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

This was a unique take that I hadn't actually expected to like nearly as much as I did. The whole color cast system was a bit confusing but after a few chapters of back and forth I got the hang of it. I feel like this book would fit nicely on a YA shelf or sort of dystopian meets fantasy shelf.

This was a great audiobook. I especially enjoyed the chapters where the narrator had an Australian accent, it was so nice to listen to. The story is so interesting, reincarnated on a different world but still able to remember and eventually visit her past life as a ghost!

The male narrator wasn’t as easy to listen to as the female. He spoke like he never knew what was going on, but the male pov character was also a bit whiny and unsure of himself.

I would have liked there to be a bit more of a climax in Ruby’s current life story, but it was overall an enjoyable listen.

I just didn't care + made up curse words, info dumps, comparing everything to IRL things & dreadlocks on a white girl.
In terms of the audio, the main character's audio quality was worse than the rest which took me out of the story every time the perspective switched.

At first, I didn't know what to think of this series. I was a little confused and not sold on it. BUT! It did get better the more I read and I grew to find the premise fascinating.

This is set in a futuristic society. Humans were the great, great descendants from which this new world was built and a few can still recall their humanity and past selves, but it is rare. This is a society built on colors: purples being the top rulers, magenta solid middle and upper class and pastels as the lower class. There are different tribes with different structures as well.

Harlow still dreams of being Ruby - her human past self who was brutally murdered at 18 by a friend who got away with the crime and now be ingratiating himself with her twin sister. When she's not dreaming, Harlow is a pastel pink living amid magentas because while she was born a pastel, her twin sister was born a magenta - something that had never happened before or after their birth.

The novel alternates between Ruby's story and Harlow's stories. It gets complicated when Ruby meets Alex who also was murdered and lives a duel life. You do get a few other POV, but they are limited.

While I didn't fall in love with any of the characters or the world building, I do appreciate the concepts and the plot lines that were woven together as well as the social commentary. And the ending was the epitome of a cliff hanger.

I personally did not enjoy this book at all. I feel like the description of the book oversold the actual story.

I only managed to finish the audiobook on my second attempt as I found it really hard to get into the book.

Firstly, the world building, in my opinion was not done very well. Secondly, there was little to no character development and I feel  like there was lots of opportunities for it. Thirdly, using actual POC experiences when it comes to racism (in real-life) for a lighter skinned character (in a made up world) seemed a bit insensitive to me and did not seem okay.

I doubt I will be able to follow up with the sequels.

Thank you to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for the audiobook

Many thanks to BooksGoSocial Audio and Nikki Minty for the advanced audiobook copy of Pastel Pink via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review.

Pastel Pink is a Sci Fi-Fantasy tale featuring death, reincarnation, and astral travel, right from the off.
The story itself definitely suits readers who have an interest in Science Fiction as well as Fantasy, due to the names, planets, and caste descriptions. These may all feel like a bit ‘too much’ for a Fantasy genre, and, to me, fall more into a SciFi theme.

It was refreshing to read something in the genre from an Australian perspective, as most works tend to be from the USA and UK. It was a shame that only one of the narrators was Australian.

The narrators overall were pleasant to listen to, although some of the attempted accents were a bit cringey.

There were a few obvious issues within the story which can be seen as problematic, depending on how much you want to superimpose them on to a ‘human’ society. The use of dreadlocks, caste systems, skin colours, etc. However, taken purely as a work of science-fantasy fiction, I think this was well-written and imaginative.

Moods: adventurous
Pace: medium
Character development: weak-medium
Plot or character driven: plot
Diversity: medium
Trigger warnings: Abusive relationship, Alcohol abuse, Cheating, Death, Death of a family member, Drugs, Mental Illness, Murder, Racism

Rating: 4/5

The reviews on this had me hesitant after I had already selected Pastel Pink.
But after listening to it as an audiobook, I find that I really enjoyed it.

We follow Harlow as she navigates two worlds. One where she is a ghost, the other she a pastel. Both are “invisible” as her color means she bottom wrung on the social ladder, and well on earth she’s a ghost.

Somehow this girl becomes intwined with so many big changes, drawing in the affection of several men , one on both realms.

This has a lot going on, but the author manages to keep everything flowing, and I found myself rooting for Harlow and her future.

I cannot wait for the next book.

I don’t usually listen to audiobooks as I prefer reading books myself, however; there’s a first time for everything and I received an audiobook version of Pastel Pink from Netgalley for a review.

I liked the concept of being reincarnated into different worlds, the characters (except Alex towards the end) and I loved the narrators (that Australian accent hit me right in the heart).
The multiple POV’s were interesting but Xavier’s I didn’t really like- I found him to be a very repetitive character with not much to add to the story.
Speaking of story- i went into this knowing there are 3 parts but still.. not much really happened. Main character Harlow spends most of her time either the dream world, or the hospitals. That’s about it except for a little adventure later on..

I’m going to end with my favourite quote of the book-

‘I’m as dry as a chip.’


Thanks to Netgalley, Nikki Minty, and BooksGoSocial Audio for the audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.