Heartwarming

True Colors is a friends to enemies to lovers story that's sure to pull on the heartstrings of even the most cynical reader. Marco and Oskar grew up together, were the best of friends who spent countless hours together doing nothing and everything. One fateful day tragedy strikes Marco's family which forever alters the landscape of his life.




Thankfully he still has the support of his best friend until an event in a boys locker room turned his best friend into his enemy and shattered a piece of his soul along the way.

This is a slow burn told in Sunday's unique style with some flashbacks to explain the hurt. The comfort is delivered in spades but requires patience.

Told from both of their perspectives which gave each of these characters depth and gave the story poignancy. I appreciated Oskar's perspective to truly understand his actions and to invest in them as a couple because what Oskar did was awful. I'm glad it wasn't glossed over and that Marco doesn't capitulate at the first apology. Oskar needed to prove himself worthy of Marco more than once, for me.




What resonated the most was how much of an impact hurtful words can have on someone's psyche. The foundation of Marco's self-image was damaged in that locker room and that's not something he can recover from easily, nor can he ignore that Oskar is still under his skin. It's clear Marco's still has strong feelings for his first love and erstwhile best friend. More than just animosity too.

When he returns to Berlin with a boyfriend all those feelings become harder to ignore. He does try though. As you know, I have a thing for the possessive ones and Oskar is not happy about all of Marco's "trying". I liked that Sunday went this direction with his characterization because it makes it abundantly clear that the shadow of Marco casts a long shadow.

The secondary characters and family dynamics added tension and pushed the narrative forward. Zoe and how protective they are of her was entertaining. Grandpa a.k.a. Grandmaster Scrabbler cracked me up with his grunting. I feel like he's an oracle, but a non-verbal one. And I really REALLY loved when Marco finally comes out and everyone being like, 'yeah, we know'.




There isn't an excessive amount of sex, as you might expect with this trope. But in its place is oodles of longing, desire and romance to satisfy most readers.

This may sound hokey but I have to mention how much I LOVED all the fonts and the colors, how Marco uses those colors and how colors are integral to his character. It's uncommon and maybe a little quirky but I really enjoyed it.

Recommended!




A review copy was provided by NetGalley.

True Colors is a slow burn romance between two young men, Oskar and Marco and is set in Berlin. Once inseparable, their best friend status is no longer true, due to a cowardly misunderstanding between the two boys during a summer camp back at high school.

Now at college, and a separation of 15 months behind them, fate has thrown them together again and it seems that they must find a way to be civil with each other as they both have landed starring roles in the small production that is being put on by their families.

This was a decent read, with a good solid storyline and likeable side characters. Oskar and Marco were great together, and once Oskar started to trust Marco again after feeling so let down by his past behaviour, it was wonderful to watch their love story unfold.

I enjoyed the story, but it wasn't quite as angsty as I was expecting. It was a little melancholic overall but still well worth the read.

True Colors is a m/m romance.

I enjoyed this friend betrayal, enemy find love, coming of age story.

I didn't read the first one in this series, and don't believe I suffered because of that.

This coming-of-age story is slow building and relies on all the secondary characters playing their parts, while the two MCs dance around each other - one hurt and angry, the other regretful and patient.

I was a little confused initially to be honest and I may have been reading too fast to really appreciate the sad undertones, especially with the precise details of Marco's tragic loss. I didn't ever think I found out the source of his scars, but I joined some dots and am happy where that took me (even if it's wrong).

This could easily be classified into NA. Marco and Oskar are in their early 20s. They attend uni and have part-time jobs and head to music festivals. It's realistic and detailed. Once I got a clear picture in my head of all the characters (and it really didn't take that long), I very much enjoyed this journey back to forgiveness and love. I love the use of colours (sorry Australian here, must include 'u') to bind the story together.

Thanks Netgalley for the copy to read. Out on March 14.

*review of an arc received through netgalley*

Anyta is an expert when it comes to M/M slow burn romance. She knows how to get on your nerves while simultaneously persuading you to turn the page. Yes, this one stayed true to her style.

I believe that at its core this story is about forgiveness. Once best friends, these two boys drifted apart over something that mighy have seemed unforgivable at the time. This book shows that the passing of time does heal most wounds when one is willing to treat them.

Asides from that, I really loved the secondary characters on this one. The dynamics of the families and the friendship between them. How Anyta gave meaning to the colors, which reminded me of Rock, another amazing book of hers.

All in all, this was a very interesting read that I definitely recommend.

I absolutely loved "Leo loves Aries" , so when I was given the opportunity to read and reviews this book, I jumped on it.

True Colers is a sweet story about friends, loss, fear forgiveness and love.

Marco and Oskar have been best friends since they were little. Oskar has always been there for Marco, especially after his mother died and he got hurt. Oskar has been his rock his first color...his sunglow yellow. That is until they are 16 and he's not anymore...

Fast forward 4 years and Oskar is back in town. Marco is still very angry and hurt. Oskar is the reason for all his insecurities and he can't find it in himself to forgive and pretend like nothing happend. Avoiding Oskar is not an option either. Especially since Oskar's family lives next door to his father and grandfather, they are all good friends. The fact that Oskar's sister Zoe is one of Marco's best friends complicates things even further.

To make matters worse, they are forced to act together in a play, Marco's father is producing. It's a play to honor Marco's deceased mother, so saying no is not an option. Oskar seems pretty happy to be in this play. He wants to patch things up between two of them. He really wants to makes things right.

They are co-stars and it's up to Marco to decide on the ending....there are two options....a tragic one or a HEA. Marco isn't ready to leave the past behind and he is set on the tragic ending.

Slowly but surely they start to start to re-built their friendship. This is a very slow burn, but once with get there...it's burns like hell !!

I really enjoyed this one. I loved reading about Marco and all his colors. I am very happy he got his sunglow yellow back...

"You were my first color". "My happy. My everything."

Sunglow Yellow. The start of our story.

An ARC was kindly provided to me by Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review

This review has been posted on Dirty Books Obsession

This is the second book I've read by this author and it's just as great. I love this kind of romance, a slow burn with a HEA ending. The best.

This is all about two young children coming to terms with their feelings for each other. Then something happens to make them fall out of friendship and then they slowly get back to what they were before and so much more.

I love Marco and Osker. Their love is so wonderfully sweet. I love watching their path to lovers and confessing their love. I love the journey that Marco goes through while learning to love his body even though he thought it was ugly.

If you like this kind of book, I can say 100% you will love this story. The writing is easy to follow and flows into a wonderful story. All I know is I must read more by this author.

A journey of young love who went through tragedy, wrong choices and redemption. An angsty yet funny story told from a scarred young man's POV. I went through many kind of emotions following Marco through the pages; laughing, smiling, sniffling, all twisty feeling that had me clutch my heart.

True Colors is the second entry to Anyta Sunday's True Love series, set in Berlin. Marco used to be best bud with Oskar who lived next door; they were practically inseparable until the day Oskar did the unspeakable and hurt Marco's already fragile feeling and the friendship shattered. Years later, after briefly leaving Berlin, Oskar is back next door and Marco struggles between his (still) deep- seated hurt, unwanted attraction, and self-consciousness.

At first, I felt slightly exasperated with Marco and thought he's acting a bit childish. But as the story goes and more of his issue revealed, I couldn't help to feel for him. He was scarred at a young age and never really coped from the backlash from someone he thought would always be there for him. On the other hand, Oskar paid the price for his reckless choice and suffers in silence along with Marco.

It was the sort of convoluted misunderstanding that went too long and not easily bridged. I might not a big fan of new adult genre, but the way Sunday span the story and played with the characters’s emotions, I say this is not a story to be missed. Not only is this a romantic love, True Colors also a tale about family love. Like with family, there are some issues you have to face - like annoying, butting-in sister - but you love them anyway, no matter what. That pretty much sums up my state with this book. :)

Advanced copy of this book is kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was a bit disappointed, this had great potential but I just found so many holes in this story. I understand the boys had a life long friendship and lived next door to each other, but the abrupt four year gap was just inconsistent with the rest of the story. Too many other points for me as well, and the whole "play" thing was just strange.. I know I am in the minority, but this one just did not hit the spot at alll for me.

I was 100% enraptured with this book from the very beginning. I felt the connection between Oskar and Marco right from the start. Their tether, their bond was truly a thing of beauty. The author's prose was gorgeous as well. I felt the colors, I felt the feelings. I felt the angst and the burn, I felt the camaraderie and the desire between them. True Colors was a lovely read and I will be looking out for more in this series and more from this author!

True Colors was truly unique in some ways. I absolutely loved how the colors and what they represented were used, and what's even better, the design of titles were visually stunning (I can imagine that a paperback would be gorgeous).

Besides that, the characters and the development they went through was so good and captivating that the book was almost impossible to put down; I downright devoured it. There were so many characters who were easy to relate with and otherwise absolute sweethearts; Ben was just so nice, Elena so supportive, Zoe enthusiastic (and totally had a shipper heart), and Marco's family who were just so warm. And Oskar and Marco, oh did I love them, separate and together. Marco needs all the warm hugs and kind words because he's beautiful inside and out. He was deeply hurt and has a lot of trust issues. Oskar was a bit mystery at first but despite the mistake he made, he was a nice guy.

True Colors was a story of learning to forgive, learning to heal and to let go of the past. It was about friendship and enemies and the lines between those. It was about love and courage to be who you are, and accept yourself. In every way, the story was beautiful; at times it broke my heart, just to mend it back. It was so gorgeous because Marco and Oskar, and their relationship which was complicated, steamy, sweet, and just to stunning. I loved the book, most of the characters, and especially the relationship and the journey Marco (and Oskar) went through.

I highly recommend True Colors, because it was brilliant story that had everything; sadness, happiness, hate, love, frustration, fears and overcoming them, friendships and family dynamics.

I am soooo going to be in the minority with this one.

2 stars = it was ok.

The vibe I got from the first book made me a little reticent to give this one a shot, but then I thought about Leo Loves Aries and I just had to give this a chance. That was just about my most favorite book of 2016 after all.

I should have trusted my instincts.

I didn’t like this any better than I did Bottle Boys.

I honestly felt a clawing un-comfortableness through the majority of the book.

How come these boys don’t talk to their friends? Is this a cultural thing and I am just not getting it? I think they are college aged, yes? I am confused about the age thing.

Although the betrayal Marco felt was warranted and very, very real, I feel after a lifelong friendship it could have been argued out. So, I just had a hard time reconciling the hate and the distance. Plus, how long was it before Oskar left? It seems they were very young when they fell out but they have only been away from each other for 15 months. It also seemed that no one realized they weren’t friends anymore. How is that possible when they were inseparable? How is it that Marco spent all this time with Oskar’s sister Zoe but they never talked about Oskar? This all just didn’t make any sense to me.

Did no one know about the accident? The hiding of the scars was odd. Was it because of the betrayal from his youth? Why wouldn’t this have been something else to share with friends? Marco seems to have a pretty solid group of friends.

This was the icing on the already crumbling cake though. The boyfriend. I wish this could just be erased from the book because it made no sense in the larger picture of the book. Um…<spoiler>I came back for you.</spoiler> I kind of don’t believe you.

Unfortunately, like I said, I am totally in the minority with this one. It just didn’t sit well with me.

The ending was all kinds of pretty though, it just wasn't enough.

The story between Marco and Oskar is full of angst, but also tenderness and a whole heap of love and hurt. It was an enjoyable read, but sadly not one of my favourites by this author, but still worth reading.

4.5 stars!

True Colors was one hell of an angst read. It was so different, unique, yet amazing that I was blown away. This is my second read by Anyta Sunday and will not be my last by any means. Oskar and Marco used to be best friends before Oskar destroyed it in a few minutes.

This is a story of how they were best friends but became enemies-to-lovers. It's not light at all and filled with so much emotions that you might even shed a tear for them. I certainly did. Their characters were awfully well developed for 20 year old's.

"What colors am I supposed to be?"
"All of them,Marco....you're all of them."

True Colors is a beautiful journey of family, love, and most importantly forgiveness. Even if you've never read M/M, I highly recommend this book. If you're looking for a different story, you'll like it!

True Colors is a lovely story of friendships,family,forgiveness and love

Marco is scared both physically and emotionally.He sees people and the world through colors,some are beautiful,some are not.

Marco and Oskar were best friends growing up together as neighbours.They could see each others bedrooms from across the street.They had a special bond until one day Oskar caused Marco pain and humiliation with a terrible betrayal.

Fifteen months later Oskar is back but Marco can't find it in himself to forgive him.However they are forced to face each other as they are both taking part in a play Marco's father is producing.The play has a special meaning as it was written by Marco's late mother.There are two endings,one tragic,one happy....but which one will Marco choose?

Marco keeps his body hidden,terrified of exposing his scars.He's never been intimate with anyone,keeping his sexuality a secret.

Starting their lives as friends,then becoming enemies this is a slow burn and rightly so.We only get Marco's pov but you can still feel the deep feelings Oskar has for him as they both try and get their friendship back on track.

This is beautifully written and has a kind of poignancy about it as they both admit to what they feel about each other.The use of the color theme was unique and worked so well.


Reds,for courage,strength,deterimation.
Purples for pride,dignity,independence,magic.
Greens for growth,hope,safety.
Sunglow Yellow.....


"What colors am I supposed to be?"
"All of them,Marco....you're all of them."

It took me something like 5 hours to read this book.
I've been waiting for something to get me out of my funk.
Most books can't deliver the slow burn, enemies to lovers, love through the ages, the tension, the angst, the connection that I crave when I pick up a book.

The connection is so so so bloody important to me. This is why I honestly hate anything with insta-lust or insta-love because you cant grasp that yearning feeling that I crave.

Anyta Sunday delivers this to me always. Sometimes I get really invested in her characters that I cry myself to sleep.... Rock... sometimes I get lost and don't realize that a whole day has gone by ... Lenny for Your Thoughts
Sometimes I start at its done in a blink of an eye.

But I always always know that when I read one of Sunday's books Im gonna enjoy myself.

Thanks for giving me what I yearn for.

Mare~Slitsread

Endearing characters and compelling story. Sweet and heart-warming.
Anyta Sunday does slow-burn like nobody out there. The hard work she put into this story is evident at all times, because the final product is a wonderful story about love and growth and second chances- not only for other people, but also about the importance of learning to give them to ourselves, being aware that taking the risk might lead to happiness. Loved every second of it.

True Colors follows Marco, a young man in Berlin on the precipice of growing up, who is unexpectedly reunited with his childhood best friend, Oskar. Marco and Oskar fell out years ago, but their families are hoping that a play they are putting on will help them rekindle their friendship. Over the course of the story, it is revealed why exactly they fell out, and the feelings they had, and may still have, for each other.

The thing with Anyta Sunday, is that if you've read one of her books, then you've read a few of them. She has a toolbox of tropes - poor communication/misconceptions, mutual pining, hidden feelings for years/since the characters met - and she definitely sticks to her favourites. All her stories have a voice, but after a while it appears to be quite a singular one.

This book is enjoyable, but I feel like I've read parts of it before. Anyta Sunday herself compared this to one of her other novels, Rock, which is one of my favourite works. There is definitely a basis for comparison here. Like Rock, there is a certain 'quirk' that the main character has. In Rock, the main character liked to collect rocks and knew lots of facts about them and their love interest also had some sort of interest in it because of them. In True Colors, the main character likes colours, and each day and person and feeling has a colour. Their love interest also knows the code and what each colour means and incorporates this into their interactions.
It's sweet, but I've read it before.

If you like standalone M/M stories with a happy ending (because you'll always find that in Sunday's stories) and angst interwoven throughout, then you'll like this. It is definitely a fun and easy read, but I was expecting a little bit more from it.