Out of Darkness by Erynn Newman {Review}

Out of Darkness by Erynn Newman

Paperback, 406 pages

Published May 3rd 2017



A 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.

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My Review: 4 Stars

The story starts off with Drew and Elisabeth's wedding and is so romantic, but quickly turns to horror when Drew is killed in an explosion before they can even leave for their honeymoon. After three years, she moves on and is ready to start a future with Drew's best friend, Gabe, until she gets some shocking news--Drew is really still alive. My heart literally broke in two over the thought of how this affected all three of them.

My personal opinion is that the religious elements are a little too much for this type of story. Yes, it's important to receive that divine help in instances like this, but those long self-reflection/praying times only slowed the pacing down.

Full of mind-boggling twists and turns and intense suspense, this book takes the reader on quite an emotional ride. I loved the danger and excitement, but found that some of the shifts in time were choppy. The characters are great and the emotions they experience are tangible and run the gamut, which is exhausting, in a good way of course. 

Overall, I did enjoy this story, but wished for a little more consistency.

Content: mild+ romance (fade-to-black, kissing, innuendo); heavy religious elements; moderate violence (shootings, death, attacks, etc).

*I received a copy which did not influence my opinion. My thoughts are my own.*

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