Title: Power of Five (Book 1)Publication Date: May 4, 2018
Edition: Paperback, ebook; 312 pages
Publisher: Danger Bearing Press
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Buy: Amazon - Barnes &
Noble - The Book Depository
Tour Schedule
Week One:
1/4/2019 - Under the Book Cover - Review - Power of Five
1/4/2019 - Writer of Wrongs - Excerpt - Power of Five
Week Two:
1/7/2019 - Loie Dunn - Review -Power
of Five
1/7/2019 - Texan
Holly Reads - Excerpt - Power of Five
1/8/2019 - BookHounds - Excerpt -
Power of Five
1/8/2019 - Two
Chicks on Books - Excerpt - Power of Five
1/9/2019 - Good
Choice Reading - Excerpt -Power of Five
1/9/2019 - Adventures
Thru Wonderland - Excerpt - Lera of Lunos
1/10/2019 - A Gingerly Review - Review -Power of Five
1/11/2019 - Burgandy Ice - Excerpt -
Lera of Lunos
Week Three:
1/14/2019 - Smada's Book Smack - Review -
Complete Series
1/14/2019 - Books a Plenty Book Reviews - Review-
Complete Series
1/15/2019 - Reese's
Reviews - Review - Complete Series
1/15/2019 - Parajunkee - Excerpt -
Lera of Lunos
1/16/2019 - Book-Keeping- Review -
Complete Series
1/16/2019 - Jaime's
World- Excerpt - Lera of Lunos
1/17/2019 - Bookbriefs - Review -
Complete Series
1/17/2019 - Abooktropolis - Review -
Power of Five or Complete Series
1/18/2019 - Love
in a time of Feminism - Review - Complete Series
1/18/2019 - Eli to the nth - Review - Power of Five
1/18/2019 - Eli to the nth - Review - Power of Five
The Summary
Four elite fae warriors. One mortal female. A magical bond they can’t allow—or resist.
Orphaned and sold to a harsh master, Lera’s life is about mucking stalls, avoiding her master’s advances, and steering clear of the mystical forest separating the mortal and fae worlds. Only fools venture into the immortal realms, and only dark rumors come out... Until four powerful fae warriors appear at Lera’s barn.
River, Coal, Tye, and Shade have waited a decade for their new fifth to be chosen, the wounds from their quint brother’s loss still raw. But the magic has played a cruel trick, bonding the four immortal warriors to... a female. A mortal female.
Distractingly beautiful and dangerously frail, Lera can only be one thing—a mistake. Yet as the males bring Lera back to the fae lands to sever the bond, they discover that she holds more power over their souls than is safe for anyone... especially for Lera herself.
Power of Five is a full-length reverse-harem fantasy novel.
My Review
Power of Five is the first book in a reverse-harem series by author Alex Lidell. She has written Young Adult fiction, her most notable is The Cadet of Tildor, but now she is applying her same great writing to adult fiction. While I have never read a reverse-harem book (unless you count the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton as reverse-harem, cause boy there's a lot of men for one lady in those books), I knew what to expect: hot men playing in to specific stereotypes and the strong woman that connects all of them. And while that premise is there in the heart of the book, it was still super enjoyable.
Lidell writes great characters, and the characters are what really kept me interested. Especially Lera, the main protagonist. Lera is a peasant, indentured to serve her master until she dies. But even during these circumstances, she does not let it dampen her spirit. She is strong-willed, and it shows in her surviving a less than appealing life. Even when she is united with the other members of her "quint", she doesn't allow them to walk all over her. She's a little bit of a "cliché", as she is petite in stature, and is gorgeous with fiery red hair (to reflect her fiery spirit...eh?), but for the type of book this was, it was expected. However, Lidell does allow Lera to break the mold just enough to keep her interesting.
Now, let's talk about these men. All elite fae warriors, all gorgeous, and all trying to resist (or not resist, as the case may be) the pull they feel to Lera. While there is a man to play each "stereotype" (the serious one, the playful one, the broken one, and the protective one), just as with Lera, they weren't completely pigeonholed into those roles. And they are definitely the stuff of dreams. I fell in love with them all, but I especially love Shade. He's a shapeshifter, and the protective one of Lera. I love when that side of a man comes out in romances. But each of the men offer something to love, and something that intrigues Lera. Reverse-harem activate!
Finally, the plot was really interesting in this. The fae have groups called "quints", made up of five fae warriors, which allow them to gather their power together and focus it. This makes the fae very powerful, and they are needed to fight the dark creatures that are constantly trying to invade the fae world. But the "quint" in the book is missing a member, so they need to find their new fifth to complete the group. But their as led them to Lera, who is not only a woman, but a mortal woman. This has never happened, and should never happen. Queue the drama! Lidell does create an intricate fantasy world, which is typically lacking in reverse-harem novels. I was expecting just sex, but we actually got substance! Don't get me wrong, there is sex, but it makes sense within the plot, and isn't there gratuitously. Now, maybe in the later novels it'll be more explicit, but I was happy to be able to have my cake and eat it too, if you will.
Overall, if you love fantasy, and are looking to dive into the reverse-harem genre, this is definitely your book! A strong female lead, hot leading men, and a fantasy plot that will keep you interested, Power of Five by Alex Lidell is a must-read, and I can't wait to get my hands on the other three books! Luckily, neither you nor I will have to wait to see what happens to Lera and her men, as the last novel in the series, Lera of Lunos, came out earlier this month. So go ahead, and jump on the binge read wagon!!
Final Rating
Excerpt
“I’m not lying,” I say, my body already bracing for the coming blows. “Zake—” I clamp my mouth shut as the belt whistles through the air. There is no stopping this now, and little reason to waste breath that I’ll need shortly.
A furious growl rips through the air. Just when my back is supposed to explode in flame, a dark shape hurtles out of nowhere. Before I can blink, Zake is in the dirt, a large wolf prowling over him. The wolf’s lips pull back, revealing wet canines that glitter in the sun, its thick gray pelt and black muzzle bringing me straight back to last night’s dream.
I gasp, stepping away—and knock right into a wall of muscle and maleness. Tye, the smiling red-haired fae male, is no longer amused. The green-eyed stare he gives Zake is filled with the promise of violence. Not that there will be much of Zake left if the wolf has his way.
“What’s going on back here?” says a quiet voice. A new fae male strides out of the stable, this one dressed in warrior black and sporting a glare that says he’s one breath away from razing the whole estate to the ground. If Tye is an overgrown adolescent, the newcomer is a deadly killer, with long blond hair tied up in a bun, a chiseled jaw, and piercing blue eyes that seem to strip me and find me wanting in one glance. The wicked-looking blades strapped to his waist and back complete the effect.
“Just a wee misunderstanding,” says Tye. “I have it handled.”
The warrior snorts. “That’d be a first.”
Tye sighs in a long-suffering way. “Lera, this is Coal. Try to ignore him the best you can.”
Coal crosses his arms, his eyes finishing their examination of the soon-to-be-dead Zake and the salivating wolf before coming to a stop on my face.
As with Tye, a ripple of recognition races through me, though I’m certain I’ve never seen this male before. My instincts scream at me to run, even as the male’s eyes draw me toward him, the corded muscles of his forearms and shoulders making my breath quicken.
“Time to go, lass,” Tye murmurs into the back of my neck. A command. An invitation. A challenge.
Murderous fae. Mystwood. Broken bones.
My heart pounds, even as my body feels the rightness of Tye’s words and aches to accept them. I swallow, feeling as though the male has claimed me already. And not just him. Five, my soul seems to whisper.
Five what?
Five. There should be five. Has to be five.
About the Author
Alex Lidell is the Amazon Breakout Novel Awards finalist author of The Cadet of Tildor (Penguin, 2013). She is an avid horseback rider, a (bad) hockey player, and an ice-cream addict. Born in Russia, Alex learned English in elementary school, where a thoughtful librarian placed a copy of Tamora Pierce’s Alanna in Alex’s hands. In addition to becoming the first English book Alex read for fun, Alanna started Alex’s life long love for YA fantasy books. Alex is represented by Leigh Feldman of Leigh Feldman Literary. She lives in Washington, DC.
Giveaway
- 1 winner will win a $10 Amazon Gift Card (Intl.)
- 1 winner will receive a POWER OF FIVE Journal (U.S.)
- 1 winner will receive the complete POWER OF FIVE series in eBooks (Intl.)
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