True Colors by Anyta Sunday

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Title: True Colors
Author: Anyta Sunday
Series: True Love #2
Published by: Indie
Release Date: March 14, 2017
Format: eARC
Pages: 226
Genres: Romance, LGBT, Contemporary
Source: NetGalley
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2021 Backlist Reader Challenge, Lenoreo's 2021 COYER Spring, Lenoreo's 2021 Diversity Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's 2021 Monthly Key Word Challenge, Lenoreo's 2021 Netgalley and Edelweiss Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ IndieBound ✩ Book Depository
My rating:

Blurb:

Oskar used to be Marco’s best friend. His everything. His sunshine yellow.

But that was before. Before Marco stopped being a hot jock. Before he learned to live with scars and pain. And before Oskar tore their friendship apart.

Now the boy next door has returned home, determined to rekindle his friendship with Marco, and Marco’s more afraid than ever. Afraid of getting hurt. Afraid of being humiliated.

Afraid of falling in love.

Can Oskar find a way through Marco’s fear, back into his heart?

"True Colors" is an enemies to lovers, boy next door, first time, slow burn M/M romance with a generous helping of UST. This no-cliffhanger, HEA book can be read as a standalone

My Review:

I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

4.5 stars — I woke up in the middle of the night and could NOT get back to sleep, and so I started this book.  And wow.  It pulled me right in from the beginning.  I feel like this is my most successful book by Ms. Sunday yet.  I had so many feelings in my guts throughout this reading — I was kind of an emotional basketcase.  I think maybe that’s partly me, but I really did feel for all that Marco and Oskar were going through.

I didn’t even mind that we only got Marco’s POV — it fit the story somehow.  I could see enough of what was going on with Oskar through Marco’s eyes that I wasn’t left feeling bereft.

The beginning was really affecting.  Something about the way Marco tried to start the story…then tried again…then tried again…I don’t know, it just really got me connected to the story immediately and feeling things.

I ached for Marco and all that he was dealing with.  It’s hard to see the way an incident can change a person’s viewpoint (or solidify a possibility) so that it follows them unchanging.  I could see in his flashback that he interpreted things wrong (well, the one bit), but I got how he would have seen it that way.  But it broke my heart.

I was worried about what Oskar had done to break them apart.  And with these kinds of friends to enemies to lovers stories, I’m always a bit worried that I won’t buy the transition back.  But I did.  I truly felt Oskar’s remorse.  I appreciated that there was something internal going on with him that helped explain it to a point.

I will admit I’m not sure how happy I was with the whole Jessie thing.  I kind of wanted that wrapped up earlier than it was.  But it didn’t detract that much.

I don’t know if this story will work for everyone, but damn did it work for me.  I felt for them every step of the journey, and I devoured it from start to finish.  It left me feeling happy and satisfied.