Pigments of My Imagination Angela Kulig *Review* and June Mini-update

The new cover :3

Guys. June is almost over O_O! But before the month ends, I'm going to post a couple reviews, a blast, and a (hopefully) nifty Japanese language 'starter' post :D. I'm excited. 

Here's the first of my reviews--Pigments of My Imagination by Angela Kulig. (And yes, please gawk at these gorgeous covers as long as you wish!)

*Random sidenote: I think this is the first time I've done back to back posts featuring the same author! Sounds like a milestone to me lol...

The previous, limited edition cover. Couldn't NOT show this one because it's so pretteh!

Synopsis:

From the moment Lucia steps into Bayside Art Academy, she is fed a steady stream of lies, but it’s not until she meets William that she begins to question the people she trusts. Unraveling fact from fabrication seems impossible until Lucia finds her first painting, and discovers the dead do not lie--at least not to her.

A dozen lifetimes ago, Lucia started a war. Not a war with armies or guns, but a bloody war nonetheless. The path leading Lucia to the truth is hidden within lovely art that spans the ages. In this life, however, Lucia doesn't know where to look. Lost, she turns to the one thing she knows with certainty--she is in love with Leo, and has been before.

Review:

Like many of the novels I've read recently, PIGMENTS OF MY IMAGINATION struck me as a work with tremendous potential; the setting is fascinating, the character backstories are intriguing, and the concept is truly unique. Honestly. I've never read a novel quite like this one.

And great news: PoMI is the first in a series!

I enjoyed the connection to the world of art, and found the supernatural abilities of artists to be nothing less than uber cool. Exploring Lucia's past through artwork was also neat. I loved the fact that this novel stretches itself ever-so-slightly into other genres—for example, PoMI is part mystery, romance, historical fiction (sort of. If you read it, you'll understand what I mean), and fantasy, to name a few without any brain effort.

The prose was repetitive at times (for example, the word 'even' popped up several times on a page); however, there are more than a few sentences/paragraphs that so captivated me with their beauty I had to read them again. The style is simplistic enough to breeze through, but lovely (and full) enough to ponder and explore.

So I liked many things about PoMI...but there were a number of things that I didn't favor.

I had a really difficult time connecting with the characters, particularly Lucia. Lucia confused me. A lot. This was largely because her emotional reactions didn't make much sense to me—especially when it came to anger, and, to be frank...she seemed to be angry a lot of the time. Other than that, I struggled to feel or see characters in a flesh and blood sense aside from William.

The biggest issue for me was definitely the pacing, though. Imagine you're watching a movie with that one friend—the one who “can't help” but provide commentary throughout—and every 5-10 minutes said friend pauses the movie to explain his/her feelings about what's happening and summarizes details you couldn't care less about. (At least they paused it, right?) Are you picturing this?

That's what the pacing felt like to me. Nearly every time someone would start talking, the POV character would drift off into an internal monologue about what was being said and what was going on around them. Sometimes the information was extraneous. (Normally that would be a mere annoyance, but in PoMI, it was a legitimate reason for me to skim.) Sometimes the monologue lasted pages. (Also a legitimate reason for me to skim.)

I so disliked the pacing that I could only ever go through 10-15 pages at a time before I became disinterested and longed to put the book down. After going through almost 90% of the book like this, I finally decided that maybe PoMI simply isn't for me.

The decision saddened me because it's the first of the Painters series...and it sounds so cool! I still plan on reading other novels by Kulig, though, like the Skeleton Song *cough*. I'm really looking forward to it.

Overall, PoMI wasn't really for me, BUT I still feel that PoMI is worth checking out, because it's the first in a series, and who knows? Maybe you'll really enjoy it :) and find that you're unable to put it down!

Final Verdict: 

About the Author:

Angela Kulig is an American gypsy, and former pirate. She has been from sea to shining sea--and though she is currently trapped in the desert against her will, she escapes everyday in the form of many books. 

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