Is Painted Scars part of a series?

Painted Scars is the first book in Neva Altaj's Perfectly Imperfect series, a Chicago-set Russian Bratva mafia romance where each book follows a different couple.

Does Painted Scars have a dual point of view?

The narrative of Painted Scars is told from the alternating perspectives of both Nina and Roman, offering insight into each character's thoughts and motivations.

Painted Scars

Reader reviews of Painted Scars

Alejandra Romo · 2026-08-27T20:13:07.000000Z

⭐ 3 Stars I read this series in 2 days, what can I say, work was very light and had nothing else to do, and since I feel like what I have to say about each individual book it's pretty much the same I will copy and paste and probably add an extra paragraph with specifics if needed. Although I liked it, it felt a bit superficial.I was expecting more darkness ??? More depth, to the characters, to the story, even to the mafia parts. There was no development, no character growth. I feel like it's lacking quite a bit and it's kind of disappointing because it really has a lot of potential as a dark mafia romance, but it never got to touch a more complex layer, it remained surface level, like a draft and not a completed piece. It's a very light mafia story, and given it´s popularity I was expecting more. Something I really liked was the author adding new things to the genre. Yes, it has some cliches, but you can overlook them by being immersed in other parts of the stories. The characters felt new, different and contemporary, not just a repetition of the same mafia stereotypes, some were vulnerable, some were smart, and it was a really nice surprise, I guess that's why I got to finish the series. Painted Scars: I was not expecting this to be funny at all, I loved Nina´s personality and her relation with Roman, I liked the way the author included Roman´s physical disabilities and Nina´s paintings.

Contemporary Romance Dark Romance

Pages: 218
Published: 2022
Language: English

Synopsis

Artist Nina Grey strikes a deal with Roman Petrov, the ruthless Pakhan of Chicago's Russian Bratva: a fake marriage to protect her father from his debts to the organization. Roman, recovering from a car bomb that left him confined to a wheelchair, needs a devoted wife at his side to quiet rumors that he's no longer fit to lead his own empire.

What begins as a contract collides with real feeling as Roman sees through Nina's performance of a happy wife, and neither of them can keep pretending it's only business. Painted Scars is the first book in Neva Altaj's Perfectly Imperfect series, an enemies-to-lovers, marriage-of-convenience mafia romance told from both points of view, with a guaranteed happy ending.

10 reviews