BOOK REVIEW: Out of Darkness by Erynn Newman

Bride and a widow in the same day, Elisabeth’s prayers are about to be answered . . . if the CIA, international arms dealers, and her best friend don’t stand in the way.

Elisabeth Allen gave her heart to Jesus as a little girl and to Drew Marek as a teenager. When their wedding day finally arrives, it’s the happiest day of her life—until a bomb transforms her dream come true into a living nightmare.

As Best Man at the wedding, Gabriel Di Salvo promises Drew—his best friend and CIA partner—he’ll look after Elisabeth, but he never dreams it will become necessary so soon. As Elisabeth struggles to put the pieces of her life back together without Drew, Gabe becomes her rock, and as they share their grief and begin to heal, their friendship gradually deepens into something more.

Three years later, Gabe and Elisabeth are planning a future together when he receives a shocking call from the one man who can upend his happiness: Drew. Suspecting someone at the CIA is behind his abduction, Drew refuses to come home. Instead, he asks Gabe to bring Elisabeth to him. Now Gabe just has to figure out how to let her go.

Drew and Elisabeth race across Europe, dodging international arms dealers and attempting to reclaim what was stolen from them. But years of captivity and torture have left their mark on Drew. He is no longer the same boy Elisabeth fell in love with, but he is still Elisabeth’s husband, and she is determined to build something new and not allow her relationship with Gabe to come between them.

When their enemies close in and the threat of a terrorist attack escalates, Gabe may be the only person they can trust. Drew, Elisabeth, and Gabe are thrown into a fight for their lives—one that will test their loyalties to God, country . . . and each other. 

Having read the prequel novella I was ready to jump in to this thinking I knew all the characters and had a good grasp on what was going to happen based on the synopsis.  I was wrong.  I mean, don't get me wrong I was partly right but also oh so very wrong.  The characters are all there, plus a few, but there is so much more depth than I imagined.  I did have a great grasp at the plot and even was convinced that at 48% I had it all figured out.  I was wrong.  So very very wrong.  Erynn Newman captures the entire moment of bride to widow, groom to victim, hubby's friend to boyfriend, and oh gravy he's alive.  Yeah.  All those things are huge emotional roller coasters and she owned it. 

There's just a couple things I need to throw in the middle here, you know where I talk about the things that didn't work for me.  I'll start with a word used to refer to a small child early in the book that some might find offensive.  I still here it a lot in the neck of the woods that I live in but that doesn't make it OK.  I understand the character that used it but that still doesn't make it kosher.  It was foul or vulgar or even overtly offensive but it was there and probably most readers won't even realize it.  I'm sorta surprised I did.  Moving on to the love triangle.  I'm not a huge fan of those.  They are hard to pull off successfully, they can be done but it's rare to find a good one.  This story walked the tightrope wobbling to each side.  It didn't work really well but it also didn't fall on it's face.  

I embraced these characters into my life.  I felt their heartaches, terror and triumphs.  I felt the love and confusion.  I have to say that it seemed like it wasn't the traumatic thing I would anticipate to see someone back from the dead, but I've never been there so... I really liked this book.  I mean, come on I never saw the mastermind coming. I thought I did, remember 48%, but it was all a lie.  I didn't fall in love with the love triangle but I did fall in love with the characters.  I also didn't love the neat little red ribbon tied in a bow package of an ending.  It was too neat leaving no stone unturned.  I'd still highly recommend this book to anyone who likes action suspense with a strong faith theme.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by CelebrateLit.  I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.  I was not required to write a positive review.
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About Erynn Newman

Erynn Newman is a pastor’s kid, raised in churches all over the Eastern Seaboard. As a little girl, she created rich fantasy worlds and imaginary friends that followed her into adulthood, when she realized that meant she was either a crazy person or a writer—or maybe both.
Though she has never worked with the CIA, her DVR contains a veritable Who’s Who of international spies.
She lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with her best friend (who is also her husband), a very busy little boy who calls her Mommy, two cats, and a ceaseless parade of characters who are all waiting for their turn to have their stories told.
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