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Sky of Seven Colors by Rachelle Nelson

YA Fantasy. 368 Pages. 4 Stars

Synopsis:

In a strange part of the forest, the divide between worlds grows thin.

After the accident, Meg would do anything to wake her best friend from his deadly coma. At least, that’s what she whispered into the woodland shadows. She never imagined her wish would trap her in a gray other-earth, void of any color.

Meg’s vibrant humanity is a priceless artifact in the gray kingdom, coveted by the royal court. All she wants to do is find a way back home. Until she discovers the other-earth contains healing powers that can save her friend. But only if Meg becomes what the gray people need—a human bride for Kalmus, the powerful king of the capital city.

With her heart torn between earths, Meg’s choices may cost more than she knows.

My Review:

This was such an interesting read. I’m not quite sure what I expected, but this definitely felt unique and different. A bit of a slow burn portal fantasy that leaves you unsure of who to trust or where it might go.

I love colors and color magic never fails to intrigue me, so the concept of a world void of color definitely drew my attention. It was fascinating to see a culture that prized even the smallest hint of color as priceless. I do wish the story had explored that concept more as it was my favorite part and the strongest draw for me.

The opening shocked me into paying attention. I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting it to open the way it did and I spent the whole rest of the book wondering how on earth we were going to resolve the introduced threads. But after we get to the colorless world, though Nelson continued to surprise me, the pacing seemed to shift and slow. It almost felt like being stuck in sap, skewing our perspective and leaving us wondering if we’d ever make it back to normal.

For some reason, I thought I heard this was a fae story, and there were definitely allusions to some common fae tropes that left me on edge, wondering how the characters would deal with the ramifications of choices you shouldn’t make in a fae world! But by the end of the book I realized, Nelson never actually said fae. She used “giants” though they shared some fae tendencies. So, that left me mildly confused, but I can’t seem to remember why I had the idea this was a portal fantasy into a fae world. Either way, it was oddly compelling to continue and the story kept me engaged. It just wasn’t what I expected.

Andrew seemed like he was going to be an intriguing character. I wish we’d gotten to see more of him, but I get why we didn’t. Proce and Von had me on edge for the whole story. I couldn’t make up my mind about whether to trust them or not. It was interesting because the more characters we met, the more I distrusted them all, leaving me thinking maybe Proce and Von weren’t so bad–but always in the back of my mind I wondered. The king definitely gave off some vibes. I won’t say what kind to avoid spoilers, but he was quite the character.

All in all, a strange story, but one that was an interesting read. It deals with some themes of humanity, grief, abduction, Stockholm’s, gaslighting, being an outcast, etc. I’d probably recommend for 15/16+ There’s no foul language, very mild romance (but the story centers around the idea of an arranged marriage), and some fantasy violence.