The Color of Lies by C.J. Lyons

The Color of Lies by C.J. Lyons is a YA Contemporary Thriller story of a girl with a rare medical condition, synesthesia, which causes her senses to become scrambled, and the boy who mysteriously shows up and changes her past forever.

“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 always been good at reading people. Her family has a rare medical condition called synesthesia that scrambles the senses—her Gram Helen sees every sound, and her uncle Joe can literally taste words. Ella’s own synesthesia manifests itself as the ability to see colors that reveal people’s true emotions…until she meets a guy she just can’t read.

Alec is a mystery to Ella, a handsome, enigmatic young journalist who makes her feel normal for the first time in her life. That is, until he reveals the real reason why he sought her out—he wants to learn the truth behind her parents’ deaths, the parents that Ella had always been told died in a fire. Alec turns Ella’s world upside down when he tells her their deaths were definitely not an accident.

After learning her entire life has been a lie, Ella doesn’t know who she can trust or even who she really is. With her adoptive family keeping secrets and the evidence mixing fact and fiction, the only way for Ella to learn the truth about her past is to find a killer.

Perfect for fans of Caroline B. Cooney, Ally Carter, and Jennifer Brown, The Color of Lies blurs the lines between black-and-white facts and the kaleidoscope of reality.”

I loved this book!

We follow the main character who can see people’s auras related to their emotions through a rare medical condition named synesthesia. Which, if this didn’t trigger my mind to pick up this book, the rest of the synopsis does!

Growing up without her parents has been a struggle for Sophia. Knowing a terrible fire caused the tragic chapter to her story, she tries to make it through the anniversary fifteen years later.

That is, until a mysterious boy comes in and stirs her up with the accusations that the fire may not have been what it she has been told all these years.

When we first meet this random guy, all the characters go in a frenzy on what his intentions are. Even as I was reading along, I kept getting these stalker, possible serial killer vibes. He seemed to know everything about her, and had a sort of obsessive tone to his demeanor.

But as the story progresses, we find out more information, and the plot thickens into a mystery thriller that I couldn’t help but read until the very end!

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. If you’re looking for a thriller that will suck you in and make you stay up really late until the last page, this book is it! The last third of the book brings out theories on who exactly is behind all the events and then we get a surprising, very sudden twist to the tale.

I highly recommend this book, so if the synopsis didn’t reel you in, I hope this review does!

Published: 6 November 2018

Publisher: Blink

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary / Thriller

Pages: 336

How I Read It: Hardcover from Local Library

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