The Color of Pain

E.G. Rose has a great style for the horror genre, it was a great start to the Colors of Novice Ray series. I was hooked by the atmosphere and enjoyed the suspenseful feel. The characters were what I was looking for and worked with this story. It left me excited to read more in this universe and from this author.

"Father always went for outdoor field trips when he could. State parks, discount boat trips to the islands of Casco Bay. He loved the Freedom trail in Boston because it was pretty much “gratis,” the man’s favorite word. Raymond looked it up and learned it was a fancy word for free. Made sense. But January’s trip was always indoors because, as Sister Ann, a genuine Mainer always said, “Winter in Maine was not meant for sissies.”

It's a shame that I can't find any information about this author. There is no Goodreads page for this novel yet there is an Amazon pre-order page.

But the book is absolutely fantastic. I loved figuring Ray out although Ada really was the one you either rooted for or despised... sometimes both! This is a story about an orphaned boy who likes to draw and paint but he also has a certain "gift". And part of this gift demands that he ingest negative energy from people's shame, guilt, fear, and pain or else he will die.

Ray is such a sympathetic kid that you can't help but feel his pain and sadness as he tries to understand why he's a "freak" when all he wants is to be normal.

But realizing what he must do in order to survive is heart wrenching and horrifying at the same time. This is the first in a series and I can't wait to explore these characters more in the future. I highly recommend this!

I just finished The Color of Pain by E.G Rose and here are my thoughts!

It’s bad enough when your mother dumps you in an orphanage when you are small but to spend your life being bullied while you are there is just miserable. That’s what happened to Raymond. The other kids think he is a freak for the things he seems to be able to do. The chronic stomach pains and the lack of bladder control are just the icing on the cake.

Then a new caseworker comes, Ada, who seems to see past Raymond’s weirdness and offers him help and some insight into who he is and what he can do. He can see people's emotions right into their secrets and Raymond is not only thrilled to understand what has been going on with him but that Ada seems to know so much about it. What Raymond needs to do to feel better is so horrific, he fights it. To stay alive he must feed off other people's pain.

When Ada sets him up with a foster family, he thinks that he has finally landed on his feet but really, the couple have a darkness of their own and he isn’t with them by chance.

I devoured this book in one sitting. I am a huge horror fan but I have never before gone down the path of horror from the human psyche. This book was creeptastic with a side order of what the F did I just read. It was cleverly written and it had that slow tingle of spine chilling goose bumps up the back of your neck, wanting it to end but dreading it being over.
I thought the plot was excellent and carefully laid out. Loved that it was mostly set in an orphanage with all the strange happenings and the urban legend of the orphanage too.
Totally fell in love with Raymond. It was definitely a change of pace having to watch a young child make some pretty harrowing decisions for themselves but it was brilliant. So brilliant and I was so pumped to see that is the start of a series and I am so here for that!


5 stars! The writing was marvelous and if you are a fan of horror this has to be on your list! It is out now!


Thank you to @netgalley and @sterlingandstone for my review copy!