This was so different to anything I have read before.

A brilliant idea which just grew on me as I was reading.

Brilliant characters and a storyline that flowed made this a easy read.

I chose this book because I have a fascination with auras. I also love to see bullies get their just rewards so I was hoping for a win-win outcome with this book. It started ok but I lost interest quickly with all the cricket sports talk. Maybe cricket will come into play in future books of the series but for me it was wasted time and it bored me to tears. Honestly, the majority of the story was just ok and not really holding my interest. I realize the story needs set up for future installments but it really didn't get interesting until about 80% in. The last 20% was pretty good. I am not sure that's enough to make me want to read book #2 though. Final impression - it was ok with the end being much better and offering promise for the rest of the series.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

It's always difficult to read such debut authors when you're used to prolific, established writers.

That being said, this series and author has potential. The story and concept are pretty interesting and you feel for the main character. The narration gets long-winded at times and some of the Britishness could be toned down to be more understandable to a wider audience.

Looking forward to more from this author!

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this quirky book

poor charlies first day at his new school isnt going at all well, he falls foul of the school bully and before he can sort this situation out things get out of hand and get a lot worse for him

after a near death experience an ostracised charlie never could find anyone to make friends with and as he counted the days till his school years were over,his only plan was to do his A levels back at his old place...and live on his own,having no idea how he would be able to survive on his own..

but before this could happen fate intervened...and charlie was invited with his dad for a visit to a mysterious place .....

i found this book very easy to read and flowed really well..i liked the idea of being surrounded by colours and i do wonder what those connections mean for the future....and most of all the characters were very likeable, the added drama was a bonus and i look forward to the next in this series

will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors works

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really liked the overall idea for this story. It was written by a new author and I could feel that in the writing at times but it overall was not bad. For me it took a little bit long until we got to the core of the story, because the writing and atmosphere was so drastically different, that it might feel like two different books. And there is a big chance that you dont like both styles. I really did not understand what motivated the bullies to go through so drastic acts for our main character to land where he did. I guess it was necessary for the progression of the story, but it simply did not make sense to me.
I overall really enjoyed the second half of the book, even though Charlies power left me with more question marks (it slightly contradicted the overall explanation) and some of the storyline felt quite forced.
I have mixed feelings about Minas character development, it was a bit confusing at times and possibly could have been solved better. And I could have done without any romance. But what mostly annoyed me was Charlie demanding over and over and over that he had no powers. It was getting to a point where his reaction became a bit rediculous.
Besides that, I truly enjoyed this book and I believe with a bit of editing, this could be a really great story.

I needed some time to become a part of the story, but now I can't wait to read the second book of Alastair Crombie! After the first section it is such an interesting and fast story. I'm really curious where the story will go to.

The synopsis of the book sounded amazing, I have read books that have dealt with synesthesia and have been blown away by those books. So when I read that the main character was able to see colors around people after an accident I knew I had to read the book. but…
While I was reading this I was having a hard time connecting to it. I was really hoping that I was going to love it because it sounded so unique. I got to about 50% and decided to stop because I just couldn’t get into it. I know that I got to half way but I just couldn’t read the last half.
The story in the beginning did seem a little slow. I didn’t think that it was going to go anywhere. I felt like it was lacking something more.

To be honest I enjoyed this book but I don’t feel like it went anywhere. I still don’t feel like I understand the main character Charlie’s role in the institute or what the institute is. I have a lot of unanswered questions. I’m assuming this is the first in a series, so it’s set the scene but I don’t feel it gives the reader enough to make them want to come back and find out what it’s all about. Which is a shame because I think it could be a great concept.

I had to put this book down.
To be fair I tried so hard to give it a shot as the idea sounded great but unfortunately the writing didn’t captivate me and I was bored.

Although Colours is a little slow-paced, I still enjoyed reading it. The author took the time to describe and built up all of the characters and settings which can sometimes get annoying to me when I'm ready to get into the story, but not with this book. The author did a great job of keeping me interested throughout the whole book. As I was reading the book, I felt like I was getting to know the characters and everything well enough to start forming my own theories about where the story was going. The only real problem I had with this book was some of the language, which has nothing to do with the author. I wasn't familiar with some of the slang and other things because I'm not from there. As far as debut novels go, this one was pretty good, You should go check it out!

Thank you, NetGalley and Alastair Crombie for the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent debut novel. The characters were likeable and real, I cared about their stories and I was sad when it ended. Not overly heavy into the Sci fi/fantasy theme. Looking forward to the next one already.

Colours is an exceptional book. The story kind of grabs you and wrestles you down into the gritty mud of adolescence: metaphorical skinned knees, bloody nose; it's like a bike wreck. Crombie makes sure we'll be picking gravel from our road-rash for days to come. Yes. It's that good. Or that bad.
It's that Real.
I cant wait for Charlie's next adventure.

Charlie is a teenager who like many teens, trying to find his place in a new school environment. Things don't come easy as he's bullied by a boy he's named "Greasy" and his cronies. After being hurt he's starts to see Colours but not understanding what this really means.

The writer spends a lot of time developing the main and supporting characters. This isn't a fast paced, action-filled type of book. The reader may find themselves liking Charlie and his quirks. What a reader might struggle with is Mina an 11 year-old who plays an important part in Charlie's development. Her voice may seem strange as it's a much older persona, not your typical pre-teen.

If you're looking for a fresh voice and character development with a YA and Sci-Fi combination, this is one to look at.

This book follows our main character Charlie, who moves to a new school and is bullied. But upon recovery after a terrible incident, he is hospitalised and starts to see colour. I loved the premise of the book and Charlie was an amazing protagonist. But the writing fell a bit flat for me and left me wanting more from the story. Still, I enjoyed the plot and I can't wait to see what the author does next!

Alright, this wasn't bad. It was written by a new author and you could feel that in the writing but it still wasn't bad. I loved the idea of these colours, an organisation, all the mystery and supernatural element - all made for a good read.
And yeah, it really wasn't bad.
The writing was a bit janky. Especially at the beginning when I was just getting into the story and it felt like it zig-zagged around the place, abrupt and sharp without much natural flow. But you get used to it.
The first 100 pages or so are kind of unnecessary. obviously very important in explaining WHEN he got his powers and the situation surrounding them but that could have probably been pushed into a prologue - or a couple of chapters. It was there to build up his character, I think, but unnecessary.
Those are just a couple of notes though. Overall, good story. Hopefully, the writing will be smoothed out in the second book but, other than that, really worth a read!

Colours is a special novel and is clearly a set up for a series. If you are after self-contained, fast-paced action, do not come here. The focus of this book is very much on character and situational development. As a result, we have a very well developed Charlie, who has a very wonderful relationship with his father. We see his struggles in moving to a new place and the bullying that occurs, setting the stage for the unleashing of his gift. Charlie is a very mature young man, not a typical 16-year-old. This can be justified by how he has had to grow up; some may find him too atypical, but as a high school teacher, I find that more and more, 16-year-olds are actually reaching this level of maturity, for good or bad. The concept of Colours is very interesting and I am very much looking forward to the next book.

Colours by Alastair Crombie

Wow at first I didn’t like this book at all but the more I got towards the end it started picking up and I fell in love with it. It’s a hard book to start and get sucked into it but I loved it!

4 stars

This book follow a story of Charlie, a new student whose bullied on the first day of his new school. The bullying get so bad that Charlie need to stay on the hospital and then he start seeing color.
From there it fast forward until Charlie is expected to graduate, and instead of going to school of his choice, he was approached by the institute and the adventure is officially begin.

Well, this book is enjoyable, the plot twist keep me on my toes and I love how the author construct the fantasy world. The ending also a good bridging for the sequel that I can't wait to read.

Thank you netgalley and BooksGoSocial for providing the arc.

To tell you the truth, I saw this book listed under ‘New Titles’ on NetGalley, and I really just liked the cover so much that I requested it (it’s free to download!!). The “Letter to the reader” at the start of the book was surprisingly touching. Mr. Crombie is an independent author, and this is his debut novel. I wish I’d liked it more, and I feel guilty about my rating, but I’m here to be honest.

Personally, this is one of the first times (that I can think of) where I’ve ever come across a book in which the author is so new and unknown, and for the most part, it is a good effort. The foundations for an involving story are present, but it needs editing. The plot progression was clunky; there is very little build-up or elaboration, and not much happens. Right off the bat, much of the dialogue felt clipped and choppy, and the short sentences gave an abrupt presentation of the story. The bullies were ridiculous. I don’t find it very believable that Charlie would be attacked within the first, like, 10 pages. There was no reasoning behind it— unless you take in that Charlie was the new kid from England? Flimsy motivation for such a physical attack, if you ask me. Charlie literally sat down in his first class, and one of the students turned to him and said he’s going to kill him ??? It came way out of left field and made zero sense.

The first half of the book I’d classify on the younger end of the YA genre, as Charlie is thirteen (for about the first 30% of the story- Part 1), and the content somewhat tame compared to other similar works. I’m also not the biggest fan of first person present narration. Sometimes descriptive passages and action can seem like it is being listed... it takes me out of the story. Scenes skipped around abruptly from one to the next without any sort of transition whatsoever. Passages of time were not accentuated, so there was a lot of confusion about the WHAT was happening in the story, and the WHEN it was— Did a few hours just pass? A day? A week? More effort should have been put into filling in the enormous gaps in the timeline. I think it was an attempt to get to the part of the book where Charlie is 16, but not make it seem rushed?

I know next-to-nothing about the sport of Cricket, and there was no explanation to the game itself, so a few game scenes went right over my head:
”Just protect your wicket,” Andrew greeted me as I arrived. “Keep your pads out of the way, if the ball hits them it’ll be out. That’s the umpire’s son bowling. Get to the end of the over and I’ll try and keep the strike as much as I can.”
??????
“I was standing at deep square leg, right on the boundary, for one of our spin bowlers when the batsmen tried for maximum over my head.”
???????
I simply attribute this to my lack of knowledge of most sports, as well as of Britain in general.

One thing I really enjoyed was why and how the Institute operated. The idea is unique and interesting, and the thought of “guardians” made me happy: that they protected and “guarded” the people who made genuine, life-altering connections. However, I think Charlie’s power of being able to make/influence connections between people could be problematic. If something’s meant to be, but doesn’t happen, how can you then force two people into something? It felt wrong; like their autonomy/free will was being taken away from them. I know this wasn’t the author’s intention for it to be perceived this way, but it’s kind of sketchy. At one point, they even say it’s “manipulating connections.”

At the halfway mark, when Mina is introduced, the plot and pace seemed to pick up and move in the right direction. I was glad of it, because everything else before was uneventful.

Might I add:
•If I ever see the words ”charcoal grey and cream” again I’ll scream! (... even if grey IS my favorite color).
•A personal grievance with YA lit is introducing a romantic element to every goddamn story, and this book started its rounds with Charlie and Jo. The love interest angle is so superficial, too.
•The two deaths in this book I have major problems with, but I can’t say much more without spoiling it.

Although I wanted to give this a higher rating, I had to be true to my experience reading it. I understand it may appear a more negative than positive review, but let it be known I have discovered that it truly makes me happy to support indie authors. Just a suggestion: Give your money to more deserving authors— especially within the YA field!

(I seriously hope this doesn’t sound patronizing, but) I would definitely like to see more from Mr. Crombie. I hope he keeps writing, pushing forward, and honing his craft/dreams.

Many thanks to the author, NetGalley, and BooksGoSocial for making this copy available to read.

So this book tells us the story of Charlie, a teenager who moves to a new school and gets bullied pretty badly. He then starts hallucinating colors. We join him as he learns what the colors are and joins an organisation for people like him.

I haven't read fantasy ya for a while so it was refreshing to read that genre again. I found the plot engaging. I couldn't predict any plot point, I was really on my toes.

There were a few problems with this book but these problems didn't harm my enjoyment of this book. Even if I enjoyed reading it, looking back I realize there are some issues that could be worked on for the sequel (which I'd love to read!).

I found that the beginning was unnecessarily long. 100 pages pass by and a lot happens in Charlie's life but not much happens that furthers the actual plot (the colours!). It is meant to set up his character but honestly, for me, it didn't.

Charlie's character needs some more work. 16 year olds aren't like this. I found his character's behavior a little abrupt at times. He has this very mature style of thinking that felt more like a 30 year old than a 16 year old. He was throwing around commands and acting like he is used to making big complicated plans. I didn't find it believable character development.

As a reader, I don't entirely understand why colours matter. Is this a supernatural thing? A gift thing? I'm excited to get answers but I hope they'll be satisfying.

I hated Mina. I really did. I found her obnoxious and I didn't like her "I'm so intelligent and know everything" vibe. It made it hard to connect to her and so, as the plot continued, I simply didn't care. The only positive thing about her was the description of her Norwegian accent.

There were some typos. Nothing too serious but yeah, I recommend an editor goes over this again just to make sure.

Other than that, I have high hopes for this book! It's a debut and I truly believe the author (who seems like such a sweet and kind person based on his author's notes) has potential to make this series a ya classic. Looking forward to hearing more about Charlie!