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A review by talesoftheabyss
Falling Colours: The Misadventures of a Vision Painter by R.J. Samuel
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
4 stars on a technical level, 5 stars for enjoyment, 4.5 overall and I rounded up.
This book is part frantic murder mystery, and part bumbling lesbian romance between Kiran, a person with a special gift who is normally quite sensible but starts knocking all sorts of things over when she sees a beautiful woman, and Ashley, said beautiful woman whose mother Kiran just made a ghost. Accidentally. Awkward.
Basically, protagonist Kiran has an interesting ability where people can come with a request, some sort of personal vision or deeply desired ideal they want painted, and when she paints it, it will come true. She doesn't charge money for this contract-based service, she can't, but asks that after the painting becomes reality, they paint their "gratitude" to her into it so THAT can become reality, too.
They usually never do, though.
Since you can't eat nonexistent gratitude, Kiran also works as a waitress at her good friend's restaurant that's part of a castle (an awesome detail that isn't emphasized nearly as much as I thought it should be) which is one of the places where she meets Ashley for the first time, before spilling soup all over the floor. Nearby, she'll meet Ron, a restlessly grieving man still pained by the mysterious circumstances under which his wife died. What was meant to be a courteous visit ends up with Ron rather unfairly manipulating Kiran into painting his wife alive again, one of the forbidden things for people with her vision painting ability to do. She stresses endlessly over it, comforted only by the fact that really, raising the dead isn't possible, right? Not really.
And "not really" means that a ghost becomes born, one with quite an attitude and a penchant for running off and getting into trouble. Who is also Ashley's mom. Which means Ron is Ashley's dad. And now the girl you've been hopelessly failing to flirt with is understandably kind of furious and wants to know why you've made her mom a ghost...?
Falling Colours switches between the POVs of Kiran's panicked chapters and the much shorter chapters of a mean, selfish and amnesic ghost. Marge, the ghost, was somebody I really didn't feel very sorry for at all until the end, and even then it was just a little.
However, the book is built on solving the mysterious circumstances of her death so she can rest in peace and Kiran doesn't lose her powers as a result of totally breaking the rules. In between investigating murder and being a server at a castle, she tries other smooth romantic moves on Ashley, like backing into her car and trying to stop the ghost she made of Ashley's mother from killing people. You know, the real feel-good stuff. But I guess we could all learn something from Kiran's smooth moves book, because it works. Yes, Ashley is hopelessly attracted to lovable fools, and she says as much at the end of the book.
So Falling Colours is worth reading for a frantic mystery, author R.J. Samuel's style of inventive and lively prose, enjoying an only mildly embarrassing lesbian romance, and descriptions of sleepy sheep that make you want to go out and hug one right now.
This book is part frantic murder mystery, and part bumbling lesbian romance between Kiran, a person with a special gift who is normally quite sensible but starts knocking all sorts of things over when she sees a beautiful woman, and Ashley, said beautiful woman whose mother Kiran just made a ghost. Accidentally. Awkward.
Basically, protagonist Kiran has an interesting ability where people can come with a request, some sort of personal vision or deeply desired ideal they want painted, and when she paints it, it will come true. She doesn't charge money for this contract-based service, she can't, but asks that after the painting becomes reality, they paint their "gratitude" to her into it so THAT can become reality, too.
They usually never do, though.
Since you can't eat nonexistent gratitude, Kiran also works as a waitress at her good friend's restaurant that's part of a castle (an awesome detail that isn't emphasized nearly as much as I thought it should be) which is one of the places where she meets Ashley for the first time, before spilling soup all over the floor. Nearby, she'll meet Ron, a restlessly grieving man still pained by the mysterious circumstances under which his wife died. What was meant to be a courteous visit ends up with Ron rather unfairly manipulating Kiran into painting his wife alive again, one of the forbidden things for people with her vision painting ability to do. She stresses endlessly over it, comforted only by the fact that really, raising the dead isn't possible, right? Not really.
And "not really" means that a ghost becomes born, one with quite an attitude and a penchant for running off and getting into trouble. Who is also Ashley's mom. Which means Ron is Ashley's dad. And now the girl you've been hopelessly failing to flirt with is understandably kind of furious and wants to know why you've made her mom a ghost...?
Falling Colours switches between the POVs of Kiran's panicked chapters and the much shorter chapters of a mean, selfish and amnesic ghost. Marge, the ghost, was somebody I really didn't feel very sorry for at all until the end, and even then it was just a little.
However, the book is built on solving the mysterious circumstances of her death so she can rest in peace and Kiran doesn't lose her powers as a result of totally breaking the rules. In between investigating murder and being a server at a castle, she tries other smooth romantic moves on Ashley, like backing into her car and trying to stop the ghost she made of Ashley's mother from killing people. You know, the real feel-good stuff. But I guess we could all learn something from Kiran's smooth moves book, because it works. Yes, Ashley is hopelessly attracted to lovable fools, and she says as much at the end of the book.
So Falling Colours is worth reading for a frantic mystery, author R.J. Samuel's style of inventive and lively prose, enjoying an only mildly embarrassing lesbian romance, and descriptions of sleepy sheep that make you want to go out and hug one right now.