Daisy is wading through the LA nightlife scene enduring a terrible job while she tries to break into the art world. Mike is an attractive, successful talent agent with his eyes firmly set on winning Daisy’s affections. Once they realize that a relationship benefits both of them, neither objects to the other’s advances. But things take a complicated turn when real feelings start to emerge and Daisy’s love life is put to the ultimate test.
There’s a lot of potential in this book—certainly, the fact that Daisy and Mike are using each other for their own personal gains creates a fair amount of conflict. That they’re both willing to jump into a relationship built on ulterior motives makes them flawed, realistic human beings. Their budding relationship, sculpted out of a shared love for a jazz band, comes across as honest and quite adorable.
Once Mike and Daisy steer toward a rushed romance supposedly sparked by real feelings, all of that comes to a halt. Mitchell employs several unfortunate tropes to advance the plot and generate unnecessary, contrived conflict. By nature, tropes aren’t a bad thing, but some of them—especially when one’s sexuality is concerned—could stand to be retired. As a result, Mike and Daisy become increasingly difficult to root for. Daisy’s artistic goals and Mike’s insightful words about creative passion fall by the wayside, fading into an afterthought.
Mitchell switches from Daisy’s first person point of view to various third person points of view, which can be a little jarring from a narrative standpoint. Daisy’s first person has a tendency to slip into moments that seem intended both for the male gaze and to invalidate aspects of Daisy’s established sexual preferences.
While the prose tends to tell more than show, the banter between Mike and his group of friends is fresh and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny. There are a few thoughtful moments between Mike and his family that cast him in a more favorable light. Mitchell succeeds in creating a tight-knit group of guys who wrestle with sexuality, personal hardships, and showing emotion, which is usually taboo in a hyper masculine society.
THE COLOR OF LOVE feels like a slightly over-the-top rom-com, but it carries a dash of heart in its rapid-fire wit and dynamic relationships between family and friends.
~by Jessica Thomas for IndieReader