Thank you NetGalley and Danielle Thompson, Independent Book Publishers Association for this ARC Copy!

This was a book that I was immediately drawn to. The premise was so interesting and I was hooked from the beginning.
The story follows two MMCs who are shifters and they have grown up separate from the world, but as the begin to immerse themselves into the human world. The path that each of them take are very diffident but they will forever remain tied to each other, whether they want to be or not.

This book had some dark and twisty parts and I could not stop reading, and I can not wait for the second book in the series.

This is such an eerie story - not spooky or scary at all, but the kind of story that lives in shadows and dread. This is the story of two kitsune - mystical demon foxes - who only have each other, but when one accidentally gets himself photographed by a human, the other takes that as an excuse to indulge his cruelest tendencies.

I was completely enthralled by this book - from the start, I couldn’t put it down. The bits of magic, the way the relationships stretch and pull, they way little offerings of the full story are slowly revealed, all had me hooked. At times it could be shockingly gory, but the gore never felt gratuitous.

My only complaint is the cliffhanger ending - how cruel to leave us readers at that point! - but we’ve been promised even more kitsune in future books, so all will eventually be forgiven.

This was a really mixed read for me. I got on really well with the author's writing style. The prose is very rich, it's written maturely and I found the style itself very pleasing overall. I also liked how this is an urban fantasy romance with a very unique mythological basis which you don't see very much in the genre. Kudos to the author for picking something more out of the box!

Unfortunately, I felt like I just didn't really connect with the characters, not even Kuro. The plot was also a little meandering and there weren't many significant peaks or troughs - just the same kind of muted tension throughout. There were long periods of time where I didn't pick this book up because I didn't have that burn to read more.

A Black and Solemn Silence by Danielle Thompson is a slowburn, paranormal, enemies-to-lovers romance and the first book in the adult urban fantasy Color by Numbers series. It includes adult themes and ends on a cliff-hanger.

Kuro is the grumpy, brooding book boyfriend you want to take into your arms and show him that he can be loved. He hangs around with an evil and dangerous fellow, Jaden, who is the only other kitsune he's known since his existence. Jaden is very conniving and manipulative and Kuro never really puts too much thought into his future beyond hanging out in nature, that is until one fateful day when a chain of events unfolds in which they are being hunted for murderer and Kuro’s very existence and survival hangs in the balance between his trouble seeking companion and a country girl whom Kuro develops an unhealthy (physically makes him sick) interest in.

I loved Kuro’s character development as he begins to realize that there is more to life and companionship outside of the mountains. Jaden was portrayed exactly how you would expect a villian to be. I felt like there could have been more back story given for some of the other characters, but have high hopes those will be revealed in the future books released for the Color By Numbers series. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and it was left on a cliffhanger with a sneak peek into the next book at the end that has me anticipating the next release!

I really struggled getting into this book. The blurb sounded really exciting, but I found the writing and the storyline just wasn’t for me.

It immediately begins in a really confusing way. The author seems to expect the reader to immediately understand what’s happening and understand what the main character really is, but that was not the case.

The style of writing was good, but I think overall there could have been more explanations.

I started this one and while I enjoyed the writing it was never he right time for it.

Thank you NetGalley

CONTAINS SPOILERS


the book was extremely dark and graphic, but it was so good. Jaden being Kuro's foil was an interesting dynamic. I *hated* Jaden more and more as time went on. Kuro isn't perfect, and I actually like that. I prefer when characters are flawed. Caroline is a wonderfully written character, although I wouldn't describe her and Kuro's dynamic as "enemies to lovers". More like "complicated distrust to friends to maybe, sometime in the future, lovers?"

This was an easy read to get through. I did like the characters a good bit as well! It did have some depth to it that was a bit complex but wasn't to hard to follow. The kitsune aspect is what originally drew me in. The only complaint is the cliffhanger so I'm impatiently awaiting the next!

Thank you Danielle Thompson, Netgalley, and IBPA for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC for A Black and Solemn Silence!

I wanted to love this book and the cover is one of best I have seen so far this year. It has a great foundation and there were a lot of good things in the book it was just executed the best. One of the things is the chapter are way too long. Also every chapter felt like it could have been 3 chapters. Because of that the flow of the book is a bit off. This book had good moment the concept was good. The ending did bring the book up and bring the book up for me.

Put simply, this book felt a bit like a bad execution of another book I read. The novel follows Kuro and Jaden, two kitsune (or fox shifters). Kuro has been caught on camera, and the story shows the foxes’ ideological difference (i.e. violent or not) as they try to track down the photographic proof of their existence, and Kuro also accidentally falls in love with a woman who tries to kill him when they first meet.

Frankly, this book felt all over the place. It couldn’t tell if it wanted to be a romance, mystery, magical realism, or a revenge story. In theory, it could be all four, but its bad pacing and abrupt transition between side plots left me feeling detached from the story and I didn’t really care about any of it. Further, and this is partially my fault, I had just come from reading The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo, which similarly tracks a fox shifter whose now-dead daughter was caught on film, and her journey of revenge as she tracks down the photographer. Whereas Choo’s novel manages to beautifully weave together historical fiction and magical realism, tenderly rendering emotions and keeping the reader interested, I found myself incredibly uninterested in the romantic pairing, and I hated Jaden. I am not sure if the author intended to portray him as a morally grey bad boy, but he truly just comes across as an irredeemable villain.

The novel ends on a cliffhanger, and I found that I didn’t care about it. I won’t be reading the sequels, and give this 2⭐

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I am so happy I got the chance to read this book. It was different from my usual reads and I am glad for that because it gave me a different taste.
The writing style of the author and the flow is super nice. The story points were grabbing my attention immediately - I didn't want to put it down!
In addition, the chapters are of a good size as well, which is a book characteristic that helps me enjoy a book better.
Finally, I liked the characters, the descriptions and the way they were reacting realistically in certain situations.

Overall, I would say that I will definitely read the next book and of course read more of the future books of Danielle !

I really enjoyed this book. It tells the story of Kuro, a kitsune who has been living on the outskirts of the human world for some time. After he gets tangled upon a mess when someone takes a photograph of him he and his fellow ‘demon fox’ Jaden, try to get the photo back before it is leaked to the human world.

This story is written very well and I really felt connected to Kuro and his journey. The way the author writes the slow blend of the mythical world with the human world was great. The world building was done in a subtle way, without any feeling of confusion or overwhelm at any point.

It has a great mix of fantasy, thriller and murder mystery with some developing character depth as things go on. There is also an element of a love story which I found organic and interesting.

It does end of a cliffhanger so I’ll have to check out book two for sure!

Really liked the dark mystical vibes in this book and it was beautifully written! I did however find it a little difficult to connect to the characters, especially with the multiple povs. I enjoyed the cliffhanger, and look forward to reading more from Danielle Thompson!

Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me with arc of this book.

I will be honest I did not enjoy this book - it really wasn’t for me but I can say that many will enjoy it

This is a book about a Kitsune who is struggling to find his way. The book is dark and spooky vibes and an air of mystery that was fun. The author is building a unique world.

For me it was a little disjointed and I struggled to follow the rules of the magic system. Which meant I was often pulled out of scenes trying to piece together what was happening. The multiple POVs added to the feeling for me which didn’t help

I’m sure many will love this but it wasn’t for me

I really enjoyed reading this book. The action started right away, it felt like you were dropped straight into the story with information coming at you in snippets of backstory rather than faced head on.

I would’ve liked more romance between the mmc and the fmc, but I assume that’ll be developed more in the coming stories.

I like it enough to read what comes next. It captured my attention.

The writing was very good and everything flowed really well. However I had a really hard time connecting with the characters. Overall I feel like the concept was really interesting. I am just not really a fan of main characters who sullenly just let things happen to them, and that is what I felt like they all were.

Book was good, I liked the novelty of the kitsune being in Appalachia. But it didn't hook me. The religious undertones felt a little heavy handed at times, that could be why. I am intrigued by the idea of the haunted souls being described, and the good kitsune and bad kitsune idea. And the eating of a souls energy. Maybe if the book wasn't a cliffhanger and I could see the end result I would have enjoyed it more. I'm sure that there will be an audience who will adore this book and it will resonate with them. But not me. I'd still probably read the sequel though if it was free or on kindle unlimited, mainly because I hate walking away from any book series I start without finishing it.

Love this book! Awesome new adventure with twisted and shocking parts that leaves you speechless. In the beginning everything is playing out it's kind of a lot, when you get to the middle of the book it helps you understand more of what's going on but towards the end you're so immersed. I absolutely want the second book like now! The ending was intense and I didn't want it to end. I read the whole book in one day!

A Black and Solemn Silence is Danielle Thompson's debut novel and the first novel in the Color By Numbers series. I would describe it to be a delightful mix of cozy fantasy, romantasy and perhaps fantasy crime.

Kuro has messed up: A human managed to take a picture of him. Kuro is a shape-shifting kitsune, or a fox demon, who feeds on the emotions that human souls produce. He's been living a quiet life in a forest with Jaden, another kitsune that he considers his brother. But if that photograph gets out, their quiet life will be over. Within his haste, Kuro accidentally trespasses on a young woman's property. Soon the photograph becomes least of Kuro's problems. There's something peculiar about the woman's soul, and soon Kuro finds himself trapped in a new, frightening situation, and he'll be forced to make a change: one way or the other.

I rate this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

OVERVIEW
This story was beautiful. I loved to watch Kuro grow and adapt and try to find a balance between being a fox and being a human. I think, above all, this was a story about growth and learning acceptance.

PLOT
The plot was quite generic and didn't offer a ton of surprises, but that actually worked quite well for the story. There was more space for the author to focus on growing the characters and the relationships between them (AKA the important stuff). There were some action scenes as well, though, and I honestly had NO IDEA what was going to happen next, which kept me turning the pages all day. (figuratively, since I read an ebook.)

CHARACTERS
I loved Kuro. He was so sweet and sort of vulnerable throughout the book. I felt like he had to suffer a lot in this book, so I hope we'll get to see him be happy in the next ones. The most fascinating character I thought was Jaden: I never fully knew what he was up to, but in the end, all his decisions made a certain amount of sense. And the relationship between Kuro and Jaden? GOLD.

FLAWS?
There really wasn't much to improve here. At times some small style things bothered me (I felt like there was a bit too much ellips used, etc.) Also, I fell IN LOVE with the way the author described the settings. (There was this one scene where she described a vegetable garden... I felt immersed). Adored to read, and I definitely would have liked more setting descriptions, because I felt like there weren't quite enough.

BEST?
I really adored the descriptions in this book. Whether it was emotions or settings or events, it was wonderful. (And of course, the cover is one of the prettiest I've seen in a while.)

All together I would say that this was a great novel, especially for a debut. I predict a very bright future for the Color by Numbers series.

This was pretty interesting. I enjoyed reading the book, but there was something that wasn't hitting right for me. I liked the kitsune mythology. I'm definitely into mythological creatures and foxes, so kitsunes are extremely fascinating.

I'm curious to see how Kuro and Jaden's relationship evolves. Kuro is fairly simple enjoying the beauty and the comfort of the forest, spending hours watching a spider weave its web. On the other hand, Jaden is restless and yearns for a busier lifestyle. Their relationship up until the events of this book is one where Kuro naively does his own thing and ignores the violent/sociopathic behavior of Jaden. I wish Jaden's character had been fleshed out a little more. Right now he just seems like a flat psychopath, so I hope he gets more nuanced.

I thought Kuro and Caroline's relationship was interesting enough to where I want to know how they end up, but the romance in Book 1 is pretty light.

There were several POVs, but I think they could have been utilized better. Other than Kuro and Caroline, it felt like everyone else was just underdeveloped. Knowing this series is complete, I have a feeling that they become more developed in later books.

Overall: I'm interested enough to continue the series and find out what happens to our friends Kuro and Jaden.