Color of Loneliness (Color #1) by Madeleine Beckett

4.5 Stars

Color of Loneliness is a well-told and thoroughly enjoyable adult contemporary romance laced with liberal doses of humor and real human emotion!! I honestly LOVED it!

Myra Sommers is alone, but, more importantly, she's also painfully lonely. After a failed relationship sends her packing back to her small hometown of Nyssa, Oregon, the true depth of Myra's loneliness sets in.  All of her family is dead, and she left her only friend, her best friend, back in Philadelphia. Moving into her beloved late grandfather's house, Myra decides to live on her savings and try her hand at finally writing the book she's always felt was in her. With the house in dire need of repair, Myra hires surly contractor Dylan Lawson. The daily struggles of trying to put a bad relationship ultimately behind her, getting her grandfather's things sorted from her own and packed away, handling the memories being back in Nyssa brings with it, dealing with growing feelings for a contractor who is inexplicably mean and rude (not to mention Greek-god gorgeous), and making the attempt at writing her first book is interrupted only by the lifeline of her best friend Susie's phone calls and foul-mouthed humor. Myra knows there is more to Dylan than his gruff exterior, and a friendship slowly blossoms between the two. The question is, can two damaged souls overcome their pasts and make a future together?

Madeleine Beckett has written a wonderfully-readable story just filled with emotion!  Loneliness, sadness, despair, heartbreak, frustration, anger, grief, apathy, hope, humor, happiness, romance. All of these and more can be found in Color of Loneliness, and in the perfect quantities. This story will *not* rip out your heart and then proceed to dance a jig on it.  This is truly a character-driven story that moves neither too fast nor too slow. It goes at the perfect pace.  Once I began reading, I didn't set this story down until I reached 'The End'.  Or, at least, what is 'The End' for the first book in Myra and Dylan's story.  Yes, there is a cliffhanger. Though, and please hear this, I felt it fit very well within the storyline and was true to the characters. It's in no way as overly dramatic as some of the recent multi-part stories. This is simply a case of Myra and Dylan's story taking the time to follow its natural course and explore who they are and what they've been through. This is the kind of multi-book story I can fully support!

Myra and Dylan. Let's discuss these two for a moment. Myra is a quiet, rather meek, terribly lonely and very sad individual.  Maybe it's because I can relate to a certain extent with some of her feelings and characteristics, but, where some readers seemed to have a bit of an  issue with Myra, I just wanted to hug her. I understood where she was coming from. I could put myself, somewhat, in her shoes. At the point where I began to think, okay, Myra, time to buck up a bit (as my mother is overly fond of saying), I began to notice the spark that told me Myra had some backbone, some inner strength, to her, and she would show us in her own time. As for Dylan....I believe I referred to him early on, in one of my reading updates, as a conceited, sh*tty d*ckweasel and a rude @ss. I stand by that comment;)  Dylan DID NOT impress me at first, or for some time to come. It took me a while to warm up to him and get a glimpse of the real man behind the uber-@ssy exterior;)  But, when that real guy shone through, when I began to get a vague idea of what he had dealt with, I admit, at that point, I would have bought the 'I <3 Dylan' t-shirt and worn it proudly. I came to really enjoy and cheer for these two by the end!

Now, then. Susie. OMG. From time to time, Susie had me worried. I honestly wondered what foul thing would pop out of her mouth next.  She was ever so slightly OTT, for me, at certain points in the story, and, frankly, she grossed me out on more than one occasion.  Thus, my 4.5-star rating. BUT, much to my HUGE surprise, I came to love this chick like nobody's business!! This broad is gross, no doubt about it, but she is also utterly hilarious!  And, my God, is she one of THE BEST, best friends I have ever read in any story!! I finally came to the conclusion that I desperately *need* my very own Susie.  Where, oh where, do I find MY Susie?!?!  Madeleine Beckett, do you have the inside track on this??

Honestly, this author has won me over with her writing style, her 'voice'. I absolutely love her storytelling ability! On top of that, the writing is also technically very well done. For a self-published author and a debut book, I was *truly* impressed!! I am waiting VERY impatiently for book two, Color of Forgiveness! Do you hear me, Ms. Beckett? I need this book ASAP!!!

Do yourself a favor and give this story a try. I had such a good time reading this!! It may not resonate with just every single person as strongly as it has with me, but I cannot possibly see how anyone who claims to enjoy adult contemporary romance won't be able to find *something* about this story to love!  

**Copy generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.**

 Want to know more about Madeleine Beckett?

Goodreads

  

Elizabeth