When a young orphan girl is found in the snow by a band of thieves, they immediately take her into their culture. They live as outcasts in the land of Abascar, a land where a stingy king reigns who has outlawed all color.
But as the young girl, Auralia, grows, she discovers that she has and uncanny gift of coloring the colorless objects of the kingdom. This gift gets her into a lot of trouble with the royal house of Abascar. The good thing about her is that she is no superhuman, she simply finds color in nature where others pass over it.
Despite the original end of this book and the general originality of this debut novel, there are several problems with it.
First, there are many creatures in the world that have no explanation or description. The reader is simply supposed to understand what those imaginary creatures are supposed to look like. The reader gets lost among these undescribed animals and people.
Second, the political houses and parties are also vague and hard to understand. There are several other houses such as the Bel Amicans, that have no explanation as to who they are and where they stand with the House of Abascar. There are also several other cultures and peoples around the area that lack explanation. Perhaps this will come later in the series but we could have used it in the first book.
Third, none of the other characters have personalities, but at least they are imperfect and slightly believable.
I like most of what Overstreet has done with this novel, and I expect greater things from him down the road. I just wish Auralia's Colors could have been Elite.
3.5 stars
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