Blackout by Nina Walker

So, I’m terrible and this is book 3 of a series.  If you’ve followed me on my blog journey, for the other series I’ve read, I wrote reviews about all of the books.  Part of the reason I’ve been terrible about posting lately, is my amped up intensity in reading.  Insert me devouring The Color Alchemist series (or what’s published so far) by Nina Walker.

Seriously, I don’t think I’ve been this stuck on a series since Elise Kova’s Air Awakens Series.  I read that series through Kindle Unlimited and then still purchased them just in case they ever were removed from being available to me through my subscription.  This series rivals that level of intensity for where we’re at in the story.  Great, Michelle, you’re obsessed, we get it… but why? No worries, friends, I’ll tell you. 🙂

The Color Alchemist series follows Jessa as she learns that she can perform magic via colors in a very public way.  Unfortunately for her, Color Alchemy is strictly regulated, so she’s removed from being from her family and whisked off to the palace (a very updated White House after America fell apart and split into two factions) to do King Richard’s bidding.  She’s a smart girl with a unique talent for Red Alchemy which makes her both untouchable to others and unforgettable for the power hungry King.  If only she could escape without losing her life, or her heart to Prince Lucas.

Before I start gushing (more than I already have) about loving this series, I will start with a couple things I don’t love so much:

• The “army” of color alchemists is called Guardians of Color or sometimes referred to as the Color Guard.  Neither of these feels like a great name for me.  It’s a little bit like Mount Doom in LOTR.  It’s silly, I know, but because I feel like it’s not quite right, it pulls me out of the story each time I read it.
• There is at least one key player in the book that I think was supposed to be a surprise on who they were.  I definitely saw that coming almost immediately after they were introduced.  I still enjoyed the confirmation I was right later in the book, but it would’ve been nice to be surprised as well.

Ok, things I did love:

• The Jessa/Lucas love story.  It’s falls well within expectations of the genre, but still delicious all the same.  It’s forbidden and sweet, innocent and heartbreaking.  Neither of them is great at understanding their feelings and make mistakes, but overall it feels very fated (again, think fantasy genre) so I love that push and pull.
• There was a character that surprised me.  So one reveal fell flat, another took me completely by surprise.  That was fun.
• The character development is great.  We meet some characters later in the series and they’re becoming key players.  They don’t feel like outsiders, and I’m actively engaged in how their pieces tie in and end even though their “late” editions.  I feel like that’s hard to do seamlessly, but we’ve achieved it anyway.

I feel like I could continue typing, but we all get the point.  My strong suggestion is to finish whatever you’re reading and pick up this series (starting with Book 1: Prism) next.  I’ll be shocked if anyone regrets it.