[NOC]≡ Download True Colors The Masks Series Volume 1 Melissa Pearl Margery Walshaw 9781630990091 Books

True Colors The Masks Series Volume 1 Melissa Pearl Margery Walshaw 9781630990091 Books

Download As PDF : True Colors The Masks Series Volume 1 Melissa Pearl Margery Walshaw 9781630990091 Books

True Colors The Masks Series Volume 1 Melissa Pearl Margery Walshaw 9781630990091 Books

I bought True Colors partly because of the beautiful cover and partly because of the interesting blurb. Luckily the story was as good as it sounds. The main character Caitlyn meets a beggar and after that has the strange power to see people their real emotions. She tries to get her power under control, but also uses it to help others. She finds out a big secret, but she doesn’t really know what the emotions mean and there is a bit of a mystery plot line where she tries to find out why peopel feel a certain whay about another character and what he’s hiding. the whole book has a steady pace, but it really picks up pace towards the end when the mystery start making sense and there is even an almost suspenseful scene. The book certainly surprised me a few times as I hadn’t expected it to go into the direction it did.

There were a few things that skated the line of being realistic and unrealistic. Like at a certain scene where the characters made a decision to take matters into their own hands, while I think most people would’ve confined in someone else before acting. There were a few instances like that were I could understand why the did what they did what they did, but also found it slightly unbelievable. It wasn’t unbelievable enough to get me out of the story, but just enough to have me wodner if people would acts like that in real life or if things like that could happen. There are also actions of other characters that felt a bit risky for people with their motivations. And it was a bit darker than I expected in some places, but it was a great read.

What I like most about this book is how it focusses on how people often wear a mask and not show their true selves to the world or are hiding something, have deeper feelings than they show. Which ofcourse is logical, but also means that sometimes people are lying or putting on an act. I think it was realistic and I often have had the thought especially when things are hard about how outward a person can look happy while shouldering a burden no one knows about. It’s interesting to follow this character that can see behind those mask and realizes what people show to the world and what they really feel. I liked this and how it gave insights in the characters Caitlyn meet. It was well done and the way it was described made sense and I could imagine how the mask falling away would look to Caitlyn. It’s a big power she has and I liked how she dealt with and tried to use it to help people. While on the one hand the paranormal aspect of her power is subtle, it’s also very present and it’s really well written in a way that her gift becomes part of the way she observes the world.

The book doesn’t elaborate much on the origin of Caitlyn her gift beside the fact she got it from someone else and it’s left open whether she’s the only with a gift like this or not, but that lack of elaboration didn’t bother me. There is enough information about her gift and how it works and we figure things out along with Caitlyn, which worked for me. And I am thinking that in the future books we will learn even more about her gift and if she is the only one with a gift or not.

Caitlyn the main character is a typical teenager and I like how realistic her voice was. She did act like a teenager, but in a well done realistic way and not in an annoying way. She had friends and while they didn’t were the best friends she did belong somewhere. She’s still trying to figure out what she wants and where she belongs. I liked seeing her grow and change from her power. It was hard to see her realizing how different her friends really were, but I also think it was good and it gave her the chance to decide if she really wanted to be friends with them. It was interesting to see, although I did feel sorry for Caitlyn as facing all those true emotions of people was hard. There are some great side characters, but it takes a while to get to know them and decide who I really liked, especially once Caitlyn has her gift it became clearer what people their true emotions were. Libby was a great side character, just like Erick, Micah and Indie.

There is some romance and while it isn’t the focus it’s still a part of the story. I thought the romance was done well. It developed at a nice speed and I felt they really had a connection. It also had a typical teenager feel, but in a good way. And I liked how Caitlyn actually told others about her power and didn’t keep it a secret and it certainly helped the romance along as well. The romance was sweet and believable and I liked these two together.

To conclude: All in all True Colors is a very original and fun read. I liked the story and it surprised me with the mystery and suspenseful direction it took at the end. It had a typical teenager feel, but in a well done realistic way and not in an annoying way. Caitlyn is a great main character who grows and changes a lot over the course of the book. She shares her secret of her gift with a few people and I liked how she figured out who her real friends where and what to do with her gift along the way. The romance was sweet and well done. The ending wraps things up nicely and I was actually surprised to learn this is a series and not entirely sure if I want to read the rest as it could function as a standalone pretty well.


Tags : True Colors (The Masks Series) (Volume 1) [Melissa Pearl, Margery Walshaw] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers.,Melissa Pearl, Margery Walshaw,True Colors (The Masks Series) (Volume 1),Evatopia Press,1630990094,Fantasy - Paranormal,Fiction - Fantasy,Fiction Fantasy Paranormal

True Colors The Masks Series Volume 1 Melissa Pearl Margery Walshaw 9781630990091 Books Reviews

I was given an ARC of Melissa Pearl's True Colors by the author for an honest review. I want to give it 3 1/2 stars. While not great literature, for this genre, it is far better than 3 but falls somewhat short of 4. I liked the story, creative ideas, and most of the characters. The book was entertaining, well edited and plotted, yet felt a bit...lacking. Although I readily confess, high school YA is not my typical genre. And this is relatively tame YA. There is an interesting little paranormal twist for the main character that adds extra flavor and complications throughout, and that clever little element was handled rather well. There is mention, musings, and thoughts of sex, but no sex. While our heroine is frequently finding herself contemplating sex and believes she is ready - much to her mother’s horror - it is her hot boyfriend that tells her no. Hmm, this seems to be one of the major sticking points for me... teenage boys do not EVER say no to sex… at least, not in my experience… and especially not when it is offered up so willingly by someone they are crushing on. For moms, grandmothers, and ministers who are checking to see if the story is safe for their young loved-ones to read; there are a few obscenities, but the language and story lines are relatively tame. As someone who knows and works with kids this age, they hear far worse language and more intense story lines listening to each other.
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I have been on a reading hiatus, and I am SO happy to be reading again! Not so happy that this was the first book I read of my Summer Reading List. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t BAD per se, but it wasn’t particularly good either. It was very much caught in the middle of the two.

The first thing the novel had against it was how generic it was. It’s about a friendly girl who is apart of the ‘in crowd’, only to find out that her group of friends aren’t that great. She discovers this via her new superpower to read people true emotions through their eyes and was granted this gift through a homeless man whom she showed a bit of kindness too. She falls for the boy next door, he falls for her, OH, and the conflict! There is a cheating scam at school and only she can figure it out with the help of some new friends and her new boyfriend. It doesn’t sound that bad overall, it has just been done so many times it’s ridiculous. However, I didn’t really take off points for generity (is that a word?... I am making it a word.)

Dislikes

The first thing I took point off for was how easy it was to guess what was going to happen with the conflict. Unfortunately, the author lacked the ability to make subtle clues to give to the reader and basically just put a neon sign reading “CHEATING SCAM!” I did almost think it was drugs, because of the level of violence involved with the ringleaders seemed a bit too extreme for a cheating scam, but drugs didn’t make any sense.
The second thing I took points off for was the romantic aspect. The relationship between Eric and Caity happened really fast, in my opinion, and had no real conflict. A great potential conflict was presented, but was never used. I also would have liked to see Stella (Caity’s [ex] best friend) find out about the relationship. Considering she had major hots for Eric, the blow out would have created some much needed tension. On that note, I also didn’t like how Stella and Caity’s friendship just ceased to be. It also wasn’t given the drama it deserved and had no real fallout.
The last thing I want to address in the con side of things was how easily her superpower was controlled. After gaining this new power the reader is given maybe half a chapter of the main character freaking out and trying to control it before she suddenly learns how to master it. It was yet another area the author could have taken liberties to create sub conflicts or some tension, but it wasn’t really utilized that effectively.

LIKES!!!
Ok, just so you know, I didn’t hate this book. I mean, when I post this review on Goodreads and , I’ll round it up to 3 stars. It did have some great points!

First, the character development was a major savior. Caity doesn’t just save the day in this book; she discovers who she is and who she wants to be. She realizes that she doesn’t want to continue to be this naïve follower that she starts off as at the beginning of the book, and as she develops her power, she finds a new group of friends (and a boyfriend) that she can be herself around and who she enjoys to be around. I felt the author did an AMAZING job developing her and it was something that happened fairly gradually and realistically.

Minor bonus points were given for not making the conflict about drugs; the overdone factor would have made me stop reading half way through it. Minor points were also given for the GORGEOUS book cover. I am a huge “judge a book by its cover” kind of reader, it’s what draws me into a book and makes me read the blurb on the back, and True Colors had that going for it in spades! Probably one of the main reasons I bought it actually. *Yoda voice* Good sales technique it was!

Although it was definitely a book that has been done before, it reminded me a lot of The Body Finder series by Kimberly Derting and the Clarity series by Kim Harrington. It wasn’t executed nearly as well as either series, but it definitely was in the right direction. I think the biggest difference between the two above and this series is that the main characters of both Derting’s and Harrington’s novels knew when the police needed to be contacted. In True Colors, contacting the police was an obvious step that was taken way too late and probably would have helped the book more if it were added earlier.
Overall, this was a simple read. It wasn’t anything extraordinary in my opinion, but I didn’t hate it. It wasn’t something that memorable, and I probably won’t read the sequels, but I’ll have to keep an eye out for the author. I think she has a lot of potential that has yet to be utilized!
I bought True Colors partly because of the beautiful cover and partly because of the interesting blurb. Luckily the story was as good as it sounds. The main character Caitlyn meets a beggar and after that has the strange power to see people their real emotions. She tries to get her power under control, but also uses it to help others. She finds out a big secret, but she doesn’t really know what the emotions mean and there is a bit of a mystery plot line where she tries to find out why peopel feel a certain whay about another character and what he’s hiding. the whole book has a steady pace, but it really picks up pace towards the end when the mystery start making sense and there is even an almost suspenseful scene. The book certainly surprised me a few times as I hadn’t expected it to go into the direction it did.

There were a few things that skated the line of being realistic and unrealistic. Like at a certain scene where the characters made a decision to take matters into their own hands, while I think most people would’ve confined in someone else before acting. There were a few instances like that were I could understand why the did what they did what they did, but also found it slightly unbelievable. It wasn’t unbelievable enough to get me out of the story, but just enough to have me wodner if people would acts like that in real life or if things like that could happen. There are also actions of other characters that felt a bit risky for people with their motivations. And it was a bit darker than I expected in some places, but it was a great read.

What I like most about this book is how it focusses on how people often wear a mask and not show their true selves to the world or are hiding something, have deeper feelings than they show. Which ofcourse is logical, but also means that sometimes people are lying or putting on an act. I think it was realistic and I often have had the thought especially when things are hard about how outward a person can look happy while shouldering a burden no one knows about. It’s interesting to follow this character that can see behind those mask and realizes what people show to the world and what they really feel. I liked this and how it gave insights in the characters Caitlyn meet. It was well done and the way it was described made sense and I could imagine how the mask falling away would look to Caitlyn. It’s a big power she has and I liked how she dealt with and tried to use it to help people. While on the one hand the paranormal aspect of her power is subtle, it’s also very present and it’s really well written in a way that her gift becomes part of the way she observes the world.

The book doesn’t elaborate much on the origin of Caitlyn her gift beside the fact she got it from someone else and it’s left open whether she’s the only with a gift like this or not, but that lack of elaboration didn’t bother me. There is enough information about her gift and how it works and we figure things out along with Caitlyn, which worked for me. And I am thinking that in the future books we will learn even more about her gift and if she is the only one with a gift or not.

Caitlyn the main character is a typical teenager and I like how realistic her voice was. She did act like a teenager, but in a well done realistic way and not in an annoying way. She had friends and while they didn’t were the best friends she did belong somewhere. She’s still trying to figure out what she wants and where she belongs. I liked seeing her grow and change from her power. It was hard to see her realizing how different her friends really were, but I also think it was good and it gave her the chance to decide if she really wanted to be friends with them. It was interesting to see, although I did feel sorry for Caitlyn as facing all those true emotions of people was hard. There are some great side characters, but it takes a while to get to know them and decide who I really liked, especially once Caitlyn has her gift it became clearer what people their true emotions were. Libby was a great side character, just like Erick, Micah and Indie.

There is some romance and while it isn’t the focus it’s still a part of the story. I thought the romance was done well. It developed at a nice speed and I felt they really had a connection. It also had a typical teenager feel, but in a good way. And I liked how Caitlyn actually told others about her power and didn’t keep it a secret and it certainly helped the romance along as well. The romance was sweet and believable and I liked these two together.

To conclude All in all True Colors is a very original and fun read. I liked the story and it surprised me with the mystery and suspenseful direction it took at the end. It had a typical teenager feel, but in a well done realistic way and not in an annoying way. Caitlyn is a great main character who grows and changes a lot over the course of the book. She shares her secret of her gift with a few people and I liked how she figured out who her real friends where and what to do with her gift along the way. The romance was sweet and well done. The ending wraps things up nicely and I was actually surprised to learn this is a series and not entirely sure if I want to read the rest as it could function as a standalone pretty well.