The Painted Sinners · 2026
Black Heart Painted GoldSpice level, tropes & is it dark romance?
by Elena Lawson
Spice 4/5 (Explicit) · Darkness 5/5 (No light) · 11 trigger warnings flagged
From Elena Lawson, 2026: Black Heart Painted Gold, book 2 of The Painted Sinners. The pull here is romantic suspense. We score it spice 4 (explicit) and darkness 5 (pitch black). The heaviest flags readers report are blood, murder, death. Our scores lean on what readers report, not on a full reread, so treat them as a guide. This note is ours. It is not a publisher blurb.
First published: 2026. Book 2 of The Painted Sinners.
Black Heart Painted Gold tropes
On this shelf, Black Heart Painted Gold is filed under Romantic suspense. Each tag opens more books with that trope.
Black Heart Painted Gold spice level
Is Black Heart Painted Gold dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. Black Heart Painted Gold scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light).
Spice and darkness are separate scores. More no light books. How we rate.
Black Heart Painted Gold trigger warnings
Book-specific flags taken from reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 7 readers), grouped by us. Also on that list: death of parent, gun violence, fire/fire injury, injury/injury detail, sexual content, dementia, mental illness, car accident, alcohol. See the reader-submitted list.
Graphic (10) — open before you read
Open this before you read. These are the flags most likely to be a hard stop.
Minor (0)
Present, and usually not the reason someone puts the book down.
None flagged in this band.
Full Black Heart Painted Gold trigger warnings
The Painted Sinners reading order
Black Heart Painted Gold is book 2 of 2 in Elena Lawson's The Painted Sinners series. Start with White Rose Painted Red.
- Book 1 White Rose Painted Red · 2025
- Book 2 Black Heart Painted Gold (this book) · 2026
Order checked against the Goodreads The Painted Sinners series page on 13 October 2026. The The Painted Sinners series in order.
Who it's for
Shelf note written for this site. We do not copy reviews or publisher blurbs. Outbound links are search pages, not quoted ratings. Kindle Unlimited and endings are only flagged when we were willing to mark them. How we rate.
Missing a book? Suggest it.
Books like Black Heart Painted Gold
Matched on shared tropes, then the closest spice and darkness scores. Other books in the same series are listed above, not here.
- Irreversible
Irreversible
Chelley St Clair, Jennifer Hartmann
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Romantic suspense
- Restitution
Restitution
Leigh Rivers
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Romantic suspense
- 52 Weeks
52 Weeks
Pam Godwin
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Romantic suspense
- Beneath the Burn
Beneath the Burn
Pam Godwin
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Romantic suspense
- Devil of Dublin
Devil of Dublin
B.B. Easton
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Romantic suspense
- The Stars Are on Our Side
The Stars Are on Our Side
Jennifer Hartmann
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Romantic suspense
- Be Still My Heart
Be Still My Heart
Sav R. Miller, Emily McIntire
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Romantic suspense
- Come
Come
J.A. Huss
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Romantic suspense
Books like Black Heart Painted Gold, with a reason for each
Questions readers actually ask
What is the spice level of Black Heart Painted Gold?
Black Heart Painted Gold spice level is 4 of 5 (Explicit). On-page sex, clearly written. Darkness is a separate score: 5 of 5 (No light).
What are the Black Heart Painted Gold trigger warnings?
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Death, Grief, Captivity, Psychological abuse, Gore, Violence, Abuse, Sexual assault. Moderate: Kidnapping. Minor: none flagged. These are book-specific flags reported by readers on reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 7 readers), grouped by us. The author's own note may list more. Read it before you start.
Is Black Heart Painted Gold dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. Black Heart Painted Gold scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light). The book is not interested in pulling the punch.
What tropes are in Black Heart Painted Gold?
On this shelf Black Heart Painted Gold is filed under Romantic suspense.
Who is Black Heart Painted Gold for?
Pick this up if you want romantic suspense with explicit spice. Read the warnings first. Start earlier in The Painted Sinners if you can.
What are some books like Black Heart Painted Gold?
Matched on shared tropes and similar spice and darkness: Irreversible by Chelley St Clair, Jennifer Hartmann; Restitution by Leigh Rivers; 52 Weeks by Pam Godwin; Beneath the Burn by Pam Godwin; Devil of Dublin by B.B. Easton; The Stars Are on Our Side by Jennifer Hartmann. More read-alikes, each with a reason, are on zademasked.com/like/black-heart-painted-gold.
Is Black Heart Painted Gold a standalone?
No. Black Heart Painted Gold is book 2 of 2 in the The Painted Sinners series by Elena Lawson. The series starts with White Rose Painted Red.
What order should I read the The Painted Sinners series in?
1. White Rose Painted Red; 2. Black Heart Painted Gold.
How many books are in the The Painted Sinners series?
The The Painted Sinners series by Elena Lawson has 2 main books.
What is the Black Heart Painted Gold age rating?
We'd say 18+. Spice sits at 4/5 (explicit) and darkness at 5/5 (no light). That's our recommendation, not an official rating, so read the trigger warnings as well.
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