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Tainted #1
Tainted Crimson
The best-selling Tainted series by Tarisa Marie!
Nothing has ever been quite ordinary for Ariella Malgrovech. At four years old she witnessed her mother's surreal murder, and then years later on her eighteenth birthday, while attending her high school prom, her school catches aflame with her father trapped inside. With both of these tragedies come unexplainable supernatural circumstances. The series of unfortunate events that seemingly make up Ariella's life, manifest into millions of questions that desperately crave answers.
Soon does she not only receive the answers she seeks, but she discovers that the world around her isn't as she's always thought it was-supernatural creatures exist among humans and her own father is one of them. What does that make her? Trust turns to betrayal and knowledge turns to danger in this thrilling paranormal romance as Ariella ventures out into a world where witches, vampires, and immortals exist among humans, and a power hungry witch is out to kidnap her and force her to become as dark and wicked as he is. Will love prevail or will it be her undoing?
Nothing has ever been quite ordinary for Ariella Malgrovech. At four years old she witnessed her mother's surreal murder, and then years later on her eighteenth birthday, while attending her high school prom, her school catches aflame with her father trapped inside. With both of these tragedies come unexplainable supernatural circumstances. The series of unfortunate events that seemingly make up Ariella's life, manifest into millions of questions that desperately crave answers.
Soon does she not only receive the answers she seeks, but she discovers that the world around her isn't as she's always thought it was-supernatural creatures exist among humans and her own father is one of them. What does that make her? Trust turns to betrayal and knowledge turns to danger in this thrilling paranormal romance as Ariella ventures out into a world where witches, vampires, and immortals exist among humans, and a power hungry witch is out to kidnap her and force her to become as dark and wicked as he is. Will love prevail or will it be her undoing?
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 26, 2015
64 people are currently reading
948 people want to read
About the author
Tarisa Marie
20 books193 followersTarisa Marie was born and raised in the small town of Coronation in Alberta, Canada. When not writing, she enjoys reading, socializing, and spending time with her husband. Tarisa Marie currently resides in Lethbridge, Alberta where she writes full-time and works casually as a Disability Support Worker in the community.
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June 16, 2018💝FREE on iBooks today (6/16/2018)!💝
May 17, 2025
Excitement from start to finish.
A young girl who witnessed the horrific murder of her mother as a young girl gets raised by her father and a group of his friends in a very unique and somewhat overprotective manner. Now 18, all holy heck breaks out and life will never be the same starting with attending her high-school dance. Yep, that dance we all freaked out about attending. 😳 Well, she had a much worse experience than I believe anyone could have ever thought possible. Only, for this young girl, this was just the start of a journey and a tale into a world she never knew leading her back to what happened to her mom when she was little.
This book works for both adults and older teens. There is a small amount of flirting, a kissing scene, and allusions to bloody scenes (because of vampires), but no gore. I appreciate the way the author wrote the book with the reader using their imagination instead of writing out all this. It's unnecessary.
Recommended 👍
📚📚📚📚
A young girl who witnessed the horrific murder of her mother as a young girl gets raised by her father and a group of his friends in a very unique and somewhat overprotective manner. Now 18, all holy heck breaks out and life will never be the same starting with attending her high-school dance. Yep, that dance we all freaked out about attending. 😳 Well, she had a much worse experience than I believe anyone could have ever thought possible. Only, for this young girl, this was just the start of a journey and a tale into a world she never knew leading her back to what happened to her mom when she was little.
This book works for both adults and older teens. There is a small amount of flirting, a kissing scene, and allusions to bloody scenes (because of vampires), but no gore. I appreciate the way the author wrote the book with the reader using their imagination instead of writing out all this. It's unnecessary.
Recommended 👍
📚📚📚📚
December 17, 2015
The author sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, that in no way reflects my
opinion of it.
This review contains spoilers so please read at your own risk, I don't want to ruin this story for anyone. :)
This book was unlike anything I have ever read and it is definitely going down as one of my favorite
reads of 2015. From the very first page you are sucked into the world of Ariella Malgrovech and I
didn't want to leave. The story begins in a flashback to when the main character was four years old at the park, running into a mysterious boy ,and witnessing the murder of her mother. Do I have your
attention yet? I was shocked at how many things happened within the first chapter but I was pleasantly surprised. The author brilliantly captures the true turmoil of how hard It is to speak of a person who has passed away and the heartbreak you feel over losing someone you care deeply for.
As the story changes into the present Ariella goes to her prom where a fire engulfs the gym and her life is changed forever. She's now tossed into a world of Immortals , Witches, and Vampires. Finding out her father is an immortal and didn't die in the fire, Her dad's best friend is actually her half brother, and her mother was a vampire, and the annoyingly cute friend of her dad's is a witch is the least of her worries as we find out a man named Marco is after her. In her opinion her life was far too normal and of course she was right. The old saying Be careful what you wish for comes to mind while thinking about how she led a pretty simple life and now it's just chaotic. This book makes you go through a roller-coaster of emotions in a good way.
Ariella is such a relatable character and you find yourself agreeing with the fact that everyone wants an exciting as well as thrilling life full of adventure, boring is a word that no one wants to be associated with in their life. She's strong yet has a soft heart at times. Her relationship with Daymon better known as D is so stinking sweet. He is definitely my new book boyfriend and he's totally swoon worthy. I can't wait to see how their relationship progresses in the next book. D in my opinion is a tortured soul who deserves happiness even though I could have jumped into the book to slap him a few times I adored his character in a whole better known as I had a Love/Hate relationship with him.
I absolutely loved her dad Theenis and how quirky yet loving he was. Mindy is pretty much the best
friend we all have in real life, the one who is right there when you need someone the most and the one who can be goofy at the same time. I can't wait to find out what happens to her in the next book. I loved Ariella's half brother Jacob and how protective he was of her throughout the whole story.
Nathan surprised me and I was shocked to learn he was Marco's son but I liked how he tried his best to help out Ariella. Marco was so evil and the only character that I hated for that exact reason. I thought all of the characters were very well developed and you could connect with all of them.
Tarisa Marie absolutely blew me away and I can't believe that Tainted Crimson was her first novel!
She has such a way with words that you feel as if you are the main character in this crazy supernatural world. She has created a world that leaves you wishing it was real and a love that you are envious of. I can't wait to start Tainted Heart to see what happens next! I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an engaging and unique read! I promise you will not regret picking this book up!! 5 Stars all around!!
August 29, 2015
Loved this book! It had a very original yet very different storyline. The plot twist really threw me for a loop. I want to tell you all what happens but I can't. I bought from Amazon for 99 cents or something and was very pleased. Check it out of you like paranormal romances! You will like this if you like Alyson Noel's work, Julie Kaagawa's, Bella Forrest's, or Karen Moning's.
December 19, 2022
This writing could be better but yeah. I may will or may not pick up the 2nd book although there were cliffhanger.
TBH, this first halves was great, and 2nd half - not so.
TBH, this first halves was great, and 2nd half - not so.
September 10, 2024
I'm hooked!
This novel has great character development, suspenseful plot twists and a magical romance! I cannot wait to read the next one! Definitely a good read!
This novel has great character development, suspenseful plot twists and a magical romance! I cannot wait to read the next one! Definitely a good read!
March 25, 2016
I got a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Getting this book for free does not affect my opinion of it in any way.
It's been a while since I've read any of paranormal so I've been very glad to have the opportunity to do that again.
What I didn't like:
-The cover. It's pretty enough, but I'm sick and tired of seeing covers with girls in ball gowns. It doesn't reflect the book story, so what's the point? It's not like Ariella is going to the ball every other day. The only even she's attending is her prom and I'm pretty sure that's not the dress she was wearing.
-I've noticed that famous paranormal books inspired the autor. It's not necessarily bad, of course. It's hard to came up with something 100% original these days.
-Calling daymon "D" is too weird. He's not some kind of gangsta wannabe.
-There was too much talking. I love my fair share of dialogue, but here... ugh, a girl can take just so much. Everytime Ariella asked Daymon or her brother or father about something they just gave this three pages long explanation. It was nice, on one hand, we had a full view of things, but it became quite tiring after some time.
-I've noticed few typos ("any way" for example) and few grammar errors or missing words.
What Iiked:
-I missed paranormal so it was great to finally read about witches (and warlocks) and vampires.
-Daymon. I liked him. Definitely swoon-worthy dude. He's funny and snarky, cocky and full of himself. He's also kind, protective and smart. He's no Daemon Black or Jace Wayland, but hey, he's still a major panty dropper.
-Ariella. She's a good protagonist. She's a girl you root for. Smart and funny, actually accepting that she's weaker or that she can't help in some situations.
-I loved the scene where Dayom was fighting this what-was-his.name dude at school.
-I'm glad that there is no love triangle in this book. No two guys fighting for Ariella or no second girl fighting with Ariella for Daymon. I'm sick and tired of this.
In a nutshell, it's a good book, but it's not amazing or even great. You can feel that it's the author's first book, it won't change your life, it won't make you stop and think about your life choices.
The book ends with a cliffhanger and I will be waiting for a second book to come out, because I'm sure I'd like to read it.
It's been a while since I've read any of paranormal so I've been very glad to have the opportunity to do that again.
What I didn't like:
-The cover. It's pretty enough, but I'm sick and tired of seeing covers with girls in ball gowns. It doesn't reflect the book story, so what's the point? It's not like Ariella is going to the ball every other day. The only even she's attending is her prom and I'm pretty sure that's not the dress she was wearing.
-I've noticed that famous paranormal books inspired the autor. It's not necessarily bad, of course. It's hard to came up with something 100% original these days.
-Calling daymon "D" is too weird. He's not some kind of gangsta wannabe.
-There was too much talking. I love my fair share of dialogue, but here... ugh, a girl can take just so much. Everytime Ariella asked Daymon or her brother or father about something they just gave this three pages long explanation. It was nice, on one hand, we had a full view of things, but it became quite tiring after some time.
-I've noticed few typos ("any way" for example) and few grammar errors or missing words.
What Iiked:
-I missed paranormal so it was great to finally read about witches (and warlocks) and vampires.
-Daymon. I liked him. Definitely swoon-worthy dude. He's funny and snarky, cocky and full of himself. He's also kind, protective and smart. He's no Daemon Black or Jace Wayland, but hey, he's still a major panty dropper.
-Ariella. She's a good protagonist. She's a girl you root for. Smart and funny, actually accepting that she's weaker or that she can't help in some situations.
-I loved the scene where Dayom was fighting this what-was-his.name dude at school.
-I'm glad that there is no love triangle in this book. No two guys fighting for Ariella or no second girl fighting with Ariella for Daymon. I'm sick and tired of this.
In a nutshell, it's a good book, but it's not amazing or even great. You can feel that it's the author's first book, it won't change your life, it won't make you stop and think about your life choices.
The book ends with a cliffhanger and I will be waiting for a second book to come out, because I'm sure I'd like to read it.
April 18, 2016
Shout out to Tarisa Marie for being my first Instagram follower! I hadn’t heard of her previously, but as a thanks for the follow, here’s my review of “Tainted Crimson”.
First of all, the world Tarisa Marie set up in this book is awesome! I want to know more about the history, the characters and the different types of supernatural beings. I like that these beings can interbreed, leaving their progeny with different ability levels. This is the strongest element of the novel. Not everyone can create a complex world and break it down for the reader to efficiently.
However well explained the novel is, I feel like it could use more in-depth information about the characters and the background. The handful of reviews I’ve read share the some opinion: add more “show” to the “tell”. More sensory details and personalized observations would add depth to the characters. It may add to the page count, but would be well worth it.
I would also like to have read more conversations between the main character Ariella and her father. It seems like they were close. Perhaps this occurs in future installments in the series, or perhaps this is intentional by the author, but it seems like Ariella would be more comforted and sure if she got information and consolation from her daddy.
One thing I really liked: the characters eat bacon. All the time. Good food choice!
Tainted Crimson has everything you need for the first book in a series: intriguing setting, good characters with good dynamic, a main character set up to grow, and the feeling that you just want more. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series: Tainted Heart.
Tarisa Marie, you’re amazing.
Read this review (and others like it) on LitRALLY. https://litrallyblog.wordpress.com/20...
First of all, the world Tarisa Marie set up in this book is awesome! I want to know more about the history, the characters and the different types of supernatural beings. I like that these beings can interbreed, leaving their progeny with different ability levels. This is the strongest element of the novel. Not everyone can create a complex world and break it down for the reader to efficiently.
However well explained the novel is, I feel like it could use more in-depth information about the characters and the background. The handful of reviews I’ve read share the some opinion: add more “show” to the “tell”. More sensory details and personalized observations would add depth to the characters. It may add to the page count, but would be well worth it.
I would also like to have read more conversations between the main character Ariella and her father. It seems like they were close. Perhaps this occurs in future installments in the series, or perhaps this is intentional by the author, but it seems like Ariella would be more comforted and sure if she got information and consolation from her daddy.
One thing I really liked: the characters eat bacon. All the time. Good food choice!
Tainted Crimson has everything you need for the first book in a series: intriguing setting, good characters with good dynamic, a main character set up to grow, and the feeling that you just want more. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series: Tainted Heart.
Tarisa Marie, you’re amazing.
Read this review (and others like it) on LitRALLY. https://litrallyblog.wordpress.com/20...
September 9, 2015
I first saw this book on instagram (I follow the author) I thought I would give it ago as it was on Amazon for 99p.
I got to the end of this book through sheer will and the little pockets of genius that I found throughout the book.
I enjoyed the idea behind the story but felt like it lacked in places and over did it in other places.
I am a Daymon fan yet I found it hard to get a clear image of him in my minds eye, no clear powerful description on characters made it hard to get lost in the story.
A lot of time and place hopping made it difficult to keep up sometimes although I like the magical residue touch, very nice.
I found the witches/immoral/vampire war thin on the ground, no clear reasons as to why they are at war or why they hate each other or anything really but I believe with a bit more of a break down it would be understandable.
I like the Ariella development at the end of the book, suicide....no suicide?? for reasons I won't put here as don't want to spoil it for others but if you have read this book you will understand what I'm saying. Genius.
overall I felt the author had some great ideas but took to much notice of unimportant situations and let the golden moments dim.
After saying all that I will be waiting patiently for the next book as I want to see these characters grow into the amazing characters they have the potential to be.
I got to the end of this book through sheer will and the little pockets of genius that I found throughout the book.
I enjoyed the idea behind the story but felt like it lacked in places and over did it in other places.
I am a Daymon fan yet I found it hard to get a clear image of him in my minds eye, no clear powerful description on characters made it hard to get lost in the story.
A lot of time and place hopping made it difficult to keep up sometimes although I like the magical residue touch, very nice.
I found the witches/immoral/vampire war thin on the ground, no clear reasons as to why they are at war or why they hate each other or anything really but I believe with a bit more of a break down it would be understandable.
I like the Ariella development at the end of the book, suicide....no suicide?? for reasons I won't put here as don't want to spoil it for others but if you have read this book you will understand what I'm saying. Genius.
overall I felt the author had some great ideas but took to much notice of unimportant situations and let the golden moments dim.
After saying all that I will be waiting patiently for the next book as I want to see these characters grow into the amazing characters they have the potential to be.
November 21, 2015
I´m really in love with the way Tarisa Marie is writing with. First I thought ´okay, I actually know that her father is going to die and the whole story is about Ariella finding out about the supernatural stuff ´.There are also some spelling mistakes but they aren’t that bad and you can see that the author was a little bit inspired by famous paranormal stories. But I haven’t expected that the story is that fascinating and all the stuff act like that. I can’t write that much without any spoilers so… Ariella is an honest young girl, which makes her really sympathetic and easy to believe her. And I’m in love with Daymon since he knocked on her door. They’re both kinda funny and sometimes sarcastic which I’m really a fan of. Also I’m glad that there is no love triangle because that’s in every second book the case. So in my Opinion the book is a total success and I can’t wait for ‘Tainted Heart’.
July 8, 2016
I was regular.
I found it predictable for most of the biggest plot twists. Still was entertaining but not something amazing. The characters were okay, funny. The world building is interesting but not that much developed, I feel like the magic system needs A LOT more development. It bothered me that we never really get to see the real action, it's all over without us noticing; also, I've been half the book wondering when will one gigantic plot hole be fixed. Overall, I don't feel any particular need of continuing on with the rest of the series; I probably won't.
P.D: It was just me or a lot of sentences could have used more punctuation? I got confused a couple of times throughout the book
I found it predictable for most of the biggest plot twists. Still was entertaining but not something amazing. The characters were okay, funny. The world building is interesting but not that much developed, I feel like the magic system needs A LOT more development. It bothered me that we never really get to see the real action, it's all over without us noticing; also, I've been half the book wondering when will one gigantic plot hole be fixed. Overall, I don't feel any particular need of continuing on with the rest of the series; I probably won't.
P.D: It was just me or a lot of sentences could have used more punctuation? I got confused a couple of times throughout the book
October 7, 2015
I loved this book from the first page.
I love the stories like that, with supernatural creatures and i can't not give five star to this book.
Tainted Crimson is amazing and awesome.
I loved especially the characters, like Ariella and Daymon.
I recommend this book to everyone who, like me, love this kind of books.
I love the stories like that, with supernatural creatures and i can't not give five star to this book.
Tainted Crimson is amazing and awesome.
I loved especially the characters, like Ariella and Daymon.
I recommend this book to everyone who, like me, love this kind of books.
January 30, 2016
I read the free ebook version of this book and though I liked the plot and the characters, this book need a lot of help. It desperately needs to be edited and there are frequent times where it starts to ramble and not make any sense. The dialogue is also is in need of help. It feels forced at times. The author has evident talent, but needs someone to help refine her writing.
February 15, 2016
Just finished reading it and I'm already sad that I finished. Can't wait to read part 2. I'm totally team D & Ari. Absolutely loved it.
June 4, 2016
I loved it!!!! Especially the romance!
August 11, 2016
I loved it! I can't wait to read the next book!
September 6, 2022
Love this 💜 just discovered Tarisa Marie, she is brilliant.
May 29, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
September 12, 2016
I can't wait to read this!
December 10, 2015
I've been looking for a book like this forever! LOVED IT.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews