Escaping Exile by Sara Dobie Bauer

​PARANORMAL ROMANCE
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
EROTICA

Publication date: 08/13/2018
Kindle Unlimited: No
Cliffhanger: No

I might have mentioned before that I approach new-to-me authors with great trepidation, right? Like, the amount of trepidation a baby bunny might have when approaching, say, a hungry wolf? I’ve also been let down quite a bit lately by paranormal romance, and historical romance hasn’t been my jam for a long, long time. M/M romance tends to be hit or miss for me, too. So when a new-to-me author approached me about her paranormal/historical M/M romance, I was...nervous. Nervous is an understatement, actually. I was terrified. I read the first five pages with one eye closed, ready for any kind of foul suckage that might invade my happy little reading space, fully prepared to delete the offending document from my precious Kindle and forget the whole thing never happened.

So imagine my surprise when I made it to the end of the story and actually really ENJOYED it. Huh. Who knew, right? (Just goes to show my mom was right and that I should always keep an open mind. But let’s not tell her that, shall we? That’d just open up a big old can of worms and force me to analyze a bunch of other things I’ve done that she warned me not to do, and that could go on for DAYS.) But, anyhoo, about the story…

Here’s what I love:

1. It’s a forced proximity romance. I LOVE forced proximity romance.
2. The hero, Andrew, a vampire, is most definitely an anti-hero. I have a somewhat unhealthy obsession with anti-heroes, and Andrew is super interesting. There’s not really a moment that goes by in the story when you aren’t reminded that Andrew isn’t human. He lacks human characteristics such as empathy, and he has a careless regard for human life that is alarming. But all his character flaws serve to make his eventual fascination with Edmund all the more interesting.
3. Andrew doesn’t mysteriously become a “good guy” when he falls for Edmund, which I enjoyed. Andrew suddenly becoming a traditional romance hero just because he fell in love would’ve been totally unrealistic and strange for Andrew as a character. I’m glad the author handled Andrew the way she did.
4. Edmund, a human, is the perfect match for Andrew. Edmund also has some empathy issues, and is a bit anti-social. He’s also pretty fearless and takes the fact that Andrew is a vampire in stride. By the end of the story, though, I was starting to wonder if Edmund wasn’t the more dangerous of the pair. (He’s a little crazy, in truth)  I LOVE being surprised like that by characters. It doesn’t happen to me often. (I’m more of a read-it-a-million-times-before kind of girl, you know?)
5. It’s a quick read. I finished it in under 2 hours. I adore a quick read.
6. The sex scenes were plenty steamy but didn’t drag on for no good reason. The sex scenes served a purpose in the story, in other words. They weren’t just there for window dressing.   
7. This is a super shallow observation, but the cover is really pretty. I’ve seen a lot of craptastic covers lately, and I appreciated the hell out of this one.        

      
If I was going to be critical (which, let’s face it, I pretty much always am), I guess I’d have to point out that Andrew and Edmund arguably fall into an instalove situation. I kind of understand it, though. I mean, Andrew has been alone for a long time without any companionship, so it makes sense that he’d very quickly fall for the first man he’s come across in a while who wasn’t a bloodthirsty cannibal. Edmund’s feelings and motivations are a bit harder to discern.

And because of the length, I’d have to also point out that character development is at a minimum in the story. It’s only part 1 in a series, so I cut the author some slack on that one, too. But the length of the story, in combination with the instalove-esque elements, makes this book arguably more “erotica” than “romance”. I think romance readers will still enjoy the story, but romance readers who don’t have much of an adventurous side might want to steer clear of this one. (And just so you can’t say I didn’t warn you, the ending is more of a happy-for-now than happily-ever-after.)

But, minor nitpicks notwithstanding, this was a unique, easy read about two super interesting (and possibly sociopathic) heroes. I’d happily read the next book in the series. (I’m kind of wondering if Andrew and Edmund go on a Bonnie and Clyde-style murder spree at some point. Oh, the marvelous possibilities!)

Long-story-short: it’s worth a 1-click.

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
This one is so far from typical that it spits in the face of the romance stigma!

Other reading suggestions
Other paranormal/historical M/M romances? Sorry. I got nothin’.

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