Out of the Blue: A Dark Sapphic Romantic Thriller by Marisa Billions
This review first appeared on Reader Views. Read the Reader Views version here.
Sophia was married to Eli. Together, they ran a successful spiritual organization—although some would call it a cult. But then Sophia met Morgan, and things began to change. Sophia and Morgan fell deeply for one another, and this was the beginning of the end for Sophia and Eli’s marriage. Even after Morgan leaves their lives, Sophia and Eli’s relationship deteriorates even further until Sophia is able to leave, bringing down their spiritual empire.
After the divorce, Sophia moves out of state to a small town in Washington and starts anew, but also reconnects with Morgan, who is marrying a strong woman named Emma. In the small town, Sophia meets the gorgeous and immensely understanding Frankie. Yet as their relationship blossoms, women begin to turn up dead. Sophia is convinced that Eli is behind it all, but while some of her newfound community want to believe her, no one truly does. Except Morgan. Law enforcement even begins to think Frankie is behind it all. With her newly discovered strength and freshly established community, can Sophia save Frankie and put Eli behind bars (where he belongs)?
Marisa Billions has crafted an immensely well-paced thriller. Interspersing excerpts from Sophia’s diary allows readers to not only gain more understanding of Sophia through her personal thoughts, but also helps readers take a breath when they need to. Out of the Blue is well-plotted, making it easy to follow, and it made me eager to do so. While there are many dark moments in this book—and there should be a warning for discussions of sexual assault—they are carefully done and well-balanced with moments of levity that range from joyous triumphs to steamy scenes.
It is also impressive that even though every character has their flaws (which range from jealousy to a violent past), there is room for them to grow and surprise the readers. I appreciated this as a reader, because often characters are painted with an all good or bad broad stroke, which can make them more difficult to sympathize with. Additionally, black and white portrayals of characters make it difficult for a book to realistically surprise me. Yet, Billions accomplishes this deftly. I don’t want to give the twists away, but they are there and well-executed.
Marisa Billions’ Out of the Blue is part of a larger literary world, The Blue Series, yet as a new reader to this series, I was not lost. Yes, there may have been moments that I would have appreciated more had I read the previous books in the series, but I did not feel confused when they arose. In fact, I felt curious to learn more and thus read more—a great feeling.
Billions has written a well-paced and well-balanced sapphic thriller that is sure to engage readers while sparking their curiosity.
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