The characters in this book are not really all that likeable but I felt entirely drawn to them because of their dynamic, you can tell there are some tensions from the start of the story but it gets worse as the events of the night unfold and there are some clear divides in the group, which makes for some intense reading. I feel like I maybe was left with some questions about things that had been included in the story but didn’t seem to have an explanation but that didn’t have a massive impact on my overall enjoyment.

It made for some pretty shocking revelations as the puzzle pieces started to fit together and I could not have predicted how it ended. I won’t say too much about the plot but whilst some things felt obvious, I realised that I had no idea who was behind the danger they were in and what secret they were looking for. The tension was wonderful all of these elements come together to create a chaotic maelstrom of an atmosphere, as the characters slowly start to unravel and become their worst selves. The book is broken up into sections by the hour and it really adds to the fast-paced nature of the story, as everything happens in eight hours of one evening. I just loved the set-up of this, six friends shut in a small space, and a desperate need to find the secret that is the key to their survival, it made for some thrilling edge-of-my-seat reading. Five Survive was a little slower to kick in than I expected and whilst Red was a fascinating character she wasn’t the easiest to navigate the start of the story with, thankfully it didn’t take too long before I was completely hooked by what was happening. I was very excited to pick up this book because I was curious to see what the author would come up with after a very successful series of books, and because, of the ones I have read so far I have really enjoyed what she has written.

Five survive book cover