Customer Reviews

THE EXILED

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I couldn't wait to read the sequel to The Innocent. The Exile is even better than the first effort because it illustrates the struggles of a woman trying to make it in a man's world. This Medieval story picks up where The Innocent left off. Anne de Bohun flees to Belgium and tries to make ends meet and is able to find some success as a merchant. However, the local merchants don't want to compete with the likes of her. Meaning that she is a woman and the businessmen don't want her establishment to flourish. So they will use whatever machinations they have at their disposal, and they find the perfect way to blackmail her: her child. Her son is the loving result of an intense affair with King Edward IV. King Edward isn't aware of his offspring's existence and Anne would like to keep it that way. To make matters worse, someone wants her dead. There are more twists throughout the novel.

For those who had complained about The Innocent reading like a romance novel, this one has very little romance in it. The story concentrates more on Anne's conflicts and struggles to get ahead. The most fascinating part of this novel is the backdrop of the merchant world in 15th Century Belgium. This part of the novel seems very well researched and I enjoyed the backdrop of a country that has been quite obscure to me. Anne's inner conflicts are quite remarkable as well. She is a great character -- a fighter to the end. Her love for King Edward is as strong as ever and she doesn't know if she'll ever see him again. I'd like more development in that area and I hope to see more of them in future novels. The language of the novel is rich and lyrical. Posie Graeme-Evans is an awesome author. I enjoyed The Exile very much and I look forward to another offering of what I hope will be an outstanding series.

I hadn't read the first novel in the series before I read this one, and didn't feel that it was necessary to do so in order to appreciate this book. It was an intriguing read, with a surprising ammount of suspense and mystery. I enjoyed the flavor of the novel, and felt that Graeme-Evans wrote a period piece quite well.

A decent balance of good writing, mixed with a bit of romance and adventure made for a quick read, although I felt that the ending was a bit abrupt. I suppose that this is because she is going to write another book in this series to finish off the story, so perhaps this is a means to keep her readers wondering what happens next. Regardless, the book was quite good, and I would reccommend it to any of my female friends - it is a bit too romantic for it to appeal to both genders, I think.

The first book in this series, The Innocent, sent me straight to the store to buy the second book, The Exiled, before I had even finished the first book. I could not wait to see what happened to the main characters. I await the final installment of this wonderful historical fiction series. Yeah!

While I really enjoyed the first book in this series, The Innocent, I found The Exiled to be a tedious read. Graeme-Evans was smart to distance herself from the stigma placed upon critics as writing thinly disguised "bodice rippers" by focusing on Anne's life in Brussels and her involvement in trade, but I found the entire book to be a series of too convenient coincidences to find any joy or enjoyment in Anne's triumphs. Of course Anne bowls every man over with her beauty. Of course she is able to bewitch the Duke of Burgundy. Of course she's able to dodge death. Of course Edward's love for Anne burns hotter than ever. And so on and so on until Anne's true nature was revealed: the author created a Mary Sue. Combining that annoying character trait with the oft-times awkward prose and proclivity for glossing over the important stuff(like the actual day to day duties of a burgher in the 13th century), I was vastly disappointed in this book. Perhaps out of habit I shall pick up the third book.

this book is not as good as the first but i still enjoyed reading it and it definately improved after part one ... i will most definitely purchase the final book in the trilogy when it is published

For those reviewers whose complaint about the first book in this series ("The Innocent") was that it was too much "Like a romance novel" - you'll like this one better. I found both books well-written and moreover, they present an intricate and extremely entertaining view of court life and intrigue.

As an avid reader of British historical fiction, I've read good and bad within this genre over the last 30 years. This book and it's predecessor are among the best that I have encountered. "The Exiled" surpases "The Innocent" as a page-turner. The author's attention to historical detail is fascinating and her characters are interesting and well thought out. Anne and Edward have the ultimate connection. If only we could all find someone like that!

In the latter half of the fifteenth century in Brugge, Belgium, Anne de Bohun remembers what it is like to be a servant, but now enjoys the economic freedom of being ward to wealthy English merchant Sir Matthew Cuttifer. Knowing she probably can never go home though she misses her lover, Matthew's household makes it easier to raise her infant son Edward without his father, King Edward IV who cannot acknowledge his offspring.

Actually Anne is more of an apprentice than a ward as she learns the merchant business. She begins to successfully buy and sell including the trading of paintings, but also gains the wrath of her all male rivals who resent competition with a woman. Her enemies multiply in number and in intensity seeking anything to put her back in her place. She knows that if they learn the secret of her child's blue blood, death would stalk them.

This sequel continues the story of Anne started in the entertaining THE INNOCENT. The story line provides a captivating perspective to the merchant world of 1560s Belgium where the heroine's male adversaries see her as an abomination that must be thwarted. Anne is a fabulous protagonist who serves as the focus of the tale almost reading like a work of biographical fiction. Posie Graeme-Evans writes a terrific medieval historical that will have her audience clamoring for the final novel in this stupendous saga.

Harriet Klausner

I really enjoyed first book in this series, The Innocent, and couldn't wait to read The Exhiled, particularly since the first book ended so abruptly with many questions left unanswered. This novel left me feeling equally as frustrated at the end, but unfortunatley, I no longer care about what happens in the final installment.

The author has such a talent for storytelling, plot-weaving and creating truly life-like characters. She is profoundly adept at bringing the reader into the world/setting of her novels and enabling the reader to identify with the characters and feel for them emotionally.

I actually really enjoyed the first two hundred pages or so of this second installment and couldn't put it down. However, at some point around the last hundred pages or so the plot just got too contrived and almost silly. For me, the story lost its believability at this point and never regained my interest, since it ended (just as the first book did) too abruptly and with too many questions left unanswered.

The author is clearly trying to keep the reader interested for the third installment, but its too late for this reader.

The Exiled, the second in the Anne trilogy, picks up after Anne's moved to Burgandy in voluntary exile from King Edward. She uses her cunning to begin trading as a merchant to the disgust of her neighbours however trouble soon ensues when she is almost murdered. Rumours begin that Queen Elisabeth, contaminated by jealousy is trying to orchestrate Anne's killing.

This novel probably wasn't as strong plot-wise as the first. I found there was a lot of filling in time with an overuse of witchcraft elements and too much head-jumping. The reader is constantly propelled into various secondary characters' points of view and left feeling a little befuddled. All this head-jumping and psychic visions also strips the plot of its mystery. After all, why read a book if you and the main character know what's going to happen every step of the way?

For me, the other major issue was the characterisation of the protagonist, Anne. She just seems to have no flaws. She is beautiful, determined, intelligent, well-educated, strong, invincible and psychic. It's all a little too much. I really wanted to see some more realistic human traits in her. It's not acceptable to constantly use the 'beauty as a curse' plot line.

The most frustrating aspect of all of this is that Posie Graeme-Evans has a wonderful way with words. Her phrases and descriptions are unique and quite beautiful. It is rare to come across an author these days that are as eloquent without alienating the reader. She really could have written a fantastic book. With a little more planning and better direction from her editor, these could have been amazing. She certainly has the talent for it.

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