Power of Five by Alex Lidell

Series: Power of Five

Release Date: May 4, 2018

Format: Kindle

Rating: 4/5 stars

High fantasy books with strong world-building, dynamic characters, and an intense romance are my favourites. Power of Five revolves around a mortal named Lera, who becomes the fifth in this magical bond that links fae soldiers. Interestingly enough, while Lidell employs the cliché of a special snowflake for a heroine, she does it in a way that introduces tension into the group, essentially making them question their beliefs, their team structure, and destiny. While Lera is a special snowflake for being the only mortal to be called to join a quint fae bond, her “specialness” is limited by her mortal vulnerability and her ignorance of fae culture.

I really enjoyed reading Power of Five from multiple perspectives, as it allowed me to become familiar with the distinct differences between each of the heroes. Lidell did a fantastic job of making each love interest completely unique while not making them parodically complete opposites. Lidell did employ the cliché of group hierarchy, but it worked because the group is a soldier quint (which is hierarchal). However, the natural authority was not as apparent until the story started to develop, and Lera began to notice the subtle hierarchy amongst the guys.

A dominant theme in Power of Five is the lack of belonging people can feel in their lives. Lidell addresses this frankly, with no romanticization. Lera has always been separated by people in her life and made to feel lesser due to her servant status. This feeling is exasperated by her lack of magical abilities and general lack of athleticism compared to the fae in her quint. Even in her new life, she feels inferior. While everyone has their strengths, it’s obviously relative, especially when you join an immortal quint of fae soldiers. Essentially, Lera becomes a liability, but her friendship with Coal specifically – who also has a difficult past – kind of puts it in perspective.

Now, while I really did enjoy Coal’s POV – he was probably my favourite love interest – his interactions with her could get a bit unrealistic … like her falling off the horse every time she attempted horseriding lessons (I don’t know how that’s even possible). So, there’s a certain amount of ‘grain of salt’ needed with each respective love interest since although they are amazing, they also view Lera as a liability and not as a strong, capable woman in her own right.

That being said, I will continue with the series and am looking forward to the sequel. I just hope that Lera gets a bit more kickass – even if it’s in her own way.

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