Pretty average sci-fi/fantasy book. This felt more like a set-up for upcoming books rather than a self-contained story of it's own which is kinda a bummer because the concept holds so much potential. I really hope Minty expands on this in future books in the series... unfortunately though I won't know since I'm just not intrigued enough to spend my time finishing the series.
Also, Minty decided to explain away Lucas' actions by saying he's schizophrenic.
A. Massive misrepresentation of a viciously stigmatized mental illness that quite frankly offensive.
B. A lazy writing choice. A cop out really. Instead of giving a character actual motives he was given a stereotype (that doesn't even hold true). Gross.
This is yet another author who could do with some sensitivity readers.
All in all I'd rank this a low 3 stars.

I read the Zadok Series on my Kindle last year and absolutely loved it, so when I saw there was a Pastel Pink audiobook version available I just had to check it out.

The word “brilliant” doesn’t even begin to cover the quality of this audio production. The narrators did a remarkable job at bringing Nikki Minty’s unique and loveable characters to life.
Also, I thought the choice of using different accents for the Zadonians and Humans was a stroke of genius. It made it easy to differentiate between the two seperate world settings.

I can certainly see why this audiobook has won so many awards. I highly recommend giving it a listen.

The story was interesting a fresh twist. A little convoluted at times but easy enough to follow. The character was likeable though I liked her human self better than her zeek self.. the pace was good and I enjoyed it but it was a little confusing at times.

Ruby was murdered on her birthday on Earth almost eighteen years ago. But that wasn’t the end of her existence. She was reincarnated as a Pastel Zeek named Harlow on Zadok, a place that is ruled by a caste system based on the Zeek’s skin color. As a pastel, she is one of the lowest ranking Zeeks and has the dangerous task of hunting. When a hunt goes wrong and she is subjected to toxic venom, she finds herself with the ability to visit her sister on Earth as a spirit. But as tensions rise on Zadok surrounding her position in the caste system, her murderer on Earth also starts reconnecting with her sister. Harlow finds herself torn between both worlds as dangers increase, unsure what she can do about either situation.

This was a unique concept for this work. Who doesn’t like a book that begins with the protagonist’s murder? I loved the reincarnation and alternate plane/world idea, but unfortunately, the worldbuilding was just okay. On Zadok there are modern things like hospitals and restaurants, but there are hunting/gathering jobs, and they live in caves. Also there’s some magic, but that’s all the reader is told about it – that it exists. There was no real discussion of why the author made these choices. There were some fascinating monsters included on Zadok as well, but they lacked any real descriptions. Hopefully, more of the Zadok world is explored in the next books, as it was relatively limited in this one and detracted from the story.

The characters were…fine. Ruby/Harlow was well written with the most character development, but there wasn’t much growth for her throughout the work. The other characters had less depth and even less growth. There was also one character who had some pretty toxic behavior towards the end of the work, but it wasn’t addressed as being an issue at all. The characters were okay, but I didn’t find myself connecting to any of them in any meaningful way.

The story was told from Harlow/Ruby’s POV as well as from Zavier’s (one of her Zeek friends). I didn’t find Zavier’s chapters to be particularly compelling, and I think that the inclusion of his POV weakened the story. I listened to the audiobook version, and I enjoyed the way the narrator changed accents for if the story was told from Harlow’s POV or Ruby’s POV, which helped to differentiate when she was on Earth or Zadok.

Unfortunately, this work contained several YA tropes that I do not enjoy. Some of these include: the protagonist is gorgeous, and everyone is in love with her, but she just can’t imagine that anyone could actually love her; the protagonist is unexplainedly different from all others of her species with special unexplained abilities; love triangles that don’t add any character development or growth; and NO REAL PLOT.

Also, and probably most importantly, it did not feel okay to have an author who is light-skinned write a world where her light-skinned protagonist faces the exact types of racism that POCs in our real-world face. In her world, the paler you are, the more you’re discriminated against and the more useless you’re thought to be. And I believe she even included that the darker-skinned (Purple and Magenta) characters in her work wore their hair in cornrows or dreadlocks, while the pastels are described as having different hairstyles. This is cringe worthy and really doesn’t seem like a great way to tackle racism and prejudice.

The more I think about this book, the less impressed I am with it unfortunately. Aside from the negatives mentioned above, it also ended on a massive cliffhanger with almost no resolution. The negatives outweighed the positives for me with this one, and I won’t be continuing the series.

I received a complimentary copy of this work through NetGalley and BookSirens in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Oh my goodness what a unique and fascinating book! Even taking place on two worlds, I wasn't confused. The story is expertly written with obvious links to racism, sexism and bigotry but in a world of pink, purple, red and more. Possible triggers: violence against women, stalking, neglect, child abuse, death. Racism.

I can't wait to read the next book.

If you like reading books by Leigh Bardugo or Holly Black this is a great series to read. I received the audio book and the narrators are fantastic. The story line grabbed me right away, and I felt like I was watching everything happen not just hearing it.