The Color of Your Voice

Daniel Newwyn

What happens when a call girl and a death row prisoner fall in love?

Violet Pham can see sounds. The brown chirps of the sparrows dance with the colors of their feathers. The green blobs from her mother weave into her squeaky berates.

She believes she was born to become a painter but after being labeled as a burden by everyone around her, she questions that belief. The colors around the sounds become a curse rather than a gift. With her future unsettled and her family mired in debt, there is only one solution: run away from everything.

That’s when she meets Turner Nguyen. He’s everything she wishes she could be—an iron will and a flint heart. There’s only one thing wrong with him. He’s at the center of gang wars, uses his fists to collect debts, and makes his money off the addiction of others.

Soon, the sound of his words paints Violet’s world with the ugly shade of disaster. Where will they go from here?

‘The Color of Your Voice’ is a tragic, depressing love story that speaks to the lows of human experience. It deals with themes of self-esteem, desperation, and salvation. If this is your cup of tea, then this book is for you.

Disclaimer: ‘The Color of Your Voice’ is a novella set in Vietnam, dealing with heavy themes such as prostitution, drug trafficking, and depression. The author in no way encourages or glorifies prostitution and drug trafficking. 

-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.

Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.

My Opinion

(4 / 5) This book caught me by surprise. I thought it was a book about colors in our world, and the colors we produce by the words we say. Instead, I found this to be a story about redemption and love and the crazy places we find it.

Violet had a terrible childhood in Vietnam and when is able to break free, she finds herself a prostitute because she can make the most money. She is a kind soul who just wants to be loved and she finds it in a man who is her customer but ends up being so much more than that. On the outside, he is a rough man that rules with his fists and does what he needs to for money. On the inside, he’s thoughtful and kind. The two begin an unexpected friendship that ends up being more than either could ever imagine.

I liked the psychology of what was behind the colors Violet sees and I found it interesting to match that up with what she was experiencing. I really enjoyed that and wish there would’ve been a bit more. The story flowed well and it was easy to get attached to these incredibly flawed characters. It was a powerful message about what people are like on the inside, not necessarily what we typically see, and that each of us has our own struggle.

The story is about love, where we find love, our inner person and the journey to find that inner person. 

The content/trigger warnings in the book are language (F word), bullying, attempted rape, prostitution, drug trafficking, physical aggression, and emotional abuse of a child.

Thank you to Daniel Newwyn for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.

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