Vivid (Volume 1) (The Color Theory)

Some friends recommended Vivid to me after I read and enjoyed The Wonderland Trials, as well as some less recent examples of Christian fantasy. At first, I wasn't sure about the book, since it seemed a bit "young" even for my "young adult" tastes, but it's true that good things often come in small packages.The world of Magus, especially the colors and the rules governing them, is well thought-out and beautifully drawn. The world isn't a hundred percent immersive, but it's almost there. Magus reads not necessarily as another world or another planet, but what our own world might become if people had magic powers or cared about color on deep levels. (As a matter of fact, our world, which seems so determined "not to see" color, to its own detriment, sometimes feels bland in comparison to Magus). The relationships between Reds, Blues, Yellows, and their magic feel both fantastic and realistic, such that even us "Muggles," so to speak, can understand right away how this world operates and what is vital to its existence.Main character Ava is on the two-dimensional side, as are most if not all the characters. However, she rings true as a student on the cusp of graduation, and a top one at that. She challenged me to think--would I have done anything differently than she did? If yes, what, and how, and why? Ava's training and struggles also caused me to ponder the deeper themes of the story. That is, I'm a brainy person who doesn't have a keen interest in the physical world, so I could picture myself as a Mentalist. Knowing what that would mean in Ava's world challenged me to consider a lot of deeper ramifications, for which I applaud Ashley Bustamente.I did wonder at times why Vivid stuck to just the three primary colors; I was picturing myself as more a Green or Purple person. However, those three colors, and the meanings and lifestyles behind them, eventually pop from the page. Elm's lemon and sunflower surprise for Ava was one of my favorite scenes, as were the scenes of Violet City. Those worlds felt even more vivid than their "backdrop," and I wanted to spend more time in them. In fact, I ached for more development of color worlds and color magic in general.The story's plot and themes read a bit obvious to me, but perhaps that's because of the young adult feel. Even so, Ashley did employ some twists and turns I wasn't expecting. The scene where Ava finds out the truth about her parents and her legacy wrenched my heart in the best way, and I can only imagine how much more it would do so for a younger audience member. Another example is Elm's character; I did find him highly annoying at times, but grew to appreciate and love him as Ava did. Near the end, I found myself ready and eager to join his cause.As noted, I'd have liked more depth all around, particularly in the spiritual realm (Ashley thanks her Heavenly Father in her acknowledgments, and Vivid has some definite pro-life, pro-humanity sentiments that line up with a Judeo-Christian worldview, but otherwise, Vivid could be secular). I also wondered what would have happened if, as noted, Magus had more colors or more branches of magic, or if Ashley had delved into more relationships. Sometimes it felt like Ava, Blake, and Selene were just kind of "there" as convenient foils for Elm, which could have been replaced anytime.Having said that, Vivid still sticks in my head and is still a strong book. It's definitely feeding my appetite for books like it, and I'm eager to see what happens next in the Color Theory world. Until next time, when hopefully this Mentalist ally will find out more about her people, may I recommend you join me on the journey?

Vivid (Color Theory Book 1) – Ashley BustamanteI wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. I took a chance because I had listened to an interview with the author and she made the book sound interesting to me. I was very curious. WELL BAZINGA!!!! I can’t wait till her next book comes out! This was a breath of fresh air, way different than my normal genre. I didn’t realize how isolated I was. If you stick to one or two genre…I urge you to venture out and try this book! You don’t have to be an artist to enjoy and appreciate the world of Magus and all of its color….or LACK of certain color. I enjoyed Ava, a young girl orphaned by war, taken in by another family and sent to school to learn and enhance the magic (RED) that she bestows. Ava is an Augmentor (Healer) and she also has a friend Blake who is learning to enhance his magic (BLUE) as well. Blake is a Shaper (creates things from other things). So there you have Red and Blue and not too far from the school is Violet City, I love how this flowed. Ava and Blake go to Prism a school to learn and enchance their magic. There’s only one problem… Ava has many unanswered questions about her past, her childhood, the war and why will no one discuss the color Yellow or Yellow magic? Enter Elm, the outlaw of this story. Elm is a Mentalist and he uses Yellow magic. Ava, is a very curious young lady and she treads on grounds that could get her into great trouble. But Ava has so much to learn. This story was so good, I couldn’t wait to get to the next chapter. I felt for Ava, even though she had a family that raised her and a teacher that seemed to genuinely care for her and wanted her to reach her dreams of becoming a Benefator, Ava had missing pieces in her life, she needed answers. There were so many twists and turns in this story, my mind was racing right alongside Ava’s. I wanted her to see things through in the worst way. I understood her need to be whole. There was always a lingering thought in the back of my mind throughout the book tugging at me….it may seem cliché, but the whole universe is balanced and when something is out of balance everything is out of whack. The other thought that came to mind while reading this was “Perfect love casts out fear”. Through all the twist and turns, doubts and fears. This held true! Kuddos to you Ashley Bustamante, I see “VIVIDLY” now!

So much fun to read! I loved the magic, the twists, and of course the slow burn romance. My only critique is that I wanted more! The sequel can’t come out soon enough.

I want to start off by saying. I received a complimentary ebook copy. In return for my honest thoughts and review. I really enjoyed this book on so many different levels. The world building and all characters the author has created. Elm is my handsome book sweet heart. But while I was reading I kept picturing the actor who played in the move Drop Dead Fred. I don’t know why. Ava is a strong female character in this book. I admire her strength. And how she wanted to learn more about other magic. I am always wanting to learn more about things. I also didn’t want this book to end. That’s why I enjoyed Ava character so much. Now I must say I sometimes have a heard time getting into fantasy book. This one had me smiling rooting for Ava and Elm. Even through Elm is (the bad guy.) This book comes out May 17, 2022 I highly recommend this book. I had to have my own ebook copy. I cant wait for book 2 and more adventures with Ava and Elm to save the Yellow magic..About Book.Ava is our main character. Who lost her parents at very young age. Her parents were killed. Ava goes to school to train to become a Red magic benefactors. Where yellow magic is not allowed due to the mind control magic and other magic that yellow does. Until one named Elm has escaped. Ava starts having dreams about the escape yellow. Ava starts questioning everything that her mentor has told her and said to her. Once she starts trying to understand why yellow magic isn’t bad when she runs into Elm. Again I highly recommend this book. Definitely can’t wait for book 2. Thank you again to the author for this opportunity to read such amazing book.

5 beautiful, bright, vivid yellow stars.Right from the opening line, I was drawn deep into the world of Magus and didn’t want to leave it. I didn’t have a ton of expectations going into this book. Mostly, I got sucked right in by that cover. But I have to say my very minimal expectations were exceeded.This was more of a dystopian, I would say, and I haven’t read a YA dystopian in years. The worldbuilding was fascinating, and towards the end this book just got crazy intense and I was frantically flipping pages to see what would happen.There were a couple of minor reveals where I was kind of like “wait, was I not supposed to already know this very obvious thing?!”, but there were others that I didn’t expect at all, so yay!I’m not usually the type to swoon over men in books, but y’all, Elm was just too much.In the best way. The romance element of this book ended up being a bigger deal than I anticipated, but it totally worked. It was also totally clean and just very morally positive.I will say that this is more of a clean fantasy than something you would easily pinpoint as specifically Christian, but that didn’t take away from the story. I tend to really enjoy the books that Enclave Escape puts out, and this was no exception.I will be eagerly awaiting the sequel, but the book also ended on a very satisfying note.

In the past few years there has been a noticeable decline in the moral value of YA fantasy romance books but Vivid is a refreshing exception. The lack of cuss words made for a pleasant and entertaining read. Aside from the clean, sweet romance the story is interesting quickly drawing you into the colourful world of Magus. The overarching theme of don’t take anything at face value was well woven into every part of the story giving good food for thought. I enjoyed the twist at the end and look forward to the next book in the series.