Review by fatemeh133 -- Escape by Belle Ami

[fatemeh133]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Escape" by Belle Ami.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Escape by Belle Ami is a romance thriller set in the Middle East with heavy political implications. Specifically it is an Iran/Isreal conflict story.

From a literary point of view it is well written and seems to be professionally proof-read. From a romance readers’ point of view, it is a well thought out romance. It is smoldering at points, sweet at points and overall satisfying for a touchy-mushy romance novel. However, I thought Layla fell in love too fast and trusted unreasonably and too much given the circumstances. I found her insight into Cyrus’s real intentions and feeling a bit too much, especially given the way she had misread into her last relationship. Cyrus’s resistance and his reasons for holding back were much more realistic.

As a thriller, it was ok. I would have liked more suspense. In a lot of the scenes, it was just too easy for a thriller/suspense. This being said, the story is not stinted and has a good flow. The author does a good job of painting the background of the main characters, Layla and Cyrus. She also does a decent job of unfolding the mysteries in Cyrus’s past. I like that she gives insight into other crucial characters without too much detail.

I have a weak spot for romance novels, especially romance novels that touch on current world affairs. In these novels I look to get a better feel for the people of various nations. I want to get to know other nations, their motives, their humanity, their good and bad through the eyes of a person who knows that nation better than me. That is what I was looking for when I picked up this book, a novel that would explore the humanity, the good and bad of two nations at war. I was disappointed to find it a cliché of “Iran is terrible and Israel can do no wrong”. Every nation has good and bad people. Every country has politics and power greedy people within its government. However, every country and nation has a history worth knowing, and natural beauties worth exploring and beautiful human beings inside and out living there. Clichés are a major negative for me.

So to be true to the spirit of objectivity, this novel deserves good points for having a nice flow, and had it been only a romance I would have rated it much higher. But between my higher expectation for its fairness in evaluating humanity and thriller/suspense leaving me wanting, I am not sure I will be reading any more of her books. I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars.

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Escape
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