Five: Out of The Dark

This book was given to me from the publisher and Netgalley for my honest review.

Okay so another book about teens with supernatural powers seem to be every where now, I chose this one for the cover and I am glad I did. This book was so good for several reasons. I loved the way this book does not just use one type of supernatural creature but several different creatures. I also enjoyed the twist on the werewolf story and how the author makes him a sympathetic character.

Fast paced and action packed this book has it all. I liked everything about it. All five teens were realistic and well written. Each with a unique personality and engaging. You cared for all of them. Holli Anderson creates a world and characters I want to continue to read about and learn more about. I will continue with this series and I look forward to the next book.

Five- Out of the Dark by Holli Anderson Print Length: 267 pages Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press (August 20, 2013)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English ASIN: B00EII0VTA

My Review~~~
I received this book in exchange for a honest review.
First of this cover is awesome! I instantly had cover love for this ominous cover with the teens on the book. It has the dystopian feel to the cover, but once you get to reading it you discover there is more to it than that. How about we throw in some paranormal on top of the dysptopian!?? With that mix you can easily see how this will be a great thrilling read. I will have to say this is one of the best unique reads that I have read lately. The characters, world, and plot were great! I really love it and the uniqueness that the author has done with this world and with the story in general. Great Writing with a fast paced riveting read that you will be saying hurry up need the next book in this engaging series. I will warn you full of twists and turns and surprises around every corner! Are you up for it??

Amazon Book Description~~
Five teenagers who’ve recently discovered they have magical powers and are living in the Seattle underground feel it’s their responsibility to protect unsuspecting humans from otherworldly foes.

Things are going well until Johnathan, their unofficial leader and the boy sixteen year old Paige is in love with, is bitten by a changeling – the venomous saliva causing him to metamorphose into a ravening beast with each full moon.

Paige vows that, no matter the cost, she will find a way to cure Johnathan of the evil that has embedded itself in his soul. But Johnathan’s monthly transformation and daily personality roller coaster aren’t the only problems they have to deal with.

The Five are also gearing up to face their toughest and most dangerous enemy yet—a powerful and ruthless Warlock who will go to any means, including high school, to build his Dark Army.

Five teenagers discover that they have magical powers and the ability to fight the evil in the world that nobody else sees or wants to see. While training, battling and living together in Seattle's underground they are tested by both demons and themselves.

This was a very good entertaining book that left me wanting more when it was finished and I will be waiting for the next book. I liked the twist that was done on the demons that roamed the earth and I liked that these five teenagers came together for a common purpose and discarded their past to move on in the future. However, towards the end it seemed very rushed and while it still ended well I felt the part right before the end was done too quickly and could have been fleshed out a little more. Overall a very good fantasy with a twist story for teens.

This story is about 5 teenagers in Seattle who find themselves with magical powers. They're living in the underground on the run from their families who don't get their new powers.I thought this was overall, a good book. I liked some of the world building and the coven aspect of the book. The teens banding together to create their own chosen family was the best part of the book.I didn't like some parts of the book just "falling" into place. Especially the beginning seemed very convenient. Holli stumbling onto the first member of the coven happened very quickly and just seemed to be a way too lucky setup. There were a few other instances where this happened too.Other than the way too convenient setups I enjoyed the book.

TITLE:  Five: Out of The Dark (Book #1)
SERIES: Five (Book #1)
AUTHOR: Holli Anderson GENRE/AUDIENCE: YA Paranormal PUBLISHER: Curiosity Quills Press PUB DATE: Aug 20 2013

REVIEW: Somehow, they find each other. Teens who have left their normal life behind. Each can make a light out of energy, and it is their signal to know each other. An intuition has them looking for a medium, one-by-one until they find probably the only true medium in Seattle, who has foreseen her role in giving a book for them. From that book, they learn and train their abilities to fight the things in the night, the many forms of evil that are loosed on the Earth.

END: Awesome ending is many forms of new beginning and leaves the reader ready for more! TAGS: magic, teens, special powers, paranormal, demons, fae, FairFolk, Warlocks, love

PERMALINK: http://martysreads.blogspot.com/2013/09/five-out-of-dark.html

GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/715744406

                                   ABOUT THIS REVIEWER: I am a book lover and aspiring librarian. My passion is in reader's advisory --finding the right book for a reader to read next! This means I read very widely. My Blog on Blogger had over 700 hits in July, 875 hits in August. http://martysreads.blogspot.com/ Share the word!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

This book was a really great read!  It was filled with oodles of YA romance, paranormal action, and a developing story that had me wishing to immediately dive into the next book.  Sadly, I’ll have to wait until it gets written first.  The story ramps up rather quickly, beginning with Paige (our star and heroine).  As the daughter of a preacher, she is almost immediately thrown from her home after she starts developing “powers.”  On her own, she ends up running into another gifted teen, Johnathan.  Watching them develop as an awesome magical duo was great and had me really rooting for them by the time they found their other three companions. 

 

Once the five assemble, they rapidly start to develop as a mystical fighting posse.  Unfortunately, Johnathan ends up becoming the victim of a fae attack that leaves him a changed man.  Paige struggles to balance her own morality with what she deems necessary to cure John.  It was heartbreaking to watch Paige and John’s new relationship struggle during his “infection”, but was ultimately worth it in the end.  Speaking of endings, this book really threw me for a loop.  I actually finished it last night, but couldn’t get myself to write a review until the morning.  I had to push away the anger I had at the dark cloud on my HEA ending and look at the big picture.  The ending was necessary in order to drive the story.  It wasn’t what my inner romantic wanted to happen, but still made the book a really great read, in a grittier sort of way.

 

The group dynamic was probably one of the most entertaining parts of the bookend made for a really enjoyable read.  While this book is YA paranormal, it had a few darker elements that geared it more towards an adult reader like me.  This first book was a truly great setup for many books to come.    

Cleanly written and easy to read and enjoy. A few too good to be true instances but nothing too distracting. Just the right amount of backstory and building up for the intended audience. The plot picks up quickly and moves along at just the right pace to keep even easily distracted readers turning pages. Nicely detailed encounters and well handled magical elements. Each character feels thought out and layered. I enjoyed the manner in which they developed and worked together towards a common goal.