Customer Reviews

The Exiles (Zebra Historical Romance)

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

 

 

It could be just me, but it seemed that book was jumping back and forth between different people so quickly and briefly, that I just plain got annoyed. One conversation/senerio would take place for about a 1 1/2 pages, then it would move on to something else for a while, then back to the main characters, then on to someone else who had been in the book previously, but in such an immemerable way that I couldn't remember who it was, then some more new people (or where they???) then back to the main characters.... This constant jumping back and forth made it difficult for me to keep track of the secondary character.

I couldn't even read the whole book. I made it about 1/3 of the way through before I finally decided to take a loss with this one.

For the first time in some time, I found a book that I enjoyed without reservations. I have not read Abrams' first book A Question of Honour, although I do intend to do so now, but I managed to connect up the plot threads and identify the connections with the previous book without any difficulties.

The first thing that grabbed me about this book was the characters. The heroine is brave, resourceful and independent-minded, although not to the point of stubborness where she will accept no help. The implications of her choice to dress as a boy are followed through, as are the implications of other key choices by other key characters: in this world, actions and choices have consequences, in some cases, harsh consequences. The hero is extremely unhappy, and although some of the legal technicalities of how and why he is so unfortunate were a little confusing, the impact of his situation is extremely clear.

Secondary characters are extremely vivid in this book, and the villains are as interesting as the good guys. I hope we see them return as much as some of the other characters who are no doubt going to take centre stage in Abrams' third book.

The setting is Napoleonic Europe and Abrams' detailed research and keen feel for the times and the city of Vienna are key to establishing atmosphere without overpowering the drive of the plot. I found the political double dealings and tense environment compelling.

The love story element of the book is relatively downplayed and subtle. I felt it arose relatively naturally, and we could work out how the characters felt through their actions.

In short, this was a fun and re-readable book.

It would be a good idea to read "A Question of Honor" first since "The Exiles" is a continuation of the story.

I agree with the more negative reviews, this novel was a sad SAD disappointment to the genre. The writing could have been good, but the story was atrocious and the writing style could hardly save the plotline.

When I find an author I enjoy reading, I make a project out of reading all the author's other works. The Exiles was one of these. It was a very good read and a suitable part of the series. The series is set during the War of 1812, and focuses on intelligence officers for the English. It incorporates several members of a widespread Jewish family...some Germans, some English, some Spanish...thus providing a good deal of background on the role of Jews and of anti-Semitism of the time. Not all the characters are Jewish, so there is plenty of depiction of relations between Jews and Gentiles. I have found all the books by this author, Nita Abrams, to be very very readable and very worthwhile of my attention.

The premise of the story sounded promising --- girl runs away dressed as a boy to escape her evil uncle and ends up in the employ of a handsome stranger with a mysterious background. They fall in love, they live happily ever after, joy all around.

In the hands of a more competent writer, this story would have been charming. But Abrams did not handle any of the situations in this story at all. There was next to ZERO romantic/sexual tension, which --- needless to say --- is fatal to any novel claiming to be a romance. And in that vein --- as a head's-up to those avid romance novel readers --- there is no sex whatsoever. I dislike too much sex, yes --- I would rather see more story, with small amounts of sexual activity added as a little spicy extra --- but Nita Abrams put NOTHING in her book that remotely smelled of sexuality, or even sensuality. There is barely even a kiss in the entire book. I kept waiting for SOMETHING intriguing to happen, but I was left completely unsatisfied. Frankly, the two main characters are almost never shown alone together --- or, for that matter, even together much at all.

The characters were sadly underdeveloped, and I frankly found it difficult to keep up with who everyone even WAS half the time. There was too much forced intrigue, too many twists and turns. It just bogged me down as a reader and made the story far too muddled for my taste. The epilogue was entirely superfluous.

The only reason I gave it more than one star is because the writing itself wasn't too terrible. Now, if only Abrams would come up with an intelligible storyline, everyone would be happy.