Book Review: Auralia's Colors

I just finished reading 2 books - 2 very different books. One was Auralia's Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet. The other was The Little Lady Agency by Hester Browne.

Auralia's Colors is a fantasy/sci-fi genre book. It wasn't a difficult read, and I got through it pretty fast. The book is the first of a 4 book series, but it doesn't spend a lot of time setting up the scene and explaining every detail about the fictitious world in which it is set. There is enough detail to keep the reader from becoming confused but not so much as to get bogged down.

There are 4 Great Houses in the land, and this book focuses on House Abascar. A now-gone queen had decided that all the color in the House should belong to the crown and everyone else must only own or wear neutrals. Auralia is found as a baby in the river, and grows up in the outcasts' village beyond the city walls. She is found to have a gift of making objects and incorporating color. This causes some tension, needless to say. Anyway, I'm doing very poorly at exciting everyone about this book. But it is incredibly good and thought-provoking. So read it!

The Little Lady Agency is essentially a chick-lit book. In other words, it is a light, fun, relaxing read and isn't a very thought-provoking type book. It is set in England, so you can amuse yourself while reading by imagining all the lovely British accents. Melissa Romney-Jones finds herself without a job and decides to start an agency to help single men with their wardrobes, etiquette, and gift shopping for female relatives. As you can imagine, much hilarity and unlikely situations ensue. A fun read, but not for the "serious" book reader.