The Five

The Five was f*cking awesome! This is my first Lily White read and it was everything I could’ve wanted and more – an awesome mystery, a dark and gritty path leading to a nice massive mindf*ck thrown in and a whole lot of filthy and poor judgement in between. It was simply it’s own thing and what a blessing that is!

The Five centers around Rainey Day, what most would call a white trash girl, living with her single mom. At the beginning she’s 17 and moving into yet another slum, Clayton Heights. Little does she know the day she moves in how much of an impact the Connor family next door will have on and in her life. Five men – the father and his four sons, the youngest being Rowan, the first she lays eyes on.

But to even get to the start of Rainey’s life in Clayton Heights and her involvement with the Connors we start with a psychologist brought in by the police because Rainey is the sole survivor of a party where the other 4 people were brutally murdered. Rainey seems to be murky in her memory of events and the police want to know what the hell went down and also whether Rainey is capable herself of physically harming others. Thus we meet Justin, the psychologist that is assigned the case and spends his days at Rainey’s home trying to pluck the details from her mind. But Rainey won’t go there, she insists for him to understand, he must first hear her story from the day she moved to Clayton Heights five years ago and her relationship with the Connor men. The scenes go back and forth between Rainey telling her story of the past and Justin reacting and trying to pull more out of her.

Rainey’s story packs a whole lot of punches. Her story is truly horrendous. Born with a siren’s body and aura, she has suffered sexual abuse as a child but she also makes terrible choices as a young adult and allows herself to be used over and over again. Her self esteem seems to be nil. A lot of the story she recounts is graphic, degrading and she seemingly thinks there’s nothing wrong with it as that is all her self worth is. The Connor men are all pieces of work outside of the youngest, Rowan. In Rainey and Rowan was an impossible love story that she still holds dear to her heart even after a terrible tragedy.

All of this she recounts to Justin, including much much more than stated above. She seems to know her station in life and accepts it and that’s hard for the psychologist in Justin to hear:

“I guess I have to think that things can’t get worse than they already have been. Rock bottom is the lowest a person can go, right? Well, I was born there.”

As the time ticks by and Justin files his daily reports, he becomes twisted up in Rainey’s story while trying to rush her to skip to the end and the night of the party. He also finds himself attracted to her and tries to give a wide berth to stay professional.

With all that being said, the above is just the tip of the iceberg. Who is Rainey really? Is she the totally used girl who allows abuse because she’s used to it? Is she the young woman Rowan insisted she was although she always denied it? And what is the meaning of the five? You see, Rainey has 5 tally marks on her inner arm and Justin knows they signify the biggest clue. But what exactly are the 5 when so many different things add up into fives in this book?

The slow unravelling of every little detail, every ugly demeaning part and every little slice of beautiful is absolutely delicious. Trying to figure out what it all means is hypnotizing and Lily White takes you through a maze of a journey into Rainey’s mind to come to the ultimate truths. And when she does, Wow, just Wow!

I loved this ending. I probably shouldn’t have but without saying anything to give it away, I did absolutely adore the ending and that probably makes me one sick puppy but I’m owning it and reveling in it. This book rocked from start to finish and I was addicted from page one to the very end, I literally could not stop to take a break. And the ending? So totally worth it even when I didn’t see it coming.

Omg this book!

I swear everytime I read a book of Lily’s I’m just in awe of her talents as a writer.

Let me just say this much this book will take you on a rollercoaster ride with enough twists and turns you won’t know what to believe.

Raynie is 17 when she meets 15 yr old Rowan and they become best friend’s and on that same day she meets his brother’s as well and soon thing’s become complicated with Rowan who think’s she can do no wrong, but as the story goes look’s can be deceiving. There are events that are set into motion that neither are aware of on that first day.

This was one messing with the mind, twisted kind of read that will have you flipping pages to see was going to happen next like it did me. This lady has to be the Queen of twists and turns.

I absolutely would recommend one clicking this lil jewel and let it sweep you away into the crazy mind’s of Raynie and Rowan Forever.

This is just my opinion and my review

Every time……..
Every single time……
Every single Lily White book grabs me from page one and beats my head repeatedly against it’s sheer brilliance until I’m so dizzy I can barely breathe.

Fantastic. Awe-inspiring. Mind blowing. Heart crushing. Soul searing. Take every amazing, wonderful, out of this world descriptive and apply it to The Five, and even then you won’t come close to conveying just how good this book is.

Whilst you can sort of guess some of the twists, and unlike so many other authors whose work falls by the wayside, Lily very cleverly weaves her tale so that there aren’t the usual plot holes. So many twists in other books don’t stand up to closer scrutiny, I don’t believe that can be said of The Five. In fact I even stupidly doubted her at one point. I was naive enough to think ‘well if I’m correct, I’m not sure how she’s going to explain…. or how she will convince me that….’.

HA! FOOL! Of course the magnificence that is Lily White will pull the twists off. Not only that but she will pound you into the finest dust, to be blown away on the wind, whilst she does it. My heart bled for Rainey and, despite all the fn$!*d-up (pun intended) stuff she had done, even at the end I totally and utterly adored her. When she lost Rowan, a little piece of my heart crumbled too.

This magnificent story is told in first person, with ‘present day’ chapters from Justin’s point of view and most of Rainey’s being her retelling the previous five years.

“The number five was important for some reason, but there were already so many possibilities as to what it could mean.”

This is a romance that isn’t a romance but yet is a truly great love story that will last beyond time on this mortal coil and span into the infinity of the great ever after. Despite not being able to love herself, Rainey was so very much loved, into death and beyond, by one wonderful, if broken, man.

Do yourself a favour and read this. You’d be a fool not to.

Rainey Day might be young but life had not been kind to her. Growing up in a toxic environment, she only knew one way to survive even if it hurt her.

Justin Redding had seen it all. As a psychologist, he was trained to uncover the truth behind the facade. But nothing prepared him for his latest case which with a simple misstep could take him down the rabbit hole.

I started this book completely blind and I’m glad because it helped intensified all the emotions I felt. This book made me incredibly mad and also sad about the life choices the characters made. They were hard to turn away from like a mesmerizingly beautiful but brutal train wreck.

It’s been a while since I read a true page turner and this book, I couldn’t put it down. The story was engaging and erotic just the way I like it. However, I did figure out the ending, but still, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment.

The Five is a story of love and survival. It would appeal to readers who could appreciate hard to love characters.

THE FIVE….
five years
five men
five victims
five neighbors
five marks

The number five is significant within this story, and although there are many possibilities to what it represents, it is none that have been listed, …..yet it is, and more. Don’t worry, it will all become clear once you read this impassioned stupefying story.

Rainey Summer Day is a promiscuous, bubble headed siren that has allowed men to take advantage and sexually victimize her. She is the type of girl that men want to use for their own enjoyment. A party favor, a toy that men fucked. As she is interviewed by Justin Redding, a victims advocate psychologist, to determine her involvement as the sole survivor of a frenzied home invasion slaughter; she recounts the years leading up to what happened that fateful night. Justin finds himself unable to resist her charms and flirtatious advances. The temptation to safeguard this innocent becomes ever present. After all she is a victim, …..or is she?

There is no self respect, no dignity within the pages of this book. The Five, it’s dark, to be sure, but countered with intoxicating manipulation. The sex demoralizing, but oh so delectable. The events humiliating and the overall story mortifying. It is just the kind of story that will leave you stunned and not really sure if you should like it or hate it.

5* You’re Better Than This Stars!

Whoah!!! What the phuck did I just read!! A painful blow to my vagg would’ve hurt less than walking in Rainey’s shoes.
Lily just waved the wand – stupefy and I’m stunned! I’m so scared of her brain that if I meet her I prolly won’t sit next to her. Her devious mind is capable of such barbaric evil that I can almost feel her cackle while she types.
It’s convoluted and distressing story of various types of addictions. Drugs, love, hatred and sex. It makes people do stupid things and just obliterates their self worth
“How low can you go?
Rock bottom is the lowest a person can go, right? Well, I was born there.”

The story is quite straightforward. There’s a beautiful & stunning girl called Rainey Day, who moves in Clayton Heights, right next door to the Connor men. Paul the dad, Frankie, Jacob, Joel and Rowan the sons and she just mesmerises the men.
She was a woman created solely for the purpose of temptation. Everything about her, everything, brought out primal instincts that were more animal than human. What made her dangerous was that she knew it.
She’s a virtual flame that attracts the Moths all around. And they start falling dead like moths too!!

Psychologist Justin Redding is assigned to her case where she’s discovered the sole human left breathing in a house where everyone else is massacred.
The story unfolds right in front of us and it’s like watching mold grow. The rot that fills some human garbage pails starts to spread from inside out and the putrid souls just are laid bare in front of us.
I was horrified and willing to slap everybody around, and i intended to let no demon left behind. I wanted to kill them all a violent, torturous death myself **breathing hard**
I swear my blood pressure is through the roof!!

And hereforth starts a story so twisted, I’m shattered just by reading it. There’s a permanent grimace on my face and smouldering anger in my heart.
I’m livid !
At the Connors
At Rainey
At her mom
At Rowan
At lily….whatever possesses this woman to write such stories!!
Freud would have a field day with my behavior in that moment, his Austrian accent clear in my head, condemning everything I struggled with as some deep seated, repressed and dark desire for violent sexual conquest.
Well…..Freud didn’t meet Lily then or he would resurrect and commit suicide
As much as I hated the characterization, their actions and the plot develpment, I cannot but praise the writing skills of this evil genius. Undisputed Queen of The Dark. There’s a nervous tension in the story throughout. It doesn’t let you breathe much. Every time I feel this is rock bottom, Lily shoves my face in the muck and keeps pressing to show me another level of phucked up low that humanity can sink in.

But you can’t walk away from the poignant moments untouched. Rainey was an unfortunate character whose manipulation made me cry. Rowan I could kiss and claim! And the end just was explosive! You must read this story even though some gag-worthy scenarios will make you retch. It’s ugly in its truth and honesty, but C’est La vie!
For dark lovers it’s caviar served on a gold cracker!!!
5 stars for 5 men, 5 promises, 5 scars

I’m not even sure where to start? Not sure what to say? Not even sure I can put into words what I just read?

What I can say is WOW!!!

This book was so much!!

It leads you down a path of a raw, crazy fast paced, twisted, depraved story that I could not put down. I kept telling myself one more chapter but then would read one more and would have to go to the next to see what would happen.

“Love is pain.
It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, how you live or what you live for; to love another person is to become them. And I don’t mean that in a figurative sense; it’s literal. To love another person is to slip beneath their skin. If they hurt, so do you. If someone attacks them, you’ve been attacked as well. If they are drowning, your head is being dragged under water right beside them. And if they die, you might as well start digging your own grave because a part of you belongs to the ground.”
~Lily White

This quote sums up for me what the story really meant. As I struggled to be able to put my the thoughts on this book into words I kept coming back to it.

Buckle up and prepare yourself. You will not want to put this one down. You won’t want to. I loved this book. Some parts were hard to read, some had my kindle smoking. Some had my heart breaking. But ALL of it was an incredible story that will stay with me for a long time to come.

The Five was my first read from this author but won’t be my last. I now have to go devour everything else she’s written.

Well holyyyy shit. I wasn’t expecting what I just read.

I don’t understand how Lily White can make you fall in love with a character that does fucked up shit? I shouldn’t feel for the person who does morally wrong things, but her writing does that to you. Rowan and Rainey, god. I was heartbroken for both of them, pissed off, and then had heart eyes all within the span of an hour.

I’ll admit, this book can be hard to read. It has major triggers which can be a deal breaker for some. Sometimes those situations makes me cringe in other books, but surprisingly I was able to get through this book just fine. I think it was the suspense of it all. I wanted to know what happened.

Definitely enjoyed this one. 4.5 overall.

Live and learn…

As I sit here thinking… what did I just read? I’m reflecting on this story and wondering just how much a person has to go through in life to find their happy ever after.

This book took me to dark places. Ones I wasn’t sure I wanted to go. It’s one of those books you should go into blind. The blurb really doesn’t give you a hint of what you’re getting. It’s a love story but not your usual fare. It’s certainly not told in the way you’d expect or knew you needed. I’m not sure I could call this a romance, but it certainly kept me reading even though I guessed the ending long before I got there.

Epically twisted

An amazingly dark, twisted upheaval of a story. I definitely was unprepared for, well, all of it. Rainey. The Connors. Even Justin. I simply was not prepared.
I had to read this in pieces. Rainey’s story definitely shouldn’t be taken lightly, and I wanted to make sure that I got the full impact. I did.
I like dark reads, the darker the better. This exceeded anything that I thought I was going into.
I will definitely be following this authors work.
Words have power, and these were weighty.