Blog Tour & Review: The Color of Lies by C.J. Lyons
SYNOPSIS:
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author CJ Lyons comes The Color of Lies, a world drenched in color and mystery.
High school senior Ella Cleary has always been good at reading people. Her family has a rare medical condition called synesthesia that scrambles the senses—her Gram Helen sees every sound, and her uncle Joe can literally taste words. Ella’s own synesthesia manifests itself as the ability to see colors that reveal people’s true emotions…until she meets a guy she just can’t read.
Alec is a mystery to Ella, a handsome, enigmatic young journalist who makes her feel normal for the first time in her life. That is, until he reveals the real reason why he sought her out—he wants to learn the truth behind her parents’ deaths, the parents that Ella had always been told died in a fire. Alec turns Ella’s world upside down when he tells her their deaths were definitely not an accident.
After learning her entire life has been a lie, Ella doesn’t know who she can trust or even who she really is. With her adoptive family keeping secrets and the evidence mixing fact and fiction, the only way for Ella to learn the truth about her past is to find a killer.
Perfect for fans of Caroline B. Cooney, Ally Carter, and Jennifer Brown, The Color of Lies blurs the lines between black-and-white facts and the kaleidoscope of reality.
REVIEW:
*Book Received in Exchange for Honest Opinion/Review*
This book was a crazy fast read. But first I have to gush about how much I love this cover. I have really been feeling the simple cover trend that has been making its way through the genres. It sort of reminds me of colors bleeding down a chalkboard. After reading the synopsis, I knew I had to get my hands on this book, not only because medical phenomena like synesthesia fascinate me but also because I love a good mystery.
Now in regards to the mystery aspect, C.J. Lyons, nails it. I was trying to figure out the plot the entire time and I still couldn’t figure out what was going to happen next. When everything played out I was blindsided and flabbergasted. I would have never, ever saw that coming. I had inklings and hints that something bad might happen but I would have never predicted the outcome. I am still kind of in a state of shock. All I can say is the deception and betrayal are all too deep in this story.
I would have really liked to have slowed the pace of the story down though and really let relationships and characters develop. I felt that I never really had a good grasp on the characters and their interactions throughout the story. This resulted in me not being emotionally invested in the characters. It was sorta a disconnect, whereas when I normally read, I submerse myself into the fictional world, but here I always felt like an outlier. I wanted more, I wanted to connect with these characters, I wanted to see them working together, I wanted to see them growing into friendship and trust and this didn’t happen fluidly.
So in terms of the plot and mystery aspect, I liked the story. But when you read the synopsis, you get a vibe that this is going to be an emotional and personal story, and unfortunately I was left hanging in that aspect. I needed more of depth and range in the characters, they all felt very one-dimensional. I would give it a solid 3 out of 5 stars.
LINKS:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over forty novels, former pediatric ER doctor CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge Thrillers with Heart.
Two times winner of the International Thriller Writers coveted Thriller Award, CJ has been called a “master within the genre” (Pittsburgh Magazine) and her work has been praised as “breathtakingly fast-paced” and “riveting” (Publishers Weekly) with “characters with beating hearts and three dimensions” (Newsday).
Learn more about CJ’s Thrillers with Heart at www.CJLyons.net
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