Unfortunately, this novel simply wasn't really ticking my boxes. I struggled to get into the story, and found myself unable to finish.

*Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This book was one I picked because I loved the premise and the cover. I’ve read the entire book and sadly, still don’t know what exactly happened. The characters weren’t particularly likeable and I found it difficult to connect with the narratives and various perspectives.

Sadly this is not one I can review well or fairly, because after all finishing the book, I have too many unknowns.

2.5 stars

The blurb for this sounded really interesting but it ended up not being for me, I am not sure what specifically it was but I could just not connect with it

Tried reading this one and it just was not meant for me. This does not mean that it is not a good book, I just was not in the right place to be reading it and have decided to not try picking it up anytime in the near future.

Half an "amateurish, vapid, unbelievable" star !!

Thank you to Legend Press, the author and Netgalley for an e-copy. This was released Feb. 2021.
I am providing my honest review.

Ok folks I am stopping at 30 percent.

I was foolishly drawn in by that amazingly gorgeous book cover and the promise of some soapy mysterious fun in cosmopolitan Hong Kong.

What I got instead were vapid outlandish caricatures (sexy mixed race businessman, traumatized mixed race (god forbid bisexual too) female PI, a party boy fruitier than Liberace, a top notch psychologist that nonsensically becomes attached in friendship to a client, and some whip smart women filled with a feminist arrogance and lots of misandry etc) Just dreadful that these characters are cartoonish despite given a bit of developmental history. The mystery was not compelling, the dialogue was either over the top or dull dull dull.

I am really turned off at how these horrid little novels are getting churned out. Sorry not sorry !

The descriptions of Hong Kong though were detailed and at times wonderful. That and that absolutely gorgeous book cover give this the half star that the book does not deserve. Onwards !

Unfortunetly, I didn't vibe with this story. I don't know if it were the writing style, or if it was something else, but I found myself didn't care for the characters or were the story was going.

The description for this book made it sound like something right up my alley but sadly it just never clicked for me. I felt distant from the characters and story.

First i must say that I absolutely fell for the cover, it's amazing. The formula of this book is basic i would say, nothing that we haven't seen.. for some reason there a lot of books in this direction this day's.
It was Okay for me, sometimes you just don't click with the book no matter how much you try.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

Loved the Hong Kong setting and the concept of the orphanage.

I had a hard time staying invested in any of the characters or the plot.
Gorgeous cover through! DNF @ 40%.

This story is about six people who live in Hong Kong, all have secrets of their own. They are keeping.

The story starts with a murder at a orphanage. We then move onto Hong Kong as our setting and we slowly are introduced to each character as the author weaves a story that connects all our characters through their past or in the present.

I chose this book mainly for the Hong Kong element and the cover which was striking .. the atmospheric description of the city did not disappoint and I enjoyed the characters especially looking back at their past

First off, this book was just as mysterious as promised with an interesting setting and brilliant characters.

The book follows 6 separate people and their lives in Hong Kong, they're all connected by the same event but even they don't know how. The past begins to catch up to them, pulling them into a race to figure out just how much everyone else knows and what they'll do to complete this mystery.

The characters themselves were extremely complex. Various sections of their lives were shown which gives you a brilliant understanding of why they are the way they are but also connect to the characters better.

A lot of the characters were not supposed to be likeable and of course, they were so human so a lot of them are not exactly loveable but I didn't like any of them. Because of this, it meant that I was not rooting for any character and didn't care very much for their fates.

The setting itself is full of a lot of subtleties that make your idea of this place. It also makes the setting seem so animated and alive which is great since I have never been to Hong Kong.

The mystery itself is as confusing as you would expect. I found the introduction to everyone and their pieces very layered and puzzling at times and did get frustrating since it took so long for the mystery to unravel. Despite this, the ending is worth it. Some sections were easy to put together, others, it took them saying for you to understand where it fits but it was also nicely tied up.

Overall, it was difficult to get immersed, however, the mystery and the end was worth it.

Firstly I just wanted to say thank you to @netgalley and to Legend Press for gifting an ARC of these title. My apologies my review is a bit over due, it's been challanging with having my kids at home in the lockdown.

Sadly I was disappointed in this novel. The cover is beautiful and the blurb pulled me in, but unfortunately the story didn't deliver.

The Colour of Thunder is set in Hong Kong. We are introduced gradually to a group of friends, all whose lives have been impacted by an intangleld past event, that now begins to untangle. Secrets are finally revield. Will justice be served?

In the novels defense, it does have well considered and fleshed out story, but for me there were too many characters, none of which I was given time to get to know. As a result of this I wasn't interested in the story, and almost gave up several times.

TW; Suicide, Kidnapping, Child Abuse.

I was really looking forward to diving into this book. A thriller set in Hong Kong, at the height of a natural disaster. It sounded fantastic! Unfortunately, I was really disappointed.

The Colour of Thunder was slow from the start. As I was enjoying the vivid descriptions of Hong Kong, I continued on with it. The characters are introduced gradually and I started to get snippets of back stories from each, which I liked. It made them more interesting, there was some depth to them.

Unfortunately, that was all I liked about this one. The characters were dull and boring - I didn’t connect to any of them. There were too many! New characters are introduced constantly throughout this book, I couldn’t keep up. At one point I actually considered getting out a piece of paper and writing them all down, so I could make sense of them. Some of them had no real purpose or involvement in the story, they were completely unnecessary. Very frustrating!

The group of women investigating one of the characters worked out his involvement towards the end of the story. But that was it, nothing else seemed to happen after that. It was very strange!

As there were so many characters I didn’t connect to any of them. Not one - I didn’t care what happened and actually skimmed the final four chapters, because I just wanted to finish it. I couldn’t tell you the ending!

I actually found myself wanting more emphasis on the natural disaster element; a typhoon. This ramped the tension up a little, but it only happened towards the end of the book which was a shame.

There are lots of other reviews of this, I would recommend having a look at those to get a balanced opinion.

The city of Hong Kong is quite something in this novel. What a city, what a mess, what a place of excitment!
Six people are the focus of the novel and whilst I think there's a little too much detail about each one, they are all well drawn and I wanted to keep reading. I think the information would have been better coming at a more regular pace.

It builds well - murder, kidnapping and that's just the start. The city is a muddled buzz of noise, people, sweat, money and goodness knows what else. It's just a muddle at times though I'm afraid. I got a bit lost. I think this was the point but it made the novel a bit hard to read.

Unique in scope and writing style but it's a puzzle I enjoyed putting together

Thank you netgalley and Legend Press for this Arc.

So I'm not sure how I feel about this book. The first 30% is extremely slow but just so mysterious. Everything seemed to be in riddles. It did take me a while to get through it.

After that it dives on and gets better..
I love how the author tried to make certain characters as innocent and some to be suspicious but turned not to be.

The ending was extremely disappointing I expected more from the 'boss' and I felt like the ending was rushed and left it with cliffhanger.

The synopsis of this book instantly grabbed me and I was excited to read more about these six lives and how they would come together.

It takes a while for this book to get going. To begin with, I found it quite confusing all the different stories going on and who was who and doing what. Normally I’m not too bad with different characters, but this chopped and changed a lot and I felt it could have done with little heading to say which character you were about to read about. Having said that, I did want to keep reading and find out what tied the characters together!

I loved the setting of Hong Kong and found it enlightening as I have never been there. I could clearly imagine some of the scenes and you definitely feel the hustle and bustle through the writing.

Most of the action in this book happens in the last 80 pages or so, and whilst I enjoyed finding how it all pieces together, I did also feel it was quite rushed and we could have had some more suspense at easier points in the novel.

For me, I think I expected more of a thriller after reading the synopsis so overall the book fell a bit flat for me. I think this is more contemporary fiction and perhaps the synopsis could have been better written to represent this.

A terrific read from the first pages.From the first pages I was drawn in by the characters who came alive& Hongkong itself.The mystery the story kept me turning the pages.#netgalley #legendbooks

I came for the cover and stayed for the characters. A truly unique and atmospheric character-driven mystery.

This story takes place of Hong Kong and as someone who used to live there, I found the whole setting exhilarating, nostalgic and definitely accurate. Maybe I'm biased to like this book, but I found the novel itself equally unique and gripping. At the beginning, we are introduced to the lives of six main characters with great detail, which slightly annoyed me at the beginning but turned out to be key to the plot later on. The mystery itself involves a kidnapping and a murder - which was definitely a slow burn, but ultimately very satisfying when the loose ends eventually come together.

The narrative is packed with flashbacks, which are helpful in understanding the backstory, but was confusing at times. I do think this is a rather ambitious read for a mystery, but it will definitely be a major hit to readers looking for a challenge or something totally new.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a well written book about how close people are connected in Hong Kong.

The book opens with a killing. The leads to a domino effect that you won't figure out how much of an impact the killing was until the end. The characters are well crafted and the pacing is quick. Hong Kong itself is a well crafted character.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.