#vivid

About the Book

Book: Vivid
Author: Ashley Bustamante
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release date: May 17, 2022

Danger Lurks Behind Every Color

When Ava Locke was five years old, she began a journey to join the Benefactors—the leaders of the magical continent of Magus. Twelve years later, she unwittingly started down the road to betray them.

On Magus where colors fuel magical abilities, yellow is banned in an effort to protect people from its mind-controlling capabilities. When a rogue Yellow magic-user named Elm escapes imprisonment Ava becomes innocently fascinated with his story. Once this mysterious Elm shows up at her school, Ava pushes her interest to the next level by helping him evade the Benefactors. Ava grows increasingly conflicted as her intrigue leads her down a dark road of secrets about her world. As she learns more about Yellow magic’s potential to control its victims, Ava now must question whether her rash decisions are all her own or if someone else is pulling the strings.

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About the Author

Ashley Bustamante has created stories from the moment she could scribble and staple sheets of paper together. She simply cannot recall a time when writing was not a force in her life. When not running through lines of dialogue in her mind, she enjoys taking photographs and spending time with her husband, three children, and any furry, feathered, or scaly creature she can find. She currently works at Arizona State University.

Connect with Ashley: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

My Review

Vivid
by Ashley Bustamante
Book 1 in the Color Theory series
Rating: 4.5/5

Enclave Publishing never disappoints! I was excited to read this interesting YA fantasy from new-to-me author, Ashley Bustamante, and she did NOT disappoint. The writing feels fresh and exciting with a plot that draws you into her magical world of color and possibilities. As the first book in a series, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more.

First, I obviously had to read the book based on that COVER! I mean, come on! If that cover doesn’t make you stop and want to read the book, I don’t know what else can. The book cover is stunning and the cover art designer needs a promotion!
Second, like I said earlier, the story is well fleshed-out and the world-building is brilliantly done in a fairly non-confusing way. LOL. It is another world that I enjoyed escaping to for a few hours and cannot wait to return to. I need a quiz on what COLOR I would be 😉
Third, the characters keep you guessing with lots of twists and turns which make you doubt yourself. The main characters are interesting and their slow-burn romance makes you want to root for them.

Highly recommend this fantastic and clean YA fantasy with romance, magic and self-exploration.

My thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

More from Ashley

Vivid is a great example of how something small can turn into something big with a little faith and a lot of work!

The idea for Vivid came from a dream (which later became part of Chapter 5) that I just couldn’t forget. A dream about a charming young man in a top hat and a young lady in a yellow dress. I won’t give away the whole scene, but what stood out to me was the complicated feelings of the young lady. She was left so conflicted and dazed by her encounter with this roguish stranger. She knew she shouldn’t have spent time with him, and yet it was exciting. The thing she wanted more than anything was for him to come back, and yet that was also the thing that terrified her the most.

This scene and these characters would not leave my head. I wanted to know the rest of their story and it was all I could think about. Finally, I wrote it all down. How could I not? I made some adjustments, and soon I was plotting. Soon I had names. Places. A magic system. A chapter. Two chapters. Ten chapters. Within a month, I had my first draft written.

The road forward wasn’t easy as I was met with rejection after rejection. But through it all I could feel my Heavenly Father cheering me on, encouraging me to grow the talent he had given me. At once point I almost shelved the project, but that little nudge kept me going and eventually led me to my publisher. All the little pieces that came together over the years to lead me there is a story in and of itself.

I hope you will enjoy Vivid and come to love Ava and Elm as much as I do. It is my privilege to have this opportunity to share them with you.