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KMont

Lurv a la Mode 2

Romance (and scifi and fantasy) reading enthusiast, general lover of puppies and kitty kats, dark chocolate snatcher, writing playgirl, coffee luvah, chai latte chuggah, kidlet toting mama of one plus marriage credentials.

Currently reading

Three Parts Dead
Max Gladstone
Progress: 60 %
Dragon Keeper
Robin Hobb
Progress: 51 %
Into the Dark Lands
Michelle Sagara West
Progress: 13 %
The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1)
Scott Lynch
Auralia's Colors - Jeffrey Overstreet This is going to be a fast one - I'll have a full review on my blog soon.

Bottom line: I liked it.

What I liked was the way the author shows us the story. Beautiful, ethereal prose, making even a tired-sounding scene like a selfish queen's need to own everything she sees, seem beautiful and deeper than at first thought. The worldbuilding was easily scooped into the territory of beautiful as well, thanks to that same prose. It's a very stark world, thanks in part to the queen, but the way it unfurls into life through Auralia, an orphan no one can figure out, is simply...beautiful.

The story itself isn't particularly exciting - this isn't an action-oriented fantasy novel at all, and I found myself a little confused as to what was going on at times. Nor is it particularly strong character-wise. There wasn't the development of them I'd hoped for. However, again, the way the author writes it all here, that prose, is what made it an interesting enough read to continue and finally to finish. It's moved me enough to try the second book, which will be coming in the mail soon.

I do hope for some more character development with the second book, and I look forward to learning more about the world Overstreet has created. Book two, Cyndere's Midnight, has a kind of Beauty and the Beast telling from what I've read of it, which should be interesting with who the main male lead will be - a remnant from Auralia's Colors, one of the supposedly mindless, savage beastmen.

Overall, Auralia's Colors was surprisingly more introspective than anticipated, but once I felt in my groove with the story (which really didn't come for till almost halfway through the book), it was a pleasant change of pace. I do wish I'd connected with characters and the story itself more, but there's hopefully more room for that within the rest of the series.