C. J. Lyons

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author CJ Lyons comes The Color of Lies, a world drenched in color and mystery. High school senior Ella Cleary has synesthesia---a condition that causes her to see a riot of colors with each interaction. That is until she meets a boy she can't read who knows the secret behind her parents' death.

The Color of Lies

CJ Lyons

A gripping young adult suspense novel drenched in color, mystery, and lies; set in the sense-blending world of Synesthesia. New York Times and USA Today bestselling author CJ Lyons grabs you and won’t let go, keeping you guessing until the very last page of The Color of Lies. When you can see emotions in color, motives become black and white. Even murder. High school senior Ella Cleary has always been able to read people. And for good reason: she has a rare medical condition called synesthesia that scrambles the senses, allowing Ella to see colors that reveal people’s true emotions. Everyone but Alec’s. Alec is a mystery to Ella, a handsome, enigmatic young journalist who makes her feel normal for the first time in her life … until he reveals the real reason he sought her out. He wants to learn the truth behind her parents’ deaths. And Ella’s world turns upside down when Alec tells her their deaths were not an accident. After learning her entire life is based on a lie, Ella doesn’t know who she can trust or even who she truly is. With family secrets slowly revealed and the evidence mixing fact and fiction, the only way for Ella to learn the truth about her past is to find a killer. The Color of Lies: Clean YA suspense with themes of mystery, romance, and friendship—a must-read for readers ages 13 and up By New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller writer CJ Lyons, whose adult suspense novels have sold over 2 million copies in print and digital Features the little-known and fascinating condition synesthesia, in which people may see sounds, taste words, or feel sensations on their skin when they smell certain scents Perfect for fans of Caroline B. Cooney, Ally Carter, and Jennifer Brown

Ariel

** spoiler alert **
           I found the main character Ella pretty annoying due to her blind ignorance in the first 200 pgs but after her personal arc happened it was much better reading frm her perspective. I predicted that Darrin was involved but did not predict helen and Joe being apart of it so that was good. I also was annoyed by the insta love. Therefore it was a ok book 2.5 stars for me. 

I wish Alec's journalist thoughts and investigation was flushed out more and also how is he at 4 years old able to save a 3 yr old out at sea?!?!?

Jo Young

** spoiler alert **
           The writing is really good, and I like the dialogue. I like Ella’s inner monologue. I liked that due to her synthesia she saw the fire while she was thinking about it. One of my favourite lines was “He’s smart enough not to try to talk to me - the way my emotions are swirling around the car, filling it to the brim, if he added any more, we’d surely drown”. I like how Ella’s synesthesia affects her view of people/the world. She seems very deep. Another line I like is “No. That’s wrong. Something in me has always trusted him”.

At first I thought Joe was the person trying to kill Ella, and I thought he faked the chest pains he had when Ella nearly died in the fire. Especially after it was found out that it was only a panic attack, which can be faked. I really enjoying the last part of the book, where everyone is finding out things and rushing to help Ella. I liked that Ella found out that Alec does have an aura, but it is clear and reflects others.

4/5 stars.

High school senior Ella Cleary, whose synesthesia causes her to see colors with each interaction, must question everything she knows about her life when journalism student Alec investigates her parents' death.

Chrissy

Jessica Nottingham

YA mysteries and thrillers are still relatively new territory for me, mainly because I still always seem to gravitate towards my safe fantasy territory. Which is why, when the opportunity to review a book like The Color of Lies presents itself, I'll happily oblige. This story in particular caught my attention because our protagonist had synesthesia. How CJ Lyons planned to incorporate that into Ella's story intrigued me, because it seemed to me that the ability to read auras would really come in handy in the event of a thriller. Ah, how right I was.

It should be noted that I don't have a lot of background knowledge of synesthesia, and I always assumed that it revolved around colors. So it was so fascinating to me to meet Ella's family members, each with their own unique way of experiencing the world. In particular, Ella's uncle Joe had the ability to taste words. How cool is that? I just kept imagining what that would be like, to be able to taste the things that you say. Absolutely fascinating, if I do say so myself.

I also really enjoyed Ella as a main character. She was enough of an adult to keep the teen angst to a minimum, but enough of sheltered child to make this whole mystery really flow. Her love for her family and friends made me fall for her pretty quickly, but her love of art really sealed the deal. Had this book only been from Ella's point of view, I think I would have been completely smitten.

Unfortunately, this is a dual POV book. I normally am not a fan of dual POV anyway, but I really felt Alec's portion took away from some of the growth that we could have seen from Ella. I'll admit, Ella does get a fair bit more time in the limelight than Alec does. However since Alec starts out the story holding all the cards, and Ella has to play catch up, it makes her seem a little weak. I knew she wasn't. CJ Lyons has written a strong character who, despite her whole life being turned upside down multiple times, pushes through. I just wanted more of that, and more of her.

As for the plot line, I'm of the opinion that it was actually pretty easy to unravel. My inkling about how the book was going to end started around the 1/3 mark, and the further the read the more I knew that I was absolutely right. I know that Lyons was trying to lay a trail of breadcrumbs. In fact, I think that some of that actually was done well. However there is a lot in the first half of the book that all but lights a neon sign pointing to what will happen at the end. As I said, I don't read a ton of mystery and I was able to unravel it. I'm not sure how die hard readers of this genre will feel.

All in all, this was a pretty solid read. The Color of Lies drew me in with its premise, and kept me reading because I fell in love with the characters. Although the plot wasn't quite as twisty as I hoped for, that didn't stop this from being a book I all but flew through. I know this will be a satisfying read for a lot of you out there, and so I'll happily recommend you adding it to your reading list.

The Color of Lies

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