This was okay until about 1/3 way through, then it turned really fanfic-y in a "not like other girls" and "I love Stranger Things" kind of way. I know Ruby is a human still on modern day earth, so it makes sense that Hawlow has some knowledge of human everyday items, but comparing peoples' eyes to Nescafe, Stranger Things, etc. all had a little too much space in this and I started rolling my eyes at the 45% mark, give or take, especially expecting this more as a scifi/fantasy. The pastel pink is giving twee and the author's self-insert (?) character was a little jarring too. The audio narration was done fairly well, but it didn't help that it felt like it was dragging. A little odd with the color choices and segregations/treatments of those of other colors but not enough to dislike it for it. I just think it's not for me. A really fun idea that could be polished.

This one took a moment to get into, but glad I stuck it out. To me this ended up being a well-written YA book. The story happens in two different worlds. Harlow is the main POV in Zadok and Ruby is her POV when Harlow is asleep and she is back to Earth as a ghost. Both Ruby and Harlow have their own love interests and complete storyline. Ruby is a Zeek in a place where color is everything. It decides your status, your jobs, abilities and even lifespan. As a pastel, she is considered a lesser being. Ruby was murdered on Earth and is now forced to watch her sister interact with her killer. The entirety of this book is working towards the merging of these worlds on Zadok. It does end on a cliff-hanger, but it's a complete trilogy. So happy reading (or listening)!

A book with an interesting premise, but not quite good execution.
Reincarnation stories are some of my favourite ones, so I thought this one was perfect for me. Sadly, that wasn't the case.
While the world building itself was quite fascinating, I found the characters themselves to be unlikable. There was too much toxic behaviour going on for my taste. However, I still think others might enjoy "Pastel Pink".

I was recommended this book quite a while back by a mutual friend, and since then it’s kind of just being sitting there on my tbr waiting for me to pick up.

I want the time back that i spent NOT reading this book because wow!! What a unique and interesting concept!

This sort of reminded me of avatar in a way, that sort of set in a different world vibe where the consciousness of the person is reincarnated into the body of the characters of the universe, but some of these consciousnesses live in dual time lines where in a past life they were alive, and they return as a “ghost” in that world on Earth.

This was an amazing read, it sort of had that finding each other in different lifetimes vibes, the scifi/fantasy aspect was done very well and very different to anything I’ve read. The writing is great, it’s so easy to get lost in this world.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrators are phenomenal, capturing the chapters perfectly.

If you’re looking for something different, give this one a go!!

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio copy of this book for review!

This was a fascinating book. I am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

This was a crazy ride! Our MFC was killed at the beginning of the book at 18 but is reincarnated as a Pastel Pink on a different plane of existence called Zadok. This book has a heavy caste system where your color decides how you prosper and what areas you can or can not frequent. This is a different concept that kept me engaged in the story; I wanted to know what happened to Ruby/Harlow and how her story would play out. Her character was written in such a way that you became invested in her storyline. There were supporting characters that I wanted to know more about, but their storylines fell super flat. That was disappointing to me; I do not enjoy filler characters that take up space in the story with no real purpose outside of filling the page.

The ending...HOLY CLIFFHANGER!

I had the pleasure of being granted the ALC of this book and thoroughly enjoyed the narrators. They did a phenomenal job of bringing the characters to life and providing intrigue to the story.

I will be continuing this series because I enjoyed the world, and I am hoping to have some questions answered as the series continues.

Thank you to Netgalley, BooksGoSocial Audio, and Nikki Minty for the ALC of this fantastic book

I was delighted to read this book earlier when it first came out. However, when I saw an audiobook coming out I decided to try it out again since audiobooks give off such a different vibe than reading it yourself. And I was not disappointed! I love that there are different voices for the different characters. Ruby/Harlow is the main character in this, she was killed off Earth eighteen years ago and reincarnated on Zadok as a Pastel Zeek - since we get to see things through Ruby's eyes as well I loved that even if this is technically Harlow we have a different voice. This makes it really easy to know when the story is following Harlow and when we are following Ruby.

I will definitely continue on with this series on audiobook, because I am looking forward to knowing what will happen next.

I just finished listening to this audiobook, and my immediate impressions are a mixed bag. The author had a lot of big, fun ideas, and the writing was solid, but this story would have benefitted from a more focused handling of the main plot. The world building for zadok was detailed but felt a little inconsistent/illogical, and I found the characters to be a little flat. I realize this is book one in a series, so maybe there will be more character development to come...
I do think the audience this is intended for will get a lot out of the allegorical aspects of the book, and I genuinely like the reincarnation plot; it made the story feel fresh. The opening action was immediately intriguing.
The narrators did a great job, and the fact that there were three of them helped keep the story straight.

Being killed on earth at the age of 18, Ruby is reborn as a pastel. Her parents are magentas. So straight away she is different.
Her waking moments are filled with picking fruit, her sleeping time she dreams of her human family and her murderer. So the story begins and how they intertwine.
If you love fantasy you will love this, 4 realms different coloured hairs show which one you belong to. Love of a dream man and the complications it leads to.

Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial Audio for an audiobook ARC (advanced reading copy) :)

I have mixed feelings about this book, but overall I think the positives outweighed the negatives for me, and I’m excited to start the sequel. I think this book would’ve been 4 stars for me if only the pacing had been faster. I generally prefer fast-paced or fast- to medium-paced books while this book seemed just medium-paced to me.

I actually started this book in 2022, then took a nearly 2 year break because of how boring I found it due to the slower pacing. I’m glad I eventually finished it though, because it gets better as the book goes on, and by around 90% in it became a can’t-put-down book for me.

The Earth things I liked:
- the reincarnation aspect. I thought it was cool that Harlow, a Zeek on the planet Zadok, remembers her past life as Ruby on Earth.
- that Harlow is able to ongoingly go back to Earth as a ghost of her former self and see her sister Jade again.
- that Harlow as Ruby’s ghost is able to meet and connect with Alex, the twin brother of the guy who murdered her.

The Zadok things I liked:
- a lot of the characters (some were too mean/annoying/creepy for me to like very much)
- the world of Zadok and how each part of it is a different season with a unique race with powers that correspond to the element of the season. Zeeks, for example, live in Winter and have power over water.
- the color caste systems among races. Someone’s color determines how powerful they are and their social rank. I thought that was interesting. It’s similar to racism on Earth.

I also like that there are multiple love interests in the book and a lot of the social dynamics.

I didn’t like:
- the pacing. It wasn’t fast-paced enough for me. (I explained more in the beginning of my review.)
- how some of the violence was a little too much for my preferences. I was able to tolerate it, though.
- some of the chapters about side characters. I often didn’t find it very interesting and mostly was just waiting to get back to the main plot line. These plot lines were also part of why the pacing felt too slow for me. I felt like it was going off on a tangent, which made it take longer to get back to the main part of the story.
- some of the parts about Harlow on Zadok relating to her work or her family.

Overall, I would recommend this book if:
(1) The pacing isn’t a dealbreaker,
(2) you can handle some violence in books, and
(3) you like the general idea of the story.

About the audiobook narration:
I really liked the narration, and I think it’s interesting that Harlow and Ruby are each narrated by a different person. I think it might’ve been a little weird to me at first, but I got used to it and I think it makes sense. After reincarnating on Zadok, Harlow of course would have a different voice.

Note: I deliberately waited to start the sequel until after finishing my review so that I it wouldn’t be influenced by whatever happens in the 2nd book.

Something about the color hierarchy gives me strong Homestuck vibes to be honest (if you don't know, please save yourself and don't look it up...) but POV confusion aside this was pretty interesting to read!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

This was so interesting to read.

It seems like the author had so many ideas for the world that make for an extremely unique and we'll build world, rich with details and descriptions and a cast of characters that will leave you needing more. This is for my fans of more complex fantasy, if sci-fi and good world build witn a lot of adventure is what you're after this is a MUST read.

Rounding up to 4 starts from 3.5. This was a really interesting idea for a book. It was a little chaotic with the different story lines brought together and a lot of information given.

What happens to us after we die on earth? Maybe we are reborn on another planet. Maybe that planet has a color based chaste system and 4 different humanoid species? Maybe some people remember their past lives and maybe some people can revisit earth as ghosts while they are sleeping if they are tied to someone still alive on earth?

This is what happens to Ruby when she's murdered as a teen. She's reborn as a pastel Zeek named Harlow. Pastels are the lowest/weakest of the chaste system on Zadok. She goes back to earth when she dreams to check on her twin sister who is spending more and more time with Ruby's murderer. There she meets the ghost of her murder's twin. And then it gets kind of confusing. There are two different storylines and almost 3 different POVs. There's Harlow's story and Ruby's while they are the same soul? they have different stories that intertwine. The POVs are Ruby's, Harlow's and Harlow's best friends.

There are two more books in the series and I'm interested to see how the story progresses. There is a lot that isn't explained and a lot left up in the air at the end of this book. I feel like there is a good basis for this series, the first book in a series is always tricky because of the info dump/world building and establishing all of the characters. The author did a great job of setting up the series with this book and there is a lot of potential going forward.

Overall I enjoyed the characters, backstory, and world created by the author.

Pleasant narration and experience in audio form.
I still love, love the world of Zadok and wish we were shown more!

The author's imagination and world creation pulled me into the story almost immediately. The author was extremely descriptive and I was able to easily visualize the world. The narrators did an amazing job bringing the characters to life for me. The characters are really interesting, especially seeing the differences between their lives on Earth and their lives after being reborn on Zadok.

The narrators do an amazing job bringing the characters to life. There are three narrators for this audiobook and they all do a fantastic job. Having multiple narrators makes it easier for the listeners to differentiate between characters and pulls the listener into the story.

Pastel Pink is well written and fast paced. The pace does an excellent job making the story a not stop thrill ride that is extremely entertaining. I would highly recommend this book to people who are looking for a new YA series to enjoy with great characters and a vivid new world to explore. Also, the author did not shy away from difficult themes like the fact that the caste system in this new world leads to racism and prejudicial behavior.

I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I was provided an advanced audio copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.

Vielen Dank dass ich dieses Hörbuch hören durfte. Dies ist eine unterhaltsame Sifi-Geschichte die mir gut gefallen hat.

Pastel Pink is book 1 of a trilogy by Nikki Minty. It was a 5 ⭐️ read for me. I chose to listen to this book on audio and its narrated by Khristine Hvam, Jodie Harris and James Patrick Cronin.
They were all awesome and I can’t wait to read the next one.
This YA fantasy was written well with unique characters. It took a minute to follow but it’s very interesting and I couldn’t put it down. This was a comfortable cliffhanger that made me even more interested. I can’t say enough good things about this book. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for this audio ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This starts with Ruby dying. She get's murdered and reincarnated as Harlow on a planet called Zadoc. There is a colour system on this planet there is a colour system, if you're a Purple (Purple hair, purple eyes) you are the top of the food chain and if you are a Pastel Pink like Harlow you are at the bottom and you're treated horribly. When Harlow sleeps she keeps being brought back to Earth as a 'ghost' because her twin sister has unknowingly reconnected with her murderer so she's doing her best to protect her. Whilst she's on Zadoc she is working with the Commanders son to try to change the system.

There is political intrigue in this and there is enemies to lovers, not happening but it is alluding to that so I think it will be explored more in the next book. I really liked the concept of this, it's definitely an interesting idea. I also enjoyed the narration. Overall I think it was a decent story, 3 stars.

I request this audiobook as I have always been intrigued by the cover of this book, so was really interested to see how the story fitted this cover art- and yes it does! The story started off with the main protagonist being murdered on Earth, then waking up to her alternative alien Zeek body. Her ability to travel back and forth on Zadok/Earth through her soul was an interesting concept. The world building of Zadok was also seeped in social ranking based on their colour, with pink being one of the lower classes.

Whilst the voice acting from the male and female perspective was done well, the story didn't draw me in completely, the pacing was slow in the middle which was a struggle and some of the characters wasnt interesting to me. Appreciated the uniqueness of the reincarnation aspect of this sci-fi/ya story.
Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGosocial for a copy of the audiobook for an honest review.

Harlow is trying to navigate turning 18 on Zadok, a world in which she is in the lowest class, and feels like an outsider even within her own family. On top of that she has the stigma of remembering her previous life as Ruby on Earth where she was murdered at her 18th birthday party. Her only friend is Xavier who is also of the lowest class, and accepts all of her oddities, including the fact that she doesn't love him like he loves her. After an animal attack on Zadok, Harlow becomes involved with Jax, the son of her people's leader who is trying to protect her, and dismantle the class system. She also starts traveling in her dreams to Earth where her twin sister is in danger, and meets the ghost of her killer's twin brother who has also been reincarnated on Zadok.

I like fantasy, but high world building usually goes over my head. This didn't. As confusing as my description may seem, if any part of it appeals to you, just listen to this audiobook. With one reader for Ruby, one for Harlow, and one for Xavier, all three were really good, and I'm pretty picky about that. The story is incredibly engaging. I will be recommending it to adults and teens who want sci-fi/fantasy with romantic elements. I can't wait for the next installment!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced digital access. All opinions, and bumbling explanations in this review are my own and no fault of any of theirs.

I read several reviews before requesting a copy of this book, and the opinions were vastly different. Some people absolutely loved the book while others had serious issues with it. Since there were so many awards shown on the front cover, I thought I should read it and form my own opinion.

Pastel Pink had a compelling opening- the main protagonist was murdered in the first chapter- and the story’s summary seemed quite promising. It started out strong and made me think that those who gave it a negative review might be wrong. However, it felt to me like everything quickly fell apart as the story started to unfold. Without giving spoilers, here are a few reasons why I gave Patel Pink such a low rating:

1. I felt there was no character development.
2. All of the characters were static which resulted in little to no connection on my part.
3. The way mental health issues were used to explain the horrific actions of one character was poorly done.
4. The relationship between two characters that suddenly turned toxic was so jarring that it felt like the author was trying to hard to create conflict.
5. The way racism was used in the story didn’t resonate well with me.
6. The plot felt weak to me. It seemed like the love triangle (or possibly even square) was the driving force behind this story.

So, this was not a winner for me. I enjoyed the narrators and appreciated the change in accents to let me know when we were on Zadok and when we were on Earth. I also felt the book’s concept had great potential. Sadly, all that great potential got lost in the actual execution of the idea.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
#PastelPink #NetGalley