Review: Survivor

Survivor by Hayley Oakes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Survivor is my second Hayley Oakes read and the second Richmore book. Having read and thoroughly enjoyed Condemned, I was super excited to jump into this one. I wanted more of the Devereux family and I was not disappointed by what I was given.

Survivor is a different kind of read to Condemned. Both are emotional heavy books, yet this one didn’t feel quite as intense as Condemned. Condemned pulled us into the darkness from the very start, we were constantly given glimpses of what was hidden below the surface, whereas Survivor slowly unwraps layer by layer. We’re given a wonderfully sweet story with a darkness hidden below the surface. The sweeter the story gets the closer to the surface the darkness rises. You hope the darkness never reaches the open air, and yet it slowly seeps through. Rather than being engulfed, as you are in Condemned, this one slowly seeps into you. It makes for a very different vibe, but it’s just as powerful.

It’s not just the way the story unfolds that results in a very different vibe, but the relationship between the characters is vastly different. The personalities of our characters in this book couldn’t be any more different to the personalities of the characters in the prior book, giving us a refreshingly different kind of tale. Although vastly different, they’re just as wonderful. In fact, I think I fell in love with them more. It is hard to say considering how I feel in love with the two sets of characters for vastly different reasons, but I think I may prefer this couple.

Moreover, we get to visit our favourite characters from the prior book. Although they’re not a central part of the story, we do get to spend some time with them, and it is wonderful. Survivor works perfectly fine as a standalone novel; however, if you’ve read Condemned this book allows for a beautiful insight into what the future held for the characters. It’s always wonderful when you get to see the ‘what happens next’ and this book does so without the glimpses of our Condemned characters overshadowing the drama of the Survivor characters.

Honestly, this was another beautiful read. It deals with sensitive topics with such great care, creating a deeply emotional read that leaves you addicted throughout. Condemned already had me believing I needed to pick up more Haley Oakes books, and Survivor has merely reinforced the notion. Without a doubt, Hayley Oakes is an author I need to read more of.

I cannot wait to see what comes next.

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