The Dark Lord and the Seamstress by JM Frey & Jennifer Vendrig

I like to try and bring you something different in the colouring book world, and I've really been searching for things that are a bit out of the box. The Dark Lord and the Seamstress is a prime example! It is a story book; a fable, fairytale, moral story- whatever you like to call it- with colouring pages incorporated. The writer, J.M., is first and foremost a science fiction author. I think the fantasy element really shows through in the story, which is reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast. It took 12 years for this book to come to fruition before it was crowdfunded through Kickstarter, so it has been a definite labour of love for the author.
On to the colouring pages! 

Each part of the story is accompanied by a page-sized illustration for you to colour, as you can see in the slideshow below.

You might be of the opinion that this book is solely aimed towards children, but I don't think it necessarily is. Sure, kids can colour it and will love the cartoonish drawings, but I reckon this is a gem of an adult colouring book (especially if you're a bit of a geek like me). The story, although simply worded and whimsically rhymed, has a really powerful theme of love overcoming the obstacles of mortal and beast and even good vs. evil. I mean, look at Twilight, The Great Gatsby, heck even Fifty Shades- everyone loves it when the bad guy falls for the innocent girl. Unconventional love is a massive trope in the romance world! I'm talking too much about the story, I know, but I love it.

The illustrations were originally meant to be in colour, but the creators decided to leave them as line drawings so that the reader could decide what the Dark Lord is wearing! Seeing as the story is centred somewhat around clothing, I think it's a great idea that us as colourists are able to design the fabric and make the story come alive, make it our own.

The paper is bright white and good quality, able to handle water-based markers without bleed. The cover is a soft feel, deliberately chosen so that children & adults have a texture to grip the book comfortably. It's a decent size, with 25 pages to colour. Even if it's not your thing, I think it would make a great keepsake for the youngsters in your family- you could colour it and read it to your child, they could colour it, or you could ask them which colours they'd like to see the characters in once you've read through it. 

Here's my completed page of when the seamstress bandages up the Dark Lord's finger after he pricks it when sewing. When she sees his blood is red just like hers, she knows she has nothing to fear- the Devil is just a person too.

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review. You can find it on Amazon here:

The Dark Lord and the Seamstress: An Unconventional Love Story In Verse