{Review} of Five by Christie Rich

Five by Christie Rich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

GENRE: Fantasy Romance
THEME: Paranormal/Magic/Fae
RECEIVED: Blog Tour
AUTHORS BLOG:  Christie Rich's Site

BLURB:

Rayla Tate’s life is about to turn vertical…again. As if it wasn’t bad enough her mother disappeared under questionable circumstances leaving Rayla to be raised by her aunt in a horrendously small town. Her overprotective guardian is determined to ruin Rayla’s life. She refuses to let Rayla out of her sight or out of the state. Provincial living might be what her aunt demands of her purposely sheltered niece; but, Rayla has other ideas. In a desperate attempt to follow her dreams she flees the safety of her home and runs away to college with her best friend toward a bright future in the art world. 

However, excitement over her newfound freedom turns into terror when she is chased by a mysterious stranger on her way to school. When his motorcycle suddenly morphs into a fire-breathing pegasus, Rayla questions her sanity. Worse, the man riding next to her stirs a burning desire in her soul she has never known or could have ever imagined. Using all the will she owns, she manages to resist the compulsion she feels; yet, as he disappears into the night, she is certain he hasn't gone far.

Rayla quickly dismisses the encounter to her overactive imagination. She is determined to settle into her new life, yet the images and feelings of that night still haunt her. To make matters worse, her aunt seems to be in on the act, insisting that Rayla will soon be hunted by a pack of fae lords for a power over the elements she never knew she possessed—a power that could change the world. Quicker than she ever thought possible, she finds herself surrounded by stunning men that all seem determined to win her heart. Why does she feel drawn to each one of them? More importantly, what dark power do they hold over her? Rayla must quickly learn to fend off these beautiful and seductive pursuers using whatever means necessary or find herself lost to the fae world forever.

REVIEW:
From beginning to end I was on the edge of my seat not knowing what surprises were going to pop out next. Christie Rich created an exciting world with an interesting take on Fae. I enjoyed the suspense, romance and a plot that kept me hooked.

Five follows Rayla, a young girl who just feels trapped on her aunt’s farm. She never lets Rayla do anything or go anywhere and now that she finally should be starting college far away. But her Aunt Grace wants her to stay close to home, but Rayla already has an escape plan to the college she and her best friend want to go to. Little did Rayla know was that once she left the safety of her small town that fae would know of her existence and that she is not your average girl.

Rayla is a girl who wants to be free; she has always felt trapped by her aunt after her mother disappeared. Once she discovers that her aunt has been protecting her from the fae, she starts to unfold the world she never knew about. Most of the story is following Rayla as she tries to find out what her aunt has kept from her. I thought it was hilarious how all the fae men aka fae lords were practically begging her to choose them and even though they were cute she pretty much denied them all. She did have the help of the one guy who seemed to understand her the most, Zach and I couldn’t get enough of their connection. Her best friend Cassie was having a hard time adjusting to school and that she didn’t want to admit that something strange was going on that both of them could see.

Cassie, Rayla’s best friend had been keeping a big secret for a while. She has seen fae before, but thought she was crazy. I liked how Rayla was trying to help Cassie understand that what she saw and is seeing again was real and that she was going to help her. Cassie is pretty stubborn and not letting Rayla figure out what’s going on. She frustrated me the most with either complaining, being jealous, or just plain making bad decisions. But in the end her character development grows and I liked her a bit more.

Zach, I loved this guy and I enjoyed how I couldn’t quite figure out how much he knew about what was going on. I had an idea through out, but I liked how Rich pulled together his character. He was super sweet and protective when it came to Rayla and their relationship was real and developed like a normal one. One of my favorite parts is his bike, which isn’t a normal bike, its introduced at the beginning of the book and the part that hooked me into the story.

Overall I thought this story was just a blast and had so many great and colorful characters. Each fae lord was different and had their own reason for perusing Rayla. There is romance and a love triangle, which I’m not a fan of because I’m a Zach fan. The unique fae background that Rich created was exciting and shocking once you get towards the ending of the story. I will definitely be continuing this series.

RECOMMENDATION:
This novel is a mix of adult and young adult, fans of Amaranth by Rachel Wade and the Dirty Blood series by Heather Hildenbrand will want to get their hands on Five by Christie Rich.

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