Ever picked up a book and felt like the cover just gets you? That's how I felt with 'It Started With a Vibrant.' It’s this wild ride about a painter who stumbles into a hidden world where colors literally come alive—think 'Alice in Wonderland' meets 'Midnight in Paris,' but with way more neon splashes. The protagonist, a struggling artist named Lea, discovers her sketches bleed into reality after she uses a mysterious set of pigments. The plot spirals into this surreal adventure where she’s chasing sentient hues that keep reshaping her life (and the city around her). It’s part mystery, part love letter to creativity, with these gorgeous descriptions that make you feel the textures of colors.
What stuck with me was how the author plays with synesthesia—Lea hears shades as music, tastes shapes—and it’s not just a gimmick. The book digs into how art can distort or heal reality. There’s a scene where she accidentally paints a thunderstorm into her apartment, and the way the author writes about the chaos of indigo rain? Pure magic. The ending’s bittersweet, though—no spoilers, but it’ll make you side-eye your watercolors differently.