Escaping Solitude by Sara Dobie Bauer

2/6/2019

PARANORMAL ROMANCE
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
ROMANTIC EROTICA

Publication date: 10/29/2018
Kindle Unlimited: No
Cliffhanger: Yes

I read book 1 in this series, Escaping Exile, a while back and was pretty much shocked that a paranormal, M/M, erotic, historical romance existed. I’d never heard of such a thing! And the fact that all of those things worked well together...well, that was just a big bonus! Like it’s predecessor, Escaping Solitude is a category-bending read with characters that are...interesting, to say the least.

This installment of the series finds vampire Andrew back in civilization (New Orleans) with his human lover, Edmund, after their rescue from the island. Together, they set about looking for an Elder so that Edmund can be turned.

Here’s what I liked:

The pacing is very swift. I like that story wasn’t too long and there weren’t a lot of scenes that didn’t seem important to the overall story.
I still find anti-hero Andrew to be endlessly fascinating, and I can’t say for sure, but I have a feeling Edmund is a sociopath and will only become more dangerous once he’s turned into a vampire. I sense BIG drama on the horizon there, and I for one am ALL FOR IT.

Now, sadly, there were a few things that bugged me about this one. Nothing so terrible that I need to rant, or even bad enough to make me stop reading the series. But stuff I feel compelled to mention nonetheless:

The M/M/M scene was sufficiently spicy for lovers of romantic erotica, but I found it a little out of character that Andrew, a super-possessive vampire, would let his mate have sex with two other men while he just watched.
This story felt very much like a bridge book to link the action of the first book to the action that will happen in the next book. Nothing too exciting happened in this one. I almost would’ve rather seen this book combined with the last one so that this series was a duology, as opposed to a trilogy.
Everyone who comes in contact with Edmund seems to adore him. I’m not entirely sure why. He’s gorgeous...OK. But is that enough to make everyone fall in lust/love with him at first sight? It seems a little far fetched.

But, all that said, this is still an interesting series that’s chock-full of interesting characters, and I’m SURE that the next installment will bring big changes for Andrew and Edmund--and I’ll be right there, waiting eagerly to read about those changes.

Full disclosure: We received an ARC from the author, free of charge.

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
It’s WAY too original in concept and execution to ever contribute to ANY stigma. This one’s stigma free.

Other reading suggestions
Read Escaping Exile. It’s definitely worth the time.