The Color of Pain

I just finished The Color of Pain by E.G Rose and here are my thoughts!

It's bad enough when your mother dumps you in an orphanage when you are small but to spend your life being bullied while you are there is just miserable. That's what happened to Raymond. The other kids think he is a freak for the things he seems to be able to do. The chronic stomach pains and the lack of bladder control are just the icing on the cake.

Then a new caseworker comes, Ada, who seems to see past Raymond's weirdness and offers him help and some insight into who he is and what he can do. He can see people's emotions right into their secrets and Raymond is not only thrilled to understand what has been going on with him but that Ada seems to know so much about it. What Raymond needs to do to feel better is so horrific, he fights it. To stay alive he must feed off other people's pain.

When Ada sets him up with a foster family, he thinks that he has finally landed on his feet but really, the couple have a darkness of their own and he isn't with them by chance.

I devoured this book in one sitting. I am a huge horror fan but I have never before gone down the path of horror from the human psyche. This book was creeptastic with a side order of what the F did I just read. It was cleverly written and it had that slow tingle of spine chilling goose bumps up the back of your neck, wanting it to end but dreading it being over.
I thought the plot was excellent and carefully laid out. Loved that it was mostly set in an orphanage with all the strange happenings and the urban legend of the orphanage too.
Totally fell in love with Raymond. It was definitely a change of pace having to watch a young child make some pretty harrowing decisions for themselves but it was brilliant. So brilliant and I was so pumped to see that is the start of a series and I am so here for that!


5 stars! The writing was marvelous and if you are a fan of horror this has to be on your list! It is out now!


Thank you to @netgalley and @sterlingandstone for my review copy!