Collide

The Color Alchemist #4

by Nina Walker

When Lucas and Jessa parted ways, everything fell apart. No matter how foolish, no matter what it takes, Jessa is determined to learn the truth. Is Lucas really dead? But the price of answers might be higher than the cost she’s willing to pay. Turns out, the stakes are higher than ever. Sasha knows that better than anybody. She’s stranded on the wrong side of the border, caught between two amazing men. It seems both of them hold a piece of her conflicted heart. But there’s a war waging, lives are on the line, and true love must wait. When it comes to fighting for the future of alchemy, she’ll risk everything, even her own happiness. Once again, it’s time to dive into the dynamic magic of color. Read the stunning conclusion to The Color Alchemist series today!

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Dystopia, Ebooks, Royalty, Romance, Fiction

381 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 23, 2018

About the author

Nina Walker writes all kinds of fantasy for teens and adults. She is happily married and living the good life in the mountains of southern Utah.

Connect with her:
FB Group - Nina's Reading Party
IG - @ninabelievesinmagic
TT - @ninawalker.books
www.ninawalkerbooks.com

Reviews

[Janine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being the last book in the series, Collide has a lot of loose ends to wrap up, and while nearly all the big ones are addressed and most plot lines come to a satisfactory and emotionally gripping endgame, pacing issues and some plot aspects added to the tinge of disappointment I had with aspects of this series overall.

The world building all comes together in this one, with all the political intrigue, the conflicts of war and the consequences of magic collide (per the book title) in a glorious fashion. In fact, most of the questions I had about certain parts of the magic are answered here and really make sense in the grand scheme of things. The new elements really add to the fact that this is the last of the series. On the other hand, things like the Shadow Lands were glossed over a bit more than I would have liked and would have liked to see that play a bit more of a factor than it actually did. Some other things were never explained or expanded on like Jessa shutting her alchemy down for years after Sasha disappeared were mentioned once and not really expanded on were a miss for me. The prose is vivid, if not choppy in places, meaning while the setting was there in a lot of places, I couldn’t get a full visual in spots.

The plot is rather gripping this time around, despite the pacing issues still present. It picks up from Blackout’s cliffhanger ending, and the war is escalating big time with higher stakes than ever before. There’s still a few lulls and hiccups in terms of PoV, but it’s overall fast paced. I was turning the page really fast in the second half of the story as things were really getting bad for the good guys. The last few chapters tore my heart out, especially when I thought Lucas was killed in the last few chapters and everything after that, wondering about the characters final fates. Almost everything was right about that part.

The characters finally became a bit memorable to me, shining through in this last installment. The supporting cast stood out almost as much as the main characters, with quite a bit of twists and turns on their true agenda. A couple of these surprised me. King Richard makes for a great antagonist, a power hungry ruler with enough menacing and holding the grip on our protagonists tight that I wonder how everything was going to turn out.

Jessa is in a hard place, first trying to find Lucas, but then being forced to be Richard’s lapdog. Though she’s taking action to fight back any way she can (though limited considering her situation). I love her growth here, as she pulls through in the end and with several callback from earlier in the series, comes up with some unique solutions that save Lucas and put an end to the Shadow Lands.

After what happened at the end of Collide, Lucas’ arc is very interesting, though the choice to make him forget about what happened in the series made me think he was going backwards in his development. However, it was nice to see what he was like before he met up with the Resistance. I was glad it wasn’t a rehash of his previous development and there were new wrinkles in his path back to the good guys. Though I question why Lucas gained his memory back of the past year in the fashion that he did. At first, I thought it was some sort of red alchemy that scrambled his brain as suggested by Jessa’s brainwashing tours, but turns out it was just looking at the steel toe that struck him that triggered the memories. No magic, and all at once. It felt a bit off to me, though I loved his reaction when the memories did come back. His arc ends in a satisfying way as well.

Sasha is still trying to deal with who she is, was and trying to become as a solider for America, and doing a good job of it despite the distrust among her ranks. Though I think the love triangle she had was unneeded (despite fitting symbolically) and derailed her growth, but not as much as previously. I do like the choice she eventually made in this regard in both her development and choice of romance partner.

If you ask me, this was my favorite of the series in how almost everything came together and the overall quality went up. The epilogue wraps the plot up nicely (though it switches to present tense), and despite my mixed feelings on the series as a whole, went out on a high.

[Cassie James · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Colour Alchemists series made me a huge fan of Nina Walker. She amazed me with this phenomenal series of hers.
It is bittersweet to finish the series, I love these characters and while I am to see them get their ending, it's still sad to see them go.
Collide is the culmination of careful plotting and brilliant storytelling. After the explosive finale of Blackout, we continue with Jessa trying to evade capture while also figuring out the fate of Lucas. Sasha, Mastin and Tristan decided to look for Jessa. Or rather Sasha did and the two guys followed her. This trio keeps getting more and more intriguing.
After a fateful reunion, Jessa ends up captured and delivered into the clutches of the King. After finding out she doesn't know who attacked Lucas, she's locked up without any information about him
The world believes Lucas to be dead but he is actually in hiding dealing with amnesia. A whole year of his life is lost, memories of Jessa, the resistance, his mother's demise and his father's evil, all gone.
A tentative Jessa reaches out through their mind connection only to be rebuffed because he believed his father's lies about her.
Amnesia is a popular trope but I like the way it's handled here, while Lucas has changed, there's still glimpses of the man he is underneath all the confusion and chaos.
The war keeps cresting to a peak as both sides suffer losses and big moves are made.
What comes next is a deadly game of manipulation and a dance of who can win first. King Richard barrels on with power and might while New America uses stealth and sense.
Seeing Lucas and Jessa reconnect in trying circumstances is more fun than I expected. I commend Nina Walker for expertly portraying the mounting tension as it's felt in their words and action. The action is frantic as both sides don't quit.
The magic as usual is another positive aspect about this book and I loved the road it's taken.
There's twists and turns, so crazy it's brilliant and some that just flat out had me raging at some characters. The moments before the ending was nothing short of amazing. The ending itself is a beautiful culmination of a great series and lovers of these books will not at all be disappointed.
Collide has a perfect pace, engaging storyline and hot (albeit sometimes indecisive) romance. I happily recommend it to readers as the conclusion to Lucas, Jessa and Sasha's story is one for the ages.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super sad to see this series ending! I really love the characters and have enjoyed the world, the magic system was great and to see it evolve even more in this one was really cool, colours with magic is epic!

Jessa really grows even more in this story, we see her reach that place where she is happy with what she can do and who she is. Finally she feels what she feels and isn't ashamed of it!

I loved reading more about Sasha as well, she has always been an interesting character and such a badass, wasn't overly happy with some of the choices that she made in this book but feel that it really worked out in the end and liked how she handled the situation. I do wish we got a bit more Tristan in this book seeing as he was on the cover, I just felt like he could have been so much more then a side character as he was more in the other books.

Lucas really did annoy me more in this book but I think that was more to do with the situation going on, though I liked to see what he was like before and how he saw things.

The story moved really well and I enjoyed the writing style as for me it did have a lot of flow to it that made it easy to read and finish up quite quickly. I even didn't mind the changing POV's but did at time wish I was reading someone else instead.

I do feel like there was a few loose ends that were not sorted out and left me feeling a little bit 'eh' which is why I couldn't give it 5 stars.
I do think that some of the colour alchemy that was discovered during the end of the book could have been explained and looked into a little bit more but overall really enjoyable book and sad to see these characters go.

[Jacquie Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great finale. Everything was tied up neatly

[S.E. MacCready · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must say, this series surprised me from the very beginning. The premise was so entirely unique that I was enraptured from the very beginning. I also loved the political aspect of it. For anyone that knows me, that is saying a lot. Because I HATE talking politics. But it was handled in a way to make it accessable, all while not taking anything away from the story. It added enough to make the story well-rounded.

While I loved the story, I wish there had been more closure at the end. There was all this buildup surrounding certain relationships and I wish we could have gotten to see more of the progress toward the outcome, rather than jumping ahead and being told where everyone ended up. Maybe I'm being too picky, but I feel like we deserved more of the story with those little subplots.

All in all, this series was a great read, and I am mildly disappointed that it has concluded. The best stories? You want to read them forever. I only wish there were more to tell.

[Elizabeth✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a way to end the series! I wish it would have gone into a little more detail of each person and their perspective at the end, but 🤷‍♀️

Overall, the way the book ended was pretty good! It was intense and kept me on the edge of my seat. I am happy with how it ended because a lot of times I feel like the ending is rushed, but I didn’t feel that way about this book!

The only thing I wish the author did differently was the Mastin and Sasha thing. Honestly, I wish it wasn’t even a thing. In the end, it really didn’t matter and it seemed pointless. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy her and Tristan finally ended up together in the epilogue, but I think they should have been that way from the beginning—just my opinion🤷‍♀️

I really enjoyed this series, it was really entertaining and fun to read! I would definitely recommend this series!!

[Camille lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forever a Nina Walker Fan,

Ok, I apologize, I should have rated all four books in the series individually but all of them are excellent reads. Alchemy is a very interesting topic to read about. I loved the theme of the strong willed women in all four books. I love Lucas and Jessa together their love is tested time and time again throughout the series. King Richard was a ghastly villian! I enjoyed 1, 3 and 4 the best. All four books are well written with a lot of twists and turns. I literally couldn't put down books 3, 4. I read them both within the span of 26 hours. I simply adore these books they are definitely a must read! Thanks, Nina for keeping me thoroughly entertained during my holiday weekend! Merry Christmas! : )

[Katelyn Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a fan of this series ever since Prism came out and the author did not disappoint me! Each book has been an incredible journey but Collide was definitely my favourite. It was captivating and I couldn’t stop flipping the pages until I had finished. I’m sad the series is over because I enjoyed following everyone’s journeys but all good things must come to an end. It’s always daunting finishing a series, especially when so much could go wrong and you could be left heartbroken! The conclusion of The Color Alchemist was perfect and didn’t leave any unanswered questions. The author tied everything off perfectly!

[Jessica Plowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. I honestly wondered how she could fill a fourth book but she did it masterfully! I liked how it ended and through all the books I really learned to love the characters. Sasha was definitely my favorite. I did enjoyed reading it from the different points of view, however the down side of that is I would get so engrossed In each character that when I started a new chapter it took me a minute to remember who was speaking!
Overall a well written, creative and fun series. It is dystopian which has been done before but there were many elements that made it stand out from others. Nice work Nina!:)

[Vedha K · Rating 5 out of 5]

An acceptable ending for the series with unexpected character arcs. Few major stories answered and finished up well. And there were more scope to have explained and given information about West America and why they are so. And one minor disappointment being the bad group of power hungry group and Alchenists alike were lightly left without much punishment.
And Jessa's change and experience were totally heart wrenching. Wishing if something would happen or not.
Overall a decent finish for a good series.
This is one series I would love to much if made into movie considering the color alchemy in action and all the thrill in visual media!

[Krystal Winn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collide was perfect.
Just finished the fourth and final installment of the color alchemist series and perfect is the best way to describe this book. It’s very suspenseful and even a little dark at times as everything with Jessa and her powers unfold, but it also comes to the perfect conclusion. This book kept me guessing and coming back for more. Some things didn’t work out the way I was rooting for, but it was ok because it turned out even better!
I loved the whole series and collide was the perfect conclusion. Definitely a must read!

[Laura Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man.

I’m not going to lie. There were moments in these books I got so mad I would shed a tear, or two in frustration. The ending really tied everything together, I honestly feel it might have been drawn out a bit too much, but not over the top. I read all four books in five days which I haven’t done in a long time. All in all this was a wonderful series. I will look forward to reading more books by the author.

[Ananyaaaaaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series has been one of my most favourite series of all times. The growing plot, action packed suspense and strong protagonists all kept me hooked till the end. And though I am reluctant to see it end, I am glad the ending was perfect- not too long,nor too short. I liked reading about Jessa but I think I wanted more from Sasha too. And Tristan. But overall this series is just great (to be put it all in one word).

[J.J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I legitimately wanted to love this series but there is just so much stupid that keeps happening. You finally have the chance to kill Faulk but don’t?!? Had to wait until the king came by too and you wasted time running away? I don’t get it. One bad decision after another after 600 others. Was pretty much just getting to the point where I wanted to skim it to get past all the drama for ANY kind of resolution.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

This book was a good conclusion. There was a lot of action in this, and couldn’t see how things were going to go much of the time. Has been a good series, and I’ve seen the writing improve with each book. It still seems a bit stilted at times, and the flow wasn’t always great. Good story, good imagination, and happily, a clean read. There is violence, goes with the story line, but nothing too graphic.

[Lissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

i am FINALLY DONE reading this series!

the fourth book was honestly the best of the series BUT it still pissed me off. I didn’t like how the “big problem” was the same exact thing through all books. I also really liked Mastin and Sasha and so it’s safe to say i’m annoyed with how it played out. I might have liked Sasha and Tristan but i wasn’t given enough time to want them together. Happy about Lucas and Jessa though.

[Luc · Rating 5 out of 5]

No puedo ir haciendo esta reseña sin spoilers la verdad.

Descubrir que Luca estaba vivo y con la memoria perdida me mató porque la sonsa de Jessa regresó por él. Me gustó leer más sobre Frankie y su confusión y OMFG la presidenta controla la alquimia color negra eso sí estuvo wow

Es una saga súper redonda y pequeñita, es bastante entretenida y me encanto

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing conclusion to an addicting series!

Once again, nothing like I expected. Twists and turns at every corner, especially when you think you've got it all figured out. A tidy, perfect end for the series.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love

This series as a whole is wonderful. The attention to how all of the alchemy breaks down and works in the world makes sense and drives the story forward. I really enjoyed watching all of the pieces come together.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ending

Finally! We have a book that actually gives closure to the whole story! I love when this happens (which rarely does).

I loved the whole series. I wish it were in print format because I would buy it to read every year.

[Gitanjali Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a bittersweet one.The conclusion to the whole series and finally so many unanswered questions were answered and I loved how matured Jessa and Lucas were.Beautiful romance and I loved this conclusion. Sad to see it end but I enjoyed every single page of this.

[Bookish Serendipity Shannon williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a series…

This entire series was intense. Filled with so many emotions and hardships. It was hard to read sometimes, it felt like nothing was ever going to get better but the characters persevered and that ending was better than I could have imagined! It was an amazing ride!

[Destiny Puente · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great ending

Loved it. Literally couldn't put it down. Really hoping for another book to follow with a few of the characters

[Katherine Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely amazing! Full of twists and turns without being over the top. It perfectly wrapped up the series.

[Nina Elenie Arwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this series. I would definitely recommend this to a friend.

[Sharon Abegglen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so loved this series. I could not put them down. I lost sleep. so good. A;so happy with the ending.

[Lisa Boyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strong Hunger Games vibe is parts of this one.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I sped read through this book to see how it ended. Overall, wasn't impressed with the series.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teen angst to the max

[Patricia G Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating

From first word to last mesmerized by the characters and how each was woven into the story and rooting for the side of good (versus evil). You won't want to miss this.