An Excellent Story

I went into this one fresh off of it was announced that this was included in the 2022 Audie Awards Finalists list. Now, that's a feat especially because one of the best books I read in 2021 was on that list and another one I wanted to read was in there. But I completely understand why this was nominated and made it that far. It was an unbelievably well-produced and done audiobook - especially for being independently done. I speak to this having read LOTS of audiobooks in my time.

Now, into the story. I think that Pastel Pink really jumped out at me as a social commentary without trying. The world that Harlow lives in is ruled by a class or a caste system that basically assigns people to jobs that match their colors. Granted these aren't the colors that you and I are used to but they are pinks and purples and so on. Early in the book, she's thrown into a different role and things just take off from there.

I think this is probably one of the more bold usages of this system in a science fiction book I've ever read. In hunger games, there were the different sections - but that was more of a regional issue - this seemed to be all in the same area, but separated them based purely on color and not ability or skill.

I liked the jumping back and forth between Zadok and Earth as well - and the jumping between the two different lives. Also, for an audiobook - the little notes that would say something like Harlow and Harlow as Ruby. It feels dumb to call out - but wow was that helpful. A book that jumps around like this one does can get confusing when reading on a page. Once you add in the audio portion it gets even more confusing. So, A+ usage of chapters to make sure that the different characters were called out even though they were narrated by different performers.

I also had a chuckle because early on I could feel the "love triangle" that a lot of YA books had - but this one felt like it was going to be done right. I won't comment on what I thought after the opening parts as to not sway a reader - but I thought that Minty did it well without it feeling too cliche.

Overall, I really enjoyed Pastel Pink - Minty's world and character building were top-notch. I can't wait to dive more into the rest of the series to figure out what's going to happen to the characters involved. Throw in the excellent narration that I touched on earlier, and this was easily one of the most interesting books I've read in a while.

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Fantasy, romance and mystery

Murdered on earth, a woman now known as Harlow has been reincarnated on Zadok. On this planet, people are segregated into different classes based on their color. Pastels are the lowest and when Harlow is born into the caste of Magenta’s her life naturally became more difficult. As a result of her injuries by a vicious animal, Harlow discovers she can return to earth in a corporeal like form. What she discovers there on earth affects her life on Zadok. Faced with many conflicting emotions, Harlow finds herself thrust into a caste struggle.
Nikki Minty, the author, weaves an intense story building a new world and connecting it to an old one. She takes her time building the suspense and keeping the story flowing naturally. Well-written, the characters are developed and rich. Each plot twist is well thought out and executed smoothly.
The narrators, Khristine Hvam, Jodie Harris, James Fouhey, James Patrick Cronin each give a solid performance moving the story forward with clarity and unique voices for each character. Their performances depended heavily on one another to keep the story clear. Their intonations were flawless and enriched the story.

This is the first book in a series of three. This book has suspense, murder, romance, and more!

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook. The sound was clear and well done.

Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.

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A promising start to a fascinating saga

Pastel Pink is the first book in The Zadok Series by rising author Nikki Minty. First of all, I need to tell you that this saga is targeting young adults and combines beautifully written fantasy with captivating magical realism.

If you want to learn more about the story, I suggest you read the Publisher’s Summary, but I think that it gives away too much of the plot and you know that I never put spoilers in my reviews.

What I can tell you is that this novel features some really interesting characters and their lives on two different planets: those who die on Earth are born again on Zadok, which is a completely new and fascinating world based on a race caste color system.

The audiobook version of Pastel Pink, is exquisitely brought to life by three extremely talented voiceover artists. Khristine Hvam is an award-winning audiobook narrator, producer, director, and voice-over actress. Jodie Harris is an Australian actress, singer, voice artist, audiobook narrator and singing teacher, while James Patrick Cronin is an award winning American audiobook narrator and stage actor.

Each of them are doing their best in order to bring all these fascinating characters and the two worlds to life. Three different narrators means that the listener will find it easier to differentiate between characters and also gives this story a more immersive setting. The narrative experience is top-notch and the production is perfect.

Pastel Pink is well written, fast paced, intriguing, thrilling, filled with emotion and highly entertaining. If you like YA Fantasy featuring colorful characters and a vivid world, you will love Pastel Pink by Nikki Minty. I plan to return to this captivating series as soon as possible and I’ll be sure to post reviews for the next audiobooks in this extremely promising saga!

I hope that you found this review interesting and will consider leaving a helpful vote below. Thank you! Take care, stay safe, and don't forget, always listen with your heart.

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4 people found this helpful

Ughhh men

Love the voice actors they did an excellent job bringing the story to life.

Spoilers at first I like the main character best friend.then He started annoying me and just flat out dislike the kid by the end. Same goes for Alex. I liked him now I’m pissed that he’s totally okay with putting a murder before his girlfriend and was even blaming her!! No sir we don’t like men who put the blame on the victims. So now all my hope is left with Jack. I really wanted Alex to be the one but there’s no redemption after that. Lol I’m Jack all the way. Can’t wait to hear the 2nd book.

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An excellent story with matching narration

Audiobook Version

Overall: 5 out of 5 fairies
Story: 5 out of 5 fairies
Narration: 5 out of 5 fairies

Overall: Y'all, I can't recommend this enough, especially in audiobook form!

Story: This was such a good story. I was a little hesitant about a story that has one main character living lives on two different planets, simply by falling asleep on one planet. Minty blew me out of the water with how well she handled the switches, and I loved how well-developed the characters are. The world-building is superb, and the imagery was amazing. I cannot wait for book 2!

Narration: The narrators did a great job bringing this book to life, and I think having three narrators really helped separate the important characters, and made knowing whether we were currently on Earth or Zadok much easier (Ruby/Harlow have different accents). They really conveyed the tone of the story and character attitudes, making it even more immersive. I look forward to listening to more from these narrators in the future.

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