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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
This was one wild ride with an ending I didn't see coming! One of the darkest books I've read! And one heck of a mindf***!!!
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Be aware this isn’t really a romance which I did know going in. I’d describe this more as a psychological suspense. It’s dark and gritty and takes you on quite the journey and though it isn’t a pretty tale it does make for some compulsive reading. It’s told very cleverly and we the reader are learning everything right alongside Justin. He’s a psychologist and victim advocate assigned by the police to interview and get to the truth of just why Rainey is the sole survivor of a mass violent killing she being the only person still left standing.
It’s dual POV and told in a flashback manner. So we have Justin in the now and his role interviewing the troubled young girl and then we get to relive Rainey's past as she’s being interviewed by him. We learn just how we have arrived at this point in time and It’s quite the journey. I did guess where this was leading but was still left shocked at the final outcome.
I’ve got to confess though I’m kinda conflicted when it comes to rating this book on the one hand it’s extremely well written and I appreciated all of the story-weaving skills involved and on the other, the subject matter we were dealing with was so incredibly uncomfortable and very sexually explicit and not in the way I usually like. It left me feeling somewhat uncomfortable and i swung between a pendulum of feeling empathetic towards Rainey and her situation and super frustrated that she refused to take any responsibility and attempt to help herself.
A whole lot of crap happens during the course of this to Rainey and whilst I agree in a lot of ways she’s partially a victim of her shitty circumstances she’s also got to take some responsibility for all of those shitty decisions. I also found it very difficult to relate to Rainey in any shape or form and found her for the most part unlikeable. I don’t think I ever warmed to her during the course of any of this finding her overall selfish and manipulative which considering her circumstances I kind of get but I also need to find some sort of common ground which was just impossible. In fact, I failed to warm to any of the characters involved and this caused a huge disconnect which definitely assisted me in consuming the uncomfortable content but then also had the knock-on effect of failing to invest me any deeper. What I’m trying to say is I felt like an outside observer a watcher if you will and maybe that was the intention to mitigate some of the raw and shocking material make it more palatable and easily digested, to dilute and create a partial separation.
Overall this was extremely different and incredibly unique. It’s definitely not going to be for everyone and it’s not in any way a feel-good tale in fact it’s the polar opposite. It’s chock full of uncomfortable content. If you’re after something to test and push your boundaries this one has you covered. It wasn’t quite my flavour but I will continue to read this author in the future and I do appreciate how well-crafted it was hence the three-star rating.
It’s dual POV and told in a flashback manner. So we have Justin in the now and his role interviewing the troubled young girl and then we get to relive Rainey's past as she’s being interviewed by him. We learn just how we have arrived at this point in time and It’s quite the journey. I did guess where this was leading but was still left shocked at the final outcome.
I’ve got to confess though I’m kinda conflicted when it comes to rating this book on the one hand it’s extremely well written and I appreciated all of the story-weaving skills involved and on the other, the subject matter we were dealing with was so incredibly uncomfortable and very sexually explicit and not in the way I usually like. It left me feeling somewhat uncomfortable and i swung between a pendulum of feeling empathetic towards Rainey and her situation and super frustrated that she refused to take any responsibility and attempt to help herself.
A whole lot of crap happens during the course of this to Rainey and whilst I agree in a lot of ways she’s partially a victim of her shitty circumstances she’s also got to take some responsibility for all of those shitty decisions. I also found it very difficult to relate to Rainey in any shape or form and found her for the most part unlikeable. I don’t think I ever warmed to her during the course of any of this finding her overall selfish and manipulative which considering her circumstances I kind of get but I also need to find some sort of common ground which was just impossible. In fact, I failed to warm to any of the characters involved and this caused a huge disconnect which definitely assisted me in consuming the uncomfortable content but then also had the knock-on effect of failing to invest me any deeper. What I’m trying to say is I felt like an outside observer a watcher if you will and maybe that was the intention to mitigate some of the raw and shocking material make it more palatable and easily digested, to dilute and create a partial separation.
Overall this was extremely different and incredibly unique. It’s definitely not going to be for everyone and it’s not in any way a feel-good tale in fact it’s the polar opposite. It’s chock full of uncomfortable content. If you’re after something to test and push your boundaries this one has you covered. It wasn’t quite my flavour but I will continue to read this author in the future and I do appreciate how well-crafted it was hence the three-star rating.
This was not an easy read. The story starts off when Justin Redding arrives at Rainey Day's house, interviewing her about circumstances of the death of four of her friends. He's the most unprofessional psychologist, apparently hired by the local police department to do daily interviews of this woman to see what her involvement in the crime was. The premise just doesn't make sense. He didn't offer anything of value as a psychologist other than feeling sympathy (NOT empathy!) for Rainey's situation.
Back to it being a difficult read- Rainey has had a difficult life. From the day that she moved into her new house as a teenager, she has been taken advantage of by trading sex for drugs and money. Most of the story is told from her perspective as she recounts the explicit details of her abuse before the party that caused the 4 deaths.
If you categorize this as a romance with an expected HEA, then that's what you'll get. And since that's what you get, then the twists and turns of the story are pretty predictable. I don't think that this is a romance though. This is a suspense thriller with lots of sex and violence along the way.
I wanted to like Rainey or Rowan, her love interest. I wanted to like Justin... but by the end I didn't feel invested in any of the characters. The love story was more disastrous than beautiful, and Justin couldn't think past his own pants. However, I thought the story was pretty well-written up until the last 20% when it all "comes together." Personally, I just didn't like the way the story ended.
I appreciate Lily White's story telling and would read more by her (I have two more of her books on my bookshelf already!)-The Five wasn't my favorite book, but I definitely see the appeal to the readers that loved it.
Back to it being a difficult read- Rainey has had a difficult life. From the day that she moved into her new house as a teenager, she has been taken advantage of by trading sex for drugs and money. Most of the story is told from her perspective as she recounts the explicit details of her abuse before the party that caused the 4 deaths.
If you categorize this as a romance with an expected HEA, then that's what you'll get. And since that's what you get, then the twists and turns of the story are pretty predictable. I don't think that this is a romance though. This is a suspense thriller with lots of sex and violence along the way.
I wanted to like Rainey or Rowan, her love interest. I wanted to like Justin... but by the end I didn't feel invested in any of the characters. The love story was more disastrous than beautiful, and Justin couldn't think past his own pants. However, I thought the story was pretty well-written up until the last 20% when it all "comes together." Personally, I just didn't like the way the story ended.
I appreciate Lily White's story telling and would read more by her (I have two more of her books on my bookshelf already!)-The Five wasn't my favorite book, but I definitely see the appeal to the readers that loved it.
Can be very emotionally triggering! One minute I was appalled but then I kept reading. Did have an interesting twist that I saw coming.
Wow! Just wow! When I finished reading this, I had to step away and just let this story percolate in my head!
What a dark and twisty love story this is. What would you do for someone you love? How far would you go to protect someone? The Five is the story that will answer those questions with a vengeance.
Rainey is a victim of her environment and circumstances. She has brutalized and terrorized all of her life. But what kind of person does this make her? She becomes what she must. She becomes who she needs to be. She is an enigma....
This story is going to take you down a rabbit hole that you will never want to leave. The ending made me gasp, like for real!
Ms. White has magic in her words. She creates a world in this story that is brutal and beautifully flawed in its own way. This is a love story, with a helluva twist.
Be sure you read this story slowly, you have to truly dive into this. You have to savor the words, even the passages that are going to make you want to turn away.
I have yet to read something from Lily White that I haven't devoured and loved. The Five is no exception! This is going to be in the running for my "Best of 2019 Reads"!
What a dark and twisty love story this is. What would you do for someone you love? How far would you go to protect someone? The Five is the story that will answer those questions with a vengeance.
Rainey is a victim of her environment and circumstances. She has brutalized and terrorized all of her life. But what kind of person does this make her? She becomes what she must. She becomes who she needs to be. She is an enigma....
This story is going to take you down a rabbit hole that you will never want to leave. The ending made me gasp, like for real!
Ms. White has magic in her words. She creates a world in this story that is brutal and beautifully flawed in its own way. This is a love story, with a helluva twist.
Be sure you read this story slowly, you have to truly dive into this. You have to savor the words, even the passages that are going to make you want to turn away.
I have yet to read something from Lily White that I haven't devoured and loved. The Five is no exception! This is going to be in the running for my "Best of 2019 Reads"!
“Rock bottom is the lowest a person can go, right? Well, I was born there.”
Rainey (22) is the only one to survive a party (4 others killed) and Justin (a victim advocate, psychologist) has been brought in to try to get the truth out of Rainey. ”Give me something, Ms. Day. How were all your friends brutalized, and yet you lived to tell the tale?”
My Thoughts:
WTF!!!!!!! Here are my emotions as I read this book....
Rainey (22) is the only one to survive a party (4 others killed) and Justin (a victim advocate, psychologist) has been brought in to try to get the truth out of Rainey. ”Give me something, Ms. Day. How were all your friends brutalized, and yet you lived to tell the tale?”
My Thoughts:
WTF!!!!!!! Here are my emotions as I read this book....
Unexpected. Full of twists and turns that kept me intrigued the entire time.
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes