Woke up to a Great Review

The Color of Cold and Ice is a novel by J. Schlenker. This is her second novel. I read and reviewed her first novel Jessica Lost Her Wobble. She asked me to read her second novel and review it. I am so glad I said yes. This is a wonderful story of a group of strangers in New York City who come together because of a coffee shop called The Java Bean Factory. The characters are very realistic as are the incidents in the plot. The story is interspersed with chapters on colors. Colors are personified and each color tells about the attributes it has. Color plays an important part in the lives of the characters. The story mainly takes place in the winter, around Valentine’s Day, in New York City. It then expands to Amsterdam and Poland.
Sibyl had a vision to own a coffee shop and with the help of her lawyer husband, Clark, and her sister, Em (short for Emerald), she made her vision become a reality. When she purchased the shop, Em gave up a job she hated to come help her decorate the shop and get it running. It became a lifesaver for Em when her husband was killed in a freak accident. Sibyl also had dreams that foretold things, like Michael’s accident and 9/11. Some dreams were just dreams but all involved color and cold.
John Gray was a GP who had his own practice plus all his student loans and bills. He had worked ER and loved it; but it didn’t give him time for his family. His wife, Allison helped him start his practice but she was a stay-at-home mom with their two children, Molly and Little John. John stopped at The Java Bean Factory because the line at other coffee shops were too long. He thought he recognized Em; but wasn’t sure. Actually, he was the doctor who saved her son Chad’s life after the accident. John loves his job and his family; but something is missing.
Mark is Allison’s little brother. Where she is slightly OCD, he is the exact opposite. He is unmarried but has had several long term girlfriends who were all different and a little flaky. He loves music but hasn’t been able to make much of a living with it. He is still trying to find where he belongs in life.
Their lives collide in New York but one thing resounds with all of them- color. They also are fans of Van Gogh and his colorful paintings. All this is woven together in a lovely story that tears at your heart and makes you laugh at the same time. I totally recommend this book to everyone.