The Five

Sole survivor of a brutal slaying… Justin has an interview to do… He’s the psychologist hired by the police department on this murder case. Rainey won’t speak to anyone but Justin. Can Justin stay detached? He needs to right? To do his job! I have several Lily White books on my TBR; but this is the first I’ve read, and she’s earned a NEW FAN! This Dark, Suspense Romance is to die for! I loved it! If you cannot handle dark, this is not for you, which is too bad because PHEW, phenomenal!

Without going into details and giving any of the story away, let me begin with The Five was…interesting. Yes, interesting is a good word for it. It’s brutal, harsh and suspenseful but mostly I found it interesting. In a nutshell: Justin’s job as a psychologist was simple, interview Rainey and find out what happened the night four of her friends were brutally murdered and how she survived. And of course to find out what happened, Rainey has to start from the beginning. Waaaay back to the beginning!

Let me start with if you have any issues with triggers and somewhat consensual sex, this will not be the book for you. Rainey’s story is really one giant trigger and the secrets she reveals to Justin are fifty shades of disturbing. Drugs, sex and violence – triggers, triggers and more triggers. It’s a lot to take in and I think that is why I found myself not really enjoying the book. I’m not saying I hated it, on the contrary, I did enjoy the book. I just felt very… yeah. Just very.

I think all the stuff and the details kept me a bit detached from the characters. I just could not connect with the characters it was so overwhelming. I started to grow numb and in the end, I almost didn’t care what happened to them. I was more curious about what happened than the people it happened to. I flip-flopped back and forth on liking Rainey. Was she dumb or a victim of circumstance kept running through my mind. I went back and forth on Justin as well. Do NOT get me started on the rest of the characters well except for Rowan. He was the bright shining star until, well, until the author Lilyed him. Yes, that is a descriptive word. If you have read any of Ms. White’s books you would certainly understand what it is to get Lilyed.

So, I liked the book, found the story overwhelming but interesting, but didn’t care about the characters. Meh, happens to the best of us. I’ll probably pay The Five a visit down the road and try re-reading it again. Maybe, with some space I’ll find it better the second time around.

Stars- 3.5 Flames – 5

Lily white is a fantastic author i literally was left at times pacing around my house, other times shouting out words like What the f**k? Omg what is the matter with you? Or I just freaking knew it I knew it! See I won my copy of The five from lily white on Facebook before release day but God damn it I started it and then I got sick so darn sick I could barely function but today I read it all and I wasn’t stopping and this had me gripped from the point I left off till the end with parts like,

“I was a survivor. I knew that and clung to the belief. Not a victim as Justin had claimed, not a weak woman who had allowed people to use her.”

“The blood on my hands would never be washed off, its crimson color painting my nails, its heat forever warming my pale skin. And if given the option of turning back and walking away from what I knew was to come, I would shake my head and smile pretty as I stood amongst the violence and asked for it all over again.”

Lily did tell me there was a trigger warning and I said “ok I will take that as my warning” what a bloody idiot i am because I wasn’t prepared for the amazingness! I found it extremely hard to put down and didn’t till i finished!
This book was so freaking fantastic Thank you lily white 5 + stars from me!

I have never met a book by this author I did not love and The Five was no exception. Justin is a psychologist and victim’s advocate. He has just been assigned Rainey’s case. On the surface, Rainey would have you believe she is a simple and innocent young woman who has bad luck when it comes to men (any man who gets close to her seems to end up dead). She is a tempting package few can seem to resist and Justin soon finds himself falling prey to her allure as she weaves a complicated tale of a life filled with drugs, sex and manipulation. This story was filled with suspense, twists and intriguing characters that made it impossible to put down. Lily White is the Queen of Dark Reads and this is one of the best dark reads I have read in quite awhile. Highly recommended if you like your romances to be dark, complicated and take you down a winding and twisty path.

The tag of romantic suspense is very accurate when it came to this story. Right from the start we are throw-in into a story and my brain was working so fast trying to figure it out but this author gave very little away while the story progressed. Justin was a very smart man. I liked him and when I was in his head it just felt right. Like I was right there with him and every thing he was feeling.

Rainey was different. Through out the story I wasn’t sure what to think of her or her story. It was harsh, unyielding and just crazy. I was drawn into it though. It was strange but additive. I couldn’t quit even when I wanted to. It was on my mind when I had to be an adult, and the second I could I was back to devouring it.

I won’t go into too much about this story but I will say that it’s not going to be for everyone. It’s not the darkest I’ve ever read but it is so twisted that you need to just hold on. It was so detailed but in those details there was a lot going on. It is a story that’s going to stay with me and I was sad when it was over. Fittingly enough I have to give this story 5 stars. It was purely amazing and any lower would be a shame. I wish I could review it better, but it’s one of those books that really have to be experienced. 5 stars #2OCCJD

This story was unlike anything I’ve ever read before, but I was totally hooked on the suspense of the storyline I read it in one sitting! Rainey is such a complex character in how she knew right from wrong but continued to make the decisions she made in relation to her drug habit even though she maintained she could stop at any time. The story was so well written that I could really feel the range of emotions pouring off of the page as Rainey tells the story of her life over the past few years and what the actions and decisions she has made have caused in her life. This book was suspenseful, intriguing, and twisted, but I was dying to know what happened and in the end was completely shocked and did not expect how it ended. I’ll definitely be reading more from Lily White in the future.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Author Lily White brought it!

In her signature dark & twisted style of writing, she just blew me away with this story.

I did not see any of it coming…

I was floored.

I was stunned.

I was aroused.

I was hurt.

I was loving every word as I read.

I fell for the one person I should have not and knew it.

I wanted to believe everything Rainey said…

but there is always a but,

the quiet ones are always the ones that you least except to surprise you.

I had soo many theories on the outcome and not one of them was right because Author Lily White knows how to throw you off her scent on where she will take the story and that is what I like about reading her books.

Totally not predictable ever.

This book took me on an emotionally charged & mind blown ride that even after reading over a week ago, I am still thinking about soo many things that happened in this book.

Go grab it and be ready to have your secret little detective self and come out to play on who Rainey & Rowan really are.

A Top 2019 Must Read!

Loved it!
5 popped!

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”!

While in high school, Rainey Day moved to a derelict neighborhood. Though Rainey is a beauty, she doesn’t feel like she is smart and chooses to use her looks to get what she wants. While most of her choices are destructive, Rainey befriends the one person who values her, but she doesn’t want to hold him back. However, when Rainey loses what she holds most important, she must continue to as she’s always done.

Justin Redding is a psychologist assigned to interview the lone witness to multiple murders. Upon meeting Rainey, Justin wants to be her advocate, but the case turns out to be complicated. With limited time, Justin tries to obtain all the answers without getting too entangled.

Told in dual POV, the storyline begins in the present then alternates to the past weaving the details of Rainey’s life. While telling her experiences in vivid detail, it becomes immediately clear this isn’t a shiny story. As complex layers are revealed, it just adds to the tension of many unanswered questions.

Throughout reading The Five, I had a strong reaction to Rainey’s decisions, as she is a character than will incite a range of emotions. Additionally, other characters make a strong impression, as they all play a vital role in this cautionary tale. Truly, this story captivated me from the first page. With the author as an impressive puppet master, this twisted plot unfolds perfectly.

The Five is about survival and consequences and will appeal to those who enjoy a dark thriller.

Take a boy and a girl, add some sex, some drugs and oh let’s not forget some brutal killings and I’d say you have the perfect recipe for a great love story.

These characters are so beautifully broken both Rainy and Rowan, yet some how, their broken pieces fit just right. Rainy will break your heart, her stories were just gut wrenching. The retelling of her experiences will leave you breathless. Poor Rowan, just wanted to be loved. He needed just obe person to truly care for him.

This story is twisted, erotic, gruesome, and also romantic. There are some sex scences that were just beautiful and touching.

I find when I read Lily, I read it looking for clues waiting for that “AhHa” moment. I’m always reading while holding my breath.
Lily always gives me that “Man get out I never would of thought that” she has became my favourite mind f@$k writer!!!

Another 5 star read from Lily, she hit it like a pro out of the park! Hmmm……..like someone else…….