Aeas, and Psyche's servant, Titus. (Be warned - I'm using the term servant very loosely here.) Yes, I do see that he's very protective and that he does indeed love Psyche very much, but I think that that's all that I got from what I read and nothing else. I really wish that his character could have been explored more, but then again, this book was told from Psyche's point of view. I guess you can't really expect her to paint the man she loves in a bad light. However, as Aeas and Titus were both there for Psyche every step of the way when she had to accomplish the impossible, I really felt like I got to know the both them. Moreover, Psyche described both characters as she saw them - no sugarcoating whatsoever. If they did something that she didn't like, or they wanted her to do something that she won't do, she'd call it as it is. I also loved how Psyche and Titus interacted with each other - their banter was fun to read, and seeing their friendship progress was also entertaining.

Overall, Painted Blind was an entertaining and enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it to readers who love retellings of myths - you won't regret reading this book!

[Seanean · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://librarytalker.blogspot.com/201...

Psyche has always been beautiful and has always hated that beauty. It has caused her nothing but trouble. After going away for the summer to model, she returns to find her image plastered on billboards and in magazines.

High school just became a whole lot more difficult.

With the paparazzi and fans following her everywhere, Psyche often finds herself surrounded by crowds of people. When she's rescued one day by someone who can become invisible at will, she finds that she's fallen completely in love, even without seeing him.

Now she must prove her love to him by never looking at him. If she can't follow that simple rule, she may lose everything.

Final thoughts: This was a compelling read and retelling of the Eros/Psyche myth. It was a fast read and drew me in. However, upon finishing it, I found myself questioning a large number of things that happened. Psyche's "friend" is a horrible person who seems to only hang out with Psyche because she wants to catch the boys around her. She's fickle, selfish, and tricky, yet Psyche thinks only good things about her during most of the book. The author doesn't explain enough about things like how Psyche got her name (her mother is a ditz and her father's in construction, so why "Psyche"?), why she hates crowds, or why she is so scared of heights. It's also strange that the moment she has one ad campaign out, she's being followed everywhere to the point where she has to go into hiding. There are also a couple of Twilight moments with her waiting in the forest after being rejected and having to be rescued, then falling into a deep depression. Having read the myth after reading the book, a few more things make sense now, but it needs a little work.

[Daphne Delacroix · Rating 2 out of 5]

At first, I was really liking it, I even planned on rating it four stars, but then it just got...boring...I left it on page 215, but I became disinterested after Eros threw her out of his kingdom. So...yeah...I ended up not liking it anyway.

Actually, I'm more a romantic than an action-seeker, and after one-thirds of the book, it was mainly action stuff. Plus, the love was too rushed anyway, though at first I liked it enough to ignore the unnecessary fast-pacing.

But thanks to Miss Deva for the copy! And it wasn't even the author's fault-partially-because I'd gone in expecting lots of romance and conflict. There's no conflict, Eric and what's-her-name just have to be together...okaaayyyyy

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

looooved this one!

[roxtao · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received Painted Blind by courtesy of Createspace publisher and Mrs. Michelle A. Hansen, the author of the book. Thank you for offering me the chance to read this wonderful story! Because English is not my native language and because, until now, my reviews were only written in Romanian, please accept my excuses for the possible mistakes.

Since I read the first books of Aimee Carter’s series – Goddess Test, I was desperate to discover other books inspired by legends and mythology. As it happened, I found Painted Blind, but I had no idea that these pages were exactly what I was looking for. The synopsis caught me before even having the chance to finish reading it, so I missed the second paragraph. Therefore, when I began reading the book, I only knew that it was about a girl having problems because of a discreditable photo and that she was saved from a difficult situation by an invisible guy. That’s all. I don’t know why, the first page gave me the impression that I was reading a vampire story, so probably that’s why I didn’t notice the first hints. But then, I slowly began discovering (enthusiastically!) that I was wrong and that in Painted Blind I won’t meet any vampires.

About 15 years ago I was reading The Legends of Olympus. Of course, I don’t remember a lot of details, but I do know that the legend of Psyche and…(hmm..I’d better not reveal the name so I don’t spoil the surprise)…one of the gods of the Ancient Greece was my favourite. I loved it and over the years I kept remembering the story and how much I liked it. And now I discovered a book inspired exactly by this myth! From the moment I began glimpsing the hope that this could be exactly that legend, I felt overenthusiastic and eager to discover the whole story. The premise of the book is the same on which most of the gods legends are built: he is a god, she is a mortal and we have a love story full of different obstacles, tests, enemies and the threat of a very unpleasant ending. But, the way the author managed to cover the book’s core in order to obtain a complete story is beautiful. I was charmed the whole time. The characters are credible, their actions and gestures look so careless that you almost forget you’re reading a fantasy novel. Some of their remarks are so funny that it’s impossible not to giggle, even if you’re reading in a public area and you find yourself getting all those weird looks because of it. A pro is that the female character is not enclosed by the classic types. She is neither the weak female character waiting to be saved by Prince Charming, nor the mighty fighter that can overcome anything alone. She’s not always reacting the way you would expect her to and she is not offering the most polite or appropriate remark. On the contrary, sometimes she’s a little unfair in treating the people around her. But this only makes her incredible real.

The grumblers might say that the ending is a little similar to one of the novels from the Twilight series. I don’t know if the author was inspired by those novels but indeed, there are few aspects that could remind you of the series, especially the family life of Psyche. Even more, after a couple of tests, we have the scene where Erik accompanies Psyche to her home, in order to meet her father, to tell him the truth and ask for his permission to take her away. Sounds familiar, right? It may, but from my point of view, Painted Blind offers a much better story! The book has a more enthralling action, the adventures of Psyche are certainly more tensed and the characters are designed better.

Pros:

- I think it’s the first novel in which you can get to know the secondary characters that well. Their portraits are outlined so well, that they could even rival with the ones of the main characters. I had moments when I felt more attached with Aeas, Titus or Thomas than with Psyche or Erik.

Cons:

- One part from the beginning, when Psyche gets harassed by the paparazzi because she posed (almost) nude in a public campaign, seemed a little exaggerated. Considering that the book’s action takes place in our time, I don’t see why such a thing would generate so much chaos. I’ve got the sensation that this part wasn’t reviewed enough and that it was only a compromise solution in order to cast the plot.

[Soma Rostam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real love is something hard to find, but once it's there, it's also very hard to keep. Michelle A. Hansen draws a line between fake affections and real, overwhelming love, she shows you that real love is worth any sacrifice, and that it's indeed worth fighting for.
17-year-old Psyche, swears that her strict father will never see the photos she took in some modelling sessions, but one of the photos ends up on a huge
billboard in the main street.
After this incidence, Psyche struggles to stay normal, but against her will she starts to fall for Erik, the mysterious guy who saved her from a group of admirers by making her disappear. Yes, Erik can be invisible.
After taking her to his magical kingdom, Psyche knows that Erik can touch her, talk to her, or kiss her lips, but she can only hear him, she can only feel him when he's near. Erik doesn't let her see him, so Psyche has to prove to herself that she can fall in love blindly. She has to prove that real emotions come from the heart not from the eyes. But that's not as easy as it seems.
After struggling so hard to keep herself from trying to see Erik, she finally gives up. But betrayal is something not easily forgiven, Psyche has to try quite hard to bring her real love back.
What will Psyche has to do to bring Erik back? Will Psyche suceed in making him forgive her? And will they finally be together and live their magical happily ever after? Check this out when you read, Michelle A. Hansens first novel, the captivating standalone, Painted Blind...
Michelle A. Hansen created a huge masterpiece, the characters are all so overwhelming. I loved Psyche's wit, her teasing attitude, and her cute sense of humor. Actually, the whole book has a touch of humor in it, which had me laughing hard. I loved how Psyche developed from the first line till the end, she makes a few silly mistakes but she tries real hard to correct them. Psyche is stubborn, definitely a plus!
Erik is gorgeous, magical, caring, loyal, emotional and over-protective (I'm not exaggerating), he is definitely special. Although he makes a few mistakes, but he grows up and fixes them. I full-heartly adored most of the good guys in the book, they were all so gentle and kind.
And I loved the touch of Greek mythology in the novel, you might not know what I am talking about now, but when you read the book, you will be surprised at how many unexpected, wonderful twists you will encounter.
This book will take your breath away, it will leave your heart pounding, and your skin tingling. Although it's a standalone, but you will enjoy it as much as you could have enjoyed reading a whole series, maybe even more. This novel is thought-provoking, it is full of intriguing characters, exhilarating twists, and wonderful scenes. No matter what you like, you should definitely read Painted Blind....

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every girl dreams of the man she’ll fall in love with, sometimes to the point of obsession. But what if, when you finally bump into him, you can’t see his face? What if he’s invisible to you? Could you fall in love without ever seeing him? PAINTED BLIND paints a beautiful picture of falling in love for all the right reasons and just how far you’d go just to see each other again.

Psyche just wants to have a normal senior year, including a date to homecoming and prom. She hopes that no one will find out she spent her summer modeling or worse that she seems to be nude in one of her shots. Aphrodite is angry over the ad Psyche did because she sees it as a mockery. She orders her son, Eros to fix it. Eros ends up needing to help Psyche escape the paparazzi and takes her into his realm. He has one condition and that condition is that she cannot see him. He tells her he will remain invisible, which means he cannot enter his realm during the day, only at night.

Psyche caves to curiosity and worry; she breaks Eros’s rule and sees his face. He banishes her from his realm. Psyche fights with Aphrodite for a second chance with Eros. Aphrodite sends Psyche on impossible tasks hoping she’ll fail. She must not see or speak to Eros until the tasks are complete. Psyche is determined to succeed; she must see Eros again. Psyche goes all around the world and into the Underworld in order to get Eros back, all to keep a love that she found when she was blind to what he really was.

PAINTED BLIND had me reluctant to put this book down from page one, I was intrigued and enjoying every second of it. It did leave me wanting more from the supporting characters. I felt that if a little bit more detail had been given to them, especially for as much as Psyche has to rely on them during her tasks, it would have made this excellent story even better. If the gods of Greek mythology interest you at all, PAINTED BLIND will keep you intrigued. Even if you’re not big on Greek mythology the love story Michelle Hansen paints with PAINTED BLIND is one for everyone.

✳✳ Copy provided by the author/publisher for an honest review.

✳✳ Reviewed on I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews

[Shannon Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book ended up being so much more than the summary indicates. Of course, I was predisposed to like this book because it's a) a retelling of a myth, which you know I love, and b) one of my favorite myths, of Psyche and Eros (Cupid.) So of course, I had to love it. However, it ended up being a lot more than that...and I loved it, loved it, loved it! This was the type of book that, once finished, made me immediately go to Goodreads.com and see if I could find other books by this author. I was hooked.


Aside from the fact that I love Psyche and Eros, I loved the retold characters. This Psyche was just perfect. She was sweet, innocent, but adventurous too. She cared so much for other people, and her single-minded determination to get through her tasks made you love her all the more. I loved her perseverance, loved her attitude, and thought her love for Eros was realistic and deep. She was a great character.


Then there's Eros. I liked the fact that the author gave him some un-God-like qualities. He wasn't perfect. He had a sort of temper, didn't trust easily, and could make mistakes of his own. It made him seem more, well, human. Aside from being gorgeous, sexy, and badass, he was also sweet, caring, and loving. I loved his actions while Psyche was working on the tasks. Made me fall for him repeatedly.


There weren't many girls in this story, which was just fine with me. Psyche seemed to be surrounded by a cast of characters that were primarily men, but I loved them all. The author did such an amazing job with the characterization for her secondary characters. They each had a backstory, each had goals, motives, etc.... They were three-dimensional. I loved her interactions with all of them, and how deeply the author went to build Psyche's relationship with each one.


This was just a perfect retelling of an old favorite in the Greek myths. Michelle Hansen did a wonderful job hooking me in, gaining my interest and sympathy, and making me love her characters. The pacing was perfect. I flew through the pages and was left with a deep satisfaction at the ending. I truly hope this author puts out more books soon, and I would be even more excited if they end up being Greek myth-based. Great find!

[Kate Elbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still not sure if I'm done with this review, but here it goes.

Painted Blind is an amazing book that really surprised me. The blurb doesn’t do it justice, it just completely excited me when I realised this book was about Greek gods. Psyche is a young girl who's life is changed when an almost naked picture of her ends up on the main road of her town. This ad changed her life in many ways; from testing her fathers trust, to becoming suddenly famous and constantly being attacked by paparazzi. Soon enough the paparazzi are swarming and she gets caught in a sea of people all wanting her. Enter Eric, sweet, smart … invisible. Suddenly she is pulled from the crowd completely invisible along with her saviour. Eric mysteriously wont let her see him but Psyche has faith as he has let her enter an entirely new world of beautiful things. Can she trust him enough to not need to see him?

This book kept me hanging on every word and my heart beating with every new twist and turn. Having never read any books do with Greek mythology I really enjoyed reading unexplored territory. I must say Michelle Hansen wrote this book amazingly well, because as soon as I had started it I was unable to put it down, never once questioning any of it. I really am a sucker for teen romance, but never before have I read a book with such a complication in the relationship. The way Hansen wrote made me feel the excitement that Psyche was feeling as she entered 'Eric's world, and I was shaking as my heart sped up at the insane missions Psyche had to pull off.


This great story is such a good example of teen literature and really energises your imagination. Painted blind was sent to me for free in return for a review, and I hope this fulfils the expectations. Thankyou so much Michelle Hansen, this book was magnificent and I am very thankful for being able to read this for free, and to read it at all. I believe this book will go far, and I have already suggested it to all of my friends. So, to anyone else reading this, this book is more than five stars, and I suggest you grab a copy as soon as possible.

[Josheka · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of my reviews @ Reading 24x7


When I first saw the cover, I thought this might just be another YA contemporary fiction but nonetheless, I liked it so I went on to read the summary which was quite different from what I'd first assumed. Painted Blind is a YA fiction fantasy based on a Greek/Roman mythology.

Now ever since I've read Percy Jackson, I've been a big fan of Greek myth so obviously, this book intrigued me. Even kept my full interest till the 15th chapter or so. But as the story went on, I just felt that there was something missing in this novel. Don't get me wrong. The story was absolutely spectacular and well thought of, but I'm afraid I can't say the same about the writing style. The author herself seemed confused as to how to proceed once or twice. After every chapter, I was left confused about some things or several things.

Nonetheless, there were some really great elements in the book. The main female protagonist was likable and pretty brave. The starting was really nicely written and there was a sweet happy ending which I liked. You get that so rarely in real life. *Sigh*

I couldn't believe Psyche, when she actually blindly loved Erik without seeing him. I mean, what if he turned out having a purple face with black teeth? To say, she was being blind AND dumb regarding this, is really putting it mildly. I know, I know looks don't matter and bla bla bla, so it was bearable UNTIL out of the blue, she's betrothed to him, STILL CLUELESS ABOUT HIS FACE. The good side of these things was that they created a curiosity within me to know how the story was actually gonna end. Somewhere in the middle of the story, it seemed like there might be a love triangle after all, but thankfully that didn't happen.

Overall, there were several good and bad points of this book. But I can't rule out the fact that despite the problems I had with it, I still couldn't stop reading the story. So the accurate rating for this book from my side would be 3.5 stars and yes, I would like to recommend it to all YA fantasy romance lovers.

[Tee loves Kyle Jacobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Painted Blind took me by surprise. I am so excited to be a part of this tour put on by AToMR. At first when I started reading Painted Blind I thought the story sounded familiar that was when I realized it is a retelling of Psyche and Eros. I was so excited because I LOVE Greek Mythology and so of course as most of you know when I love a book I stayed up to 3am in the morning reading this book until I finished. I love the way Michelle put her own spin on it and created a loveable cast of characters.

Painted Blind starts out with Psyche spending the summer in Italy and doing some modeling. When Psyche comes home for her senior year in high school she is excited. That is until she comes out of her local ice cream shop and looks up at the billboard and sees herself there in a not so nice picture. Freaked out because has no idea how that billboard picture came to be and worried about her father she is rescued from the crowd by Erik. Psyche slowly falls in love with Erik and she longs to see what he looks like. She tries to see what he looks like and Erik leaves her wanting nothing to do with her. What will Psyche do? Will her heart break in two? Will she see Erik again? What will her senior in high school look like?

Erik is a quiet guy who saves Psyche from the people talking about her. He is gentle and kind and he is sure he has found his true love. Only there is someone determined to see them do bad and destroy what they are trying to build. Erik will soon find out how far true love will go to be with the one they want. God I can't say anything more about Erik because it will spoil it for you.

What happens when two people fall in love and someone else tries to destroy it? What happens when you mess up and do the opposite of what you are told to do? Will Psyche and Erik get there Happily Ever After? Read on to see. If you LOVE Greek Mythology like I do you will enjoy Painted Blind!

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am on a mythology kick right now, and Painted Blind is hands down my favorite YA mythology book I have read in 2012. It has all the amazing elements of an epic myth but it also has a fantastic romance. I read the book twice already this year!

Psyche is one tough cookie. I loved her determination and sense of humor. I also thought her little quirk was adorable. I mean she is super beautiful and she doesn't like crowds because of the attention. She just seemed so humble. Actually, erik did too. I think that's what made them perfect for each other. But don't worry, this is no easy path to romance for the two of them. In true mythology fashion, there was an epic quest that spanned long distances, and crazy hard tasks.

The world that Michelle Hansen created sucked me in immediately. I could not put this book down either time I read it. I connected with Psyche and Erik. I wanted Psyche to succeed so bad, and I couldn't stop turning the pages- I was so engrossed in the story. The only thing that bugged me a little was the very start of the book. It was when Erik was sent to "take care' of Psyche. I mean, that was the whole reason that he showed up at her school in the first place. but then as soon as he meets her, that is never brought up again in the story. I wished that it would have gotten addressed a little more or maybe saw Erik acknowledge it or struggle with it. But it didn't take anything away from the story and I honestly only even thought about it after I was done reading.

Painted Blind is going to be amazing for fans of romance and mythology! Painted Blind has made me an instant Michelle Hansen fan, and has put her on my must read author watch list. Do yourself a favor and read Painted Blind. And then come back to me so we can squee and gush. :)

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

What worked: This book was amazing, you get to know Psyche and "Erik" and for a minute I actually convinced myself that I was Psyche. The whole thought of having to fall in love with someone purely by their personality really appealed to me because these days, everyone is so obsessed with outward appearances. I really enjoyed the writing and the descriptions were unbelievable: I could practically smell the pine needles in the woods and shivered at the cold in the mountains. So difficult not to give away spoilers but I went through every emotion possible with this book. I even found myself looking at the percentage on my kindle and wondering what on earth was round the corner if I was only 75% of the way through it!

What irked: I don't like the whole "Instalove" that is so dominant in books but I was willing to overlook accept it in this book purely because I was so invested in the characters. The only thing that made me realise the book was self-published is purely because of the front cover. Even though I'm a major cover-lover, I was totally drawn into the blurb and forgot about the front cover (which is the way it should be!)

Recommended to: Absolutely everyone. This was my first ever book that was based on a Greek tragedy and it has spurred me into looking into more modernisations if they are as exciting as Painted Blind. If the cover had knocked my socks, the book would have gotten an extra point but it will still be a book that I will re-read over and over again.

[Heather T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised that I was able to get behind this story as well as I did. It's a cute tale of a girl who finds herself surrounded by drama created by the jealousy and pettiness of of Aphrodite. Suddenly surrounded by the members of the Greek pantheon, Psyche encounters everything from love to absolute terror. Over the course of her epic adventure, the agoraphobic girl that is terrified of mundane situations, grows and develops as she finds strength within herself to attempt to achieve her hearts desire despite everything - including the gods - against her.
When I say that I was surprised that I got behind the story, it's because the story is both light and intense. At first glance it feels like your average teen book that is a lot of fun to read. Then, while reading, there are moments that are brutal, depressing, or just plain intense enough to push this book beyond basic teenage fluff. It still borders fluff territory for most of the read, but the tale frequently veers from sheer frivolity to create something that I should remember for quite a while. I would definitely recommend this to teens, or those who enjoy the YA genre. Especially for those of us who tend to enjoy the Greek deities. Anyone who knows their myth structures should find the book fairly predictable, but for once, that just didn't bother me. I still enjoyed the story. It shows promise for Hansen and I look forward to seeing what she comes out with next.

[Preet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely adore mythological stories! I always enjoyed them in school and was so excited to review this as well.

Loving someone without seeing them is such a cool idea. We're so stuck on physical appearances today, that I wonder how different we would be if all we had to focus on was personality. Psyche was one of my favorite characters in the story. I liked that she was fairly independent, but still had Erik as someone to rely on. I actually felt like there wasn't enough of Erik though within the book. I knew he loved Psyche, but I just wanted a tad bit more of him. By the end of the book I felt like it focused more on secondary characters, than it did on him.

What I liked most about this book was that though this was a retelling, there were still a few differences through the story. I don't want to give away too much on the world building, but the way Hansen wrote it, you could tell she had a really well-developed idea about it.

Overall, this was a great retelling. I'm usually really hesitant about them because authors try to bring in something fresh but end up kind of ruining it. However, Michelle Hansen did the complete opposite in Painted Blind. Even if some areas felt a bit unrealistic at times, I'm glad she stuck with the story overall. Strongly recommended for any Greek Mythology lover who's looking for an interesting yet fun retelling.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that I was lucky enough to receive Painted Blind from the author in exchange for an honest review.

"Painted Blind" is based on the myth of Cupid and Psyche. Psyche is an amazing female character, she’s someone who us as teenage girls can relate to and not portrayed as your usually damsel in distress. I love how she's still humble regardless of her beauty and fights for the ones she cares about.
Hansen does a fantastic job developing the characters throughout the novel. The plot and main story line left me on the edge of my seat through the entire story and omg Erik (Eros). I completely fell in love with him. Romantic, sweet, mischievousness and a little bit dangerous. Even if he got angry with Psyche after she saw him, he easily forgave her after he saw that she really loved him and was willing to fight for him.

The only negative thing was it felt like everyone believed everything too quickly and easily especially Rory the boy who helped her in completing her tasks and Savannah (best friend). They just accepted it without asking many questions but overall original, romantic and now one of my favourite books of all time. Please write a second one?!

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun story. It is another YA Lit with a heorine who falls for a non-human within 30 seconds of meeting him, but I didn't find it as mushy or eye-rolling as other novels of this type. It was actually a really involved story-line, with a lot happening, a lot of action, and some fairly entertaining talk of greek mythology (which I usually don't care for, but Hansen gives us the modern day take on those greek gods).

While I do roll my eyes at stories of teenage girls, falling in love, instantly, and willing to give up their whole lives for this person they have known for a week, it was more tolerable to me in this story, perhaps because of the author. I liked her writing style, it seemed very natural and easy, the way reading a book should be.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so exited! I won this in a goodreads giveaway and so i can read this over and over again! This book was very well written. I really enjoyed the overall tone and voice of the character. I recommend this to EVERYONE!!! The story sucked me in right away and the characters were likable and it didn't fall flat anywhere. The ending was so well thought out and really left me satisfied. All in all one of the best books I have read which is saying allot...

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story! It was interesting and engaging. I was annoyed by a few typos (which seems more common than ever these days) and felt like the story jumped too quickly at times, but overall I enjoyed this quick read and look forward to a sequel if one comes out.

[Ronda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Painted Blind is a great, fun read!

[Cierra Holloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Read

The story of Eros and Psyche is my favorite Greek tale ever, add a modern twist in and you got one hell of an adventure! Psyche of course is extremely beautiful. So beautiful that just about every man becomes smitten with her, which leads to some insecurities. Then you have Eros, you fell in love with her and if you are familiar with the myth, then you know how the story goes. The other characters have wonderful personalities of their own.

The pacing was good and I loved the descriptive writing. Psyche is a courageous, strong-willed woman. The “Power of Love” theme was cute, although I felt the story in itself was lacking something...spicy. It’s a teen novel, so I’m only gonna get some but so much, but my only issue is that I felt that the lore was a bit weak. Nevertheless, the story overall was great!

[Rochelle Spada · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a good idea, but..

I liked the idea of this book. Myth retellings are my absolute favorite and the first third of this book is pretty good, its a slow burn and it was really building up in the story, but after the first third, things go pretty down hill. A tragedy happens and Pshyche doesn't even acknowledge it past the first 2 chapters after it happens. Then things that should have been mentioned or discussed further just go to the wayside. This happens earlier in the book to, but its not nearly as important. Psyche also has very little character development. If I were to make suggestions this book should have been a trilogy and not a ton of stuff crammed into 1 200 page book.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Multiples

I devoured books on Greek mythology in my adolescence. I had a huge crush on Eros and loved the story of him & Psyche. This modern retelling is great; pretty true to the old myth while putting it convincingly in a more contemporary setting. This evening I've read it now for the third time.

[Janet Fleckenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent zstoty!

S great trsf. Intriguing story lines r. I loved the combination of the gods and mortzld. Sturdy i thoughtfully was the Chen
But the gods made the story do much bryyrr. Hjgh!y recommended!!

[Viktoria Van der bilt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did I really just started reading this two days ago? It felt longer. This was almost 1100 pages on iBooks. I know why I started reading this but I really don’t know what kept me from quitting. So full of inconsistencies, poor transitions, and unnecessary scenes.