Color Me Grey: Book One of the Alexis Stanton Chronicles

I loved this book! We chose it for a book review and discuss and it turned out to be a fantastic read! There is enough action to keep you interested and very interesting characters. The main character Ms. Grey is amazing and a well rounded female character that isn't a sniveling whiny person which is totally refreshing. Mr. Black is a big bro type that makes you want to know everything about him. Mr. White is just as elusive but equally interesting. The rest of the characters are intriguing also. The only two I had a small issue with were the parents who seem to be a bit of lacking in the parental department. SPOILERS: Aka "oh.. you got kidnapped.. okay cool let me just hang here at the house... oh you are home now? okay cool let's go eat spaghetti and do some art projects." They gave me a few smh moments. But the book as a whole was really great!

Fun and fast-paced. Absolutety loved the book. Alex is a kick-butt heroine. Can't wait to read the next!

I, too, delight in discovering great new authors on Smashwords and was pleased to find JC Phelps after finishing up all of JD Nixon's "Heller" series and "Blood Ties" series. Love the strong women stories. Alexis fits.
I went on to read the 2nd installment as a result of my pleasure with this one.
JC, keep your motivation and don't get into a rut so to speak. I've begun 3rd installment. Will there be more?

I love finding great new authors on Smashswords! I was a little hesitant at first -- I didn't want to get suckered into a romance book. I shouldn't have worried! This was well thought out and a great change of pace for a female character!
No Bond girl here, just an intelligent, kick-butt girl who knows she wants more out of life than a desk job. I can't wait to see where the rest of the series goes!

I just loved this book. An exciting, adventurous and totally entertaining story.
The free read was much appreciated, thank you. I have absolutely no hesitation in purchasing Books Two and Three.
Most highly recommended.

To be honest, I hesitated to buy this book. I saw it in the Borders ebook store and went back and forth about getting it. In the end, I just couldn't resist. I had to give it a try.

My reservations had to do with a lot of things. Number one, it was written by a woman. Say what you want, but I read a lot of thrillers and they're written by men. I'm trying to think of any thrillers I've read with a woman author and I can't think of any. Also, indie published. That can go pretty wrong. One tag even labeled it "chick lit." Military/spy action can really suck when people don't know what they're talking about, and I just don't care to waste my time reading a book where the author is just making stuff up because it would look or sound cool. Especially when it comes to military stuff. So many people think they know what's what because they read it on wikipedia. It ain't so.

But. I like Janet Evanovich, and Charlaine Harris is pretty darn good too, and I've read other good female mystery writers, so why not? As for indie stuff, you just have to hope for the best. Last couple books I got off Smashwords were excellent. There's a certain thrill in finding something great on Smashwords, isn't there? As far as chick lit goes, well, I've read a couple romance novels in my time . . . ahem.

All that is fine and good, but it's the action and the spy type stuff that make the difference. In the end, it wasn't bad. There are somethings I disagreed with, but not out of line with any of the other thrillers I've read. There is nothing completely implausible or so over the top it takes you out of the story. Some of the military guys are a bit action movie cliched, and the bad guys at the end are a bit vague (if you make your bad guys of a certain persuasion, then write them that way. Be bold. Give them the accent, make them act like you think they should, not as mere shadows of themselves.).

As for the writing, another pass by an editor wouldn't hurt. I think Phelps spends too much time trying to convince us of Alex. The fist quarter of the story could be restructured and much streamlined with a little show, don't tell, sensibility. If you want the reader to believe your main character is who she is, show us with action and example. Alex is a good enough character for us to spend some time doing things with, instead of being told about the things she did. As much info as there is about the character at the start of the story, she still seems a bit thin to me. Put a little weight on her.

I like this book. I'll read the next two. And here's the thing about this book - with a little work, the right editor, and the right agent, there is no reason it couldn't be published by a major publishing house. It's all there. Phelps just needs to make the package complete. There is a certain amount of detail and knowledge that is missing. Also, there needs to be more development of the secondary characters and the villains. If Phelps can do that, we'll be reading hardcovers and waiting for the movie. ( )

Alexis Stanton tosses in her boring computer job and goes looking for adventure. She finds it. Soon she is a girl spy/commando learning the trade. Color Me Grey features pretty good action and the story moves along nicely. Phelps perhaps isn’t the greatest writing stylist, but I soon forgot about that as I got caught up in the story and found myself reading late into the night. All in all, though somewhat overly introspective and descriptive, its a good book. I’ll read the whole series.
On the negative side, the story could have used another edit. There were some noticeable homophone errors (aught for ought, site for sight, etc.).

Move over James Bond, there's a new secret agent hitting the scene. Petite and polished Alexis Stanton hardly seems the type, but raised in a family that gave etiquette equal time with special ops training, she proves she's not one to be underestimated.

After quitting her dullsville job doing data entry, Alex responds to a mysterious newspaper job advertisement and realizes right away that her special training is exactly what White and Associates are looking for. Employed by the mysterious and attractive Mr. White, Alex is given the new moniker Ms. Grey and instantly thrust into secret missions with her life on the line. She may be in over her head, but she's not about to show it because she's also having the time of her life.

Color Me Grey was a fun and exciting book. J.C. Phelps keeps the action and suspense high and manages to hint at romance just enough to make the characters exceptionally intriguing. I loved Alexis Stanton as the heroine - she's tough but also smart and sensitive; larger than life but still easy to relate to. The book was well written with a perfect pace, and as all my favorite series entries do, it tells a succinct story while still keeping readers eager for its sequels. There's nothing Grey about whether or not Phelps knows how to write - clear as black and white, she is a wonderful storyteller and an awesome author to check out!

J.C. Phelps’ "Color Me Grey" is the first of a three-book series about Alexis Stanton, a spoiled rich girl who decides to trade in her easy life as a data processor living off Mom & Dad for one of action and adventure, by embarking on a new career with a mysterious company where everyone is code-named a color–Mr. Black, Mr. White, Mr. Red. Alexis, code-named Ms. Grey, is the first woman to join this team of highly trained professionals and quickly shows up the men with her skill, daring, and never-quit attitude. Much of the book is devoted to the details of Alexis’ training as a fighter, scuba-diver, and survivalist, and only becomes a true action/adventure novel near the end when she joins the team on a rescue mission that hits close to home.

The novel is strongly pro-female in that Alexis is continually shown as being at least as capable, if not more so, than her male colleagues, which for me, was a bit unbelievable. That a petite woman could take down a trained male opponent twice her size, while intoxicated no less, was one of several points I had to take on faith, but for younger female readers, Alexis will be inspirational. The book also includes hints of romance, but in this volume at least, nothing that comes to fruition.

Color Me Grey is written in the first-person, past tense point-of-view, and at times, a bit stream of consciousness. I’ve said before I’m not a huge fan of first-person POV, but it does lend a youthful, up-to-the-minute air to this novel. The writing itself would benefit from some additional editing, as it suffers from occasional bouts of over-explaining, a few spelling errors, and some misused phrases. I would also prescribe a healthy dose of commas for the longer sentences. Editing issues aside, however, if one enjoys adventure novels where the focus is more on action and less on character and relationship development, Color Me Grey will be just what the doctor ordered.

Author J C Phelphs has created a marvelously fast-paced adventure with the petite MC Alexis Stanton a package of 5'4" dynamite, with long straight hair and a serious attitude if you cross her.

Alexis has a very interesting background including special services training{Private yet}. A wealthy and connected family, with an Admiral for a daddy. Alexis has to draw her own conclusions on just what it is daddy does for the government. Her inherited sense of adventure send her on an interview for a most unusual position.

This is an unusual book, written for a market tired of adventures that only include the undead and people with a nasty overbite. It moves fast, the characterizations are clever yet believable, and the adventure is full on. I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

I have no hesitation in recommending this for a fast paced read.