Review by JadeK -- Escape by Belle Ami

[JadeK]

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

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3 out of 4 stars

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Escape by Belle Ami is a romantic thriller set in the Middle East. Layla Rose Wallace, Harvard student, with the world of possibilities before her takes her boyfriend up on a trip to Dubai. When bad goes to worse she finds herself in a life or death situation when they are kidnapped from Dubai and taken to Iran. Cyrus Hassani is as gorgeous as he is dangerous, and the assistant to the deputy director of Oghab2. Suddenly tasked with protecting Layla's life and safely helping her escape Iran Cyrus is faced with multiple problems. The feisty redhead now in his protective care offers him more challenges than he expected. An intense searing attraction between the two of them threatens not only their hearts but their very lives as well.

As a huge fan of romance novels I couldn't get enough of Layla and Cyrus's growing relationship. Belle Ami does a great job of keeping you engaged with the inner turmoil they both are struggling with as their attraction for each other grows. All the while they are fighting to stay alive and make it safely out of Iran. You can't help but to fall in love with both of these characters. They compliment each other so well, and their banter back and forth is so entertaining.

This story's narrative is told from all angles which can be difficult to keep up with as a reader. Belle Ami does an incredible job of keeping the transitions between perspectives flawless. You don't skip a beat as your reading and your right there with the characters with a perfectly clear mental picture in your mind. Being able to see the situation from all sides with the various narratives, because it was so flawlessly seamed together, made the story that much richer in detail and I loved it all the more. You mainly read from Cyrus and Layla's point of view but with the other characters thrown in here and there it really was perfect.

I did have a hard time at the start of the story as it had a slower pace and a lot surrounding the political issues with Iran and Israel. For the first couple of chapters I had a harder time staying engaged and keeping my interest in the story. As the plot progressed and Layla's character was introduced it was a lot easier to keep reading and to become engrossed in the storyline. For the rest of the book I had no struggles with the political parts weaved into the story as they had become more relevant and the story had become more focused on Layla and Cyrus instead of the issues between Iran and Israel.

I give Escape by Belle Ami a 3 out of 4rating. The story is well written with fantastic characters that have a great deal of depth to them. For anyone looking for a romance/thriller this is the book to read. There are a few graphic sexual scenes so I highly recommend this for mature readers only. Overall, I think this is a great book to curl up with on the couch!

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Escape
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