Advanced Reader copy - Enjoyed this book, really opened my eyes and made me seek out other similar books to read.

This one surprised me - in a good way. Beautifully written, I think this may have been advertised incorrectly. Emotional and upsetting, but not what I would term a "thriller". This is a tale of putting broken pieces back together and living beyond trauma. A really good read.

Beautifully written, lyrical at times and captivating. While it did take me a few tries to get into the rhythm of the book, I'm glad I continued.

This book was so sad. I was sobbing by the end of it, and that was the point, so it achieved it's goal! The writing was so easy to read and beautiful!

This isn't my usual genre of book and I'm afraid I couldn't finish it. Although it's well written and a touching story but just not for me,

Thank you Ms Ruffles, Netgalley and Hodder Children's Books

Didn’t realise when I requested this book that it was targeted at young adults and although I read it, it didn’t suit my mature years taste. I’m sure youngsters will think it really good

This was a very emotional read and one that leaves you exploring your inner self. I loved every minute of reading it.

This was a perfect YA book. I liked the plot and felt it was paced well enough that the story didn't feel rushed.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

The Taste of Blue Light by Lydia Ruffles is a young adult novel about a young woman’s search for the truth. Lux has to search deep into her mind to remember what happened last Summer, and find out why her mind is so fractured.

This book is incandescent and at times, heartbreaking. The reader is kept in the dark — just like Lux — so with every new development and memory, we’re desperately trying to piece it all together to find out what happened to her over the summertime.

“Since I blacked out, the slightest thing seems to aggravate my brain and fill it with fire.”

This is not a style I would typical read, but I'm glad I did. It's a thought-provoking, endearing story about a girl called Lux who ends up in hospital after a party and her journey to find out why..

Mental health issues are a strong theme in the story and they can affect anyone from any background. Whilst we tend to judge people quickly, this story highlights exactly why we shouldn't, because you don't always know the full circumstances. It highlights the need for more compassion and understanding and why a support network is essential.

There is a big twist in the story, I didn't see it coming. The realisation of what happened has a profound effect on Lux. It changes her perspective completely and understandably worsens her state of mind. This is where you find yourself willing her to see things differently and the support network is a vital part of this.

It's great to see such a complex female character. She is a strong character but not in the typically loud, confident, extrovert way rather Lux has an inner strength, a resilience that she cannot see and at times fades but helps her through.

I also really like the ending, it's a positive, optimistic outcome. The days of putting on a brave face or just getting on with it need to be confined to the post. The story highlights with the right support it's not a case of getting over things, more coming to terms with them to allow you to move forward.

Can you call it unreliable narrator when she herself knows that she's missing her story.
Heartbreaking to watch the unravelling and then putting-together.

I have a question. Why didn't I read this earlier?

Lux is a wonderful protagonist who's dealing with the aftermath of something which has a great impact on her mental state. Memories are hazy, and she just wants to go back to being the girl before the blackout.

But things happen for a reason. For Lux it's like she had to go through that in order to learn and grow and become a far better person than who she wouldn't have turned out to be otherwise.

I adore her relationship with Cal and with her best friends Olivia and Mei. I love how they truly stick by her and never abandon her. Even if it's hard to see her the way she is. That's true friendship right there.

The plot was really good, I had to keep guessing about what happened to Lux and it wasn't the cliché thing I was thinking of. Lots of things are brought to the surface and lots of things are registered.

One thing I also loved about this book was the writing. It's raw, pulls you in, beautiful coming from the voice of a girl trying to find herself. In parts I was thinking "this is me." Even if I never had that experience, but it was just a feeling. I felt like crying a few times, I really did.

Now I need something light and fluffy.

I found this difficult. I wanted to like Lux and her friends, but I simply couldn't find anything to redeem them; they seemed so self-indulgent and blinkered. The school was described as making these aspects worse, so I guess that was to be expected, but it didn't make the story easy to like.
It was slow as well, too slow for my liking, with the main focus of the story-- what happened to Lux that made her lose her memory--unclear and with nothing to lead us onwards. When it was revealed, there was no emotion to it, nothing that made my heart leap. Even the love interests were arid and cold.
I kept on reading, hoping it would end in a way that made it all worthwhile, that it would be a book I might re-read to find more depth, but I don't think it will be. Sad.

Book Review:

The Taste of Blue Light was getting some hype when it first released and for good reason as it has a very unique premise. Although being a unique book, I couldn't connect with this personally but this could be very different for someone else.

Honestly part of the reason why I didn't like this book was that I was confused. There were some bits that I understood but I feel like there was just a lot that I didn't understand and I think that this really affected my overall enjoyment of the book that I just didn't like it.

I do still want to read more of Lydia's work but this one just didn't do it for me. I did just the writing but not connecting with the story or the main protagonist did make me feel badly against the book. I have also heard people really enjoy it so this may just be a case that I didn't like t but you might.

Since reading this book, I have also heard Lydia speak at YALC where she spoke more about what this book and Colour Me In are about so this might be a book that I come back to in the future. If this happens, hopefully, my experience will be more positive than the first time.

The Verdict:

The Taste of Blue Light was an interesting read that wasn't for me but could be the perfect read for you. Definitely, one to read to find out what you think yourself!

A fantastic read. Thoroughly enjoyed this and it is not something I would usually pick up. Will look for more from this author in future.

Unfortunately, my time to read the book expired before I could fully finish it due to me being busy, however, from what I read, I really did enjoy this book from what it was. From it's captivating words to its interesting plot and storyline, I'm quite upset that I didn't finish it on time but it just means that the next time I see it in a shop I get to pick it up and enjoy it all over again!

I did not manage to download this book before this book was archived so will not be able to review this title

There will be no spoilers here but the whole of this book is geared towards something having happened to Lux that she can't remember. Was it something that she did or that was done to her? After the "black out", she goes back to her art school but nothing seems the same.

This is sold as a YA book and it is a long time since I was one of those but the synopsis appealed and I am glad I read it. The main character, Lux, is so well drawn throughout and develops over the course of the story into a rounded but damaged person. Sometimes I wanted to hug her and other times I wanted to shake her but I never stopped reading.

Recommended if you like good storytelling and intrigue regardless of your age.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

“Thinking about all that colour and sound now makes my skull tighten and my brain shriek, but at the time it just made me certain of who I was and who I was going to be”

The brain is one of the most complex organs evolution has ever created. It converts signals from our senses into a virtual reality world where we exist whilst having a fantastic ability to protect itself from trauma. However, trauma takes many forms. What if something happened so terrible that your reality broke down? How would you know what was real or even who you were?

This is the very real situation Lux finds herself in, with her world broken into a whole series of meaningless events punctuated by endless migraines and panic attacks. Join her on her quest to navigate this alien world where sounds have colour, nothing is as it seems and as she tries to rediscover what’s lost and hopefully finds herself and stop her world falling to pieces.

This wonderfully inventive book written by Lydia contains enough of the real world. It’s easy to forget it’s a piece of fiction, at the same time providing such a novel experience to the reader that one can’t help but want to explore forever through the eyes of someone with psychological problems. that reveals itself as the book progresses in the style the journey she must go on to find herself. The main protagonist, Lux, is given a wonderfully deep and complex character, whose background, which is initially hidden from her, reveals itself as the book progresses. The other characters all play vital roles but their personalities are confined to a two-dimensional level of complexity as Lux associates with them only so far as they help her on her journey, but are also developed to highly complex characters as Lux progresses on her journey and gets better.

The world that is built is beautifully described in all its strangeness, although sometimes the descriptive power (while always a delight to read) does begin to become a bit taxing, this is a balancing act all authors must master in time.

This book is truly the first book in a long time that I find hard to describe or to adequately do justice. What Lydia has done is a masterpiece of fictional writing that so expertly immerses the reader. It’s hard to put down from start to finish.

Alex

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review