Review by BookSeed -- Escape by Belle Ami
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Review by BookSeed -- Escape by Belle Ami
[Following is a volunteer review of "Escape" by Belle Ami.]
4 out of 4 stars
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The Escape was indeed exactly that as it catapulted me into the countries that headline the news on most news channels on any given day. The topic is one which affects any living person...nuclear warfare. Published by The Hartwood Publishing Group, LLC, Hartwood Publishing, Phoenix, Arizona and authored by Belle Ami, this book is a known story told expertly and accurately. I rate this book 4 out of 4 because it is a professionally edited book with no grammatical or spelling errors and a captivating, original but relatable work of fiction.
Modern day Iran, in its current conflicted tyrannical Islamic state is depicted so well in this tale of a young American girl who finds herself a hostage by association but quickly becomes the center of attention of Israeli as well as Iranian intelligence agencies. A battle ensues for Layla amidst a war which has been on going since biblical times, with the author doing great justice to the historical and political history of both countries and their tumultuous relationship. The college girl has men in her life, she is worth little to some and there are those who will not allow any misfortune to befall her and as the story unfolds the many sides of Adam’s descendants are either loved or hated by the reader. The author uses the main character’s journey to explore the reality that life is not a script to be learnt and acted out in a predetermined direction but instead a minute by minute existence with no promise of tomorrow. The romantic thriller has just the right elements of suspense, anticipation, love, hunger and passion, giving exactly what promised in the description of the genre.
Humans are born hungry and the characters in this book are no different as they are each depicted around their individual desperate hunger and need for either power, love, revenge, acceptance, validation, passion, redemption or integrity, depending on their demons that haunt them. I really enjoyed this book as the author awarded due attention to every character, leaving no one as a bystander but instead using each one to portray humanity at its best and its worst. I liked how she merged the characters into the settings, not giving an impression of cut outs stuck on a random background but instead truly letting us the readers, see, taste and feel the cities, towns and villages that the characters were in and appreciate the bigger picture. I really appreciated her attention to detail when using descriptive terms and phrases that sank us the readers deeper into the story and allowed us to feel very much part of the happenings, I personally feel this is the most important aspect of any fictional work. She used the vernacular language of the characters and explained the meaning where necessary to enrich the essence of the characters, so we grasp that they are much like anyone, they have roots and are uniquely similar to everyone else. Just because a story is fiction does not mean the characters should feel fake, the author is respectful of us as her audience as she recognises our need to feel connected to these characters, and she uses language, food, culture and religion to forge that bond.
The author is quite brilliant as her work has a depth and breadth that is impressive for a 166 page book. She does not show any partiality or bias to either of the religions which feature in the story but still not brushing over them, embedding them into the characters and the plot in a clever, fitting manner. The concepts in the story are not new however her story telling style is, so then reading the book feels like the very first time but not really, which I am fond of.
A suitable audience for this book is anybody who enjoys a good adrenaline pumping thriller with a romantic twist. Both men and women can enjoy this book, as it has both a softness and hardness that would be appealing to both genders.
This book is definitely memorable as it is relevant and spot on about the realities of life in the modern day Middle East and Europe. Any news article or interview seen by anybody who has read this book will most assuredly trigger memories of this story, consciously or otherwise. The war in the middle east has been on going since the time of Goliath and David, then it was swords and body amour, now it is nuclear bombs and technology and it is books such as these that remind us that the ending of the story is yet to be written...the story is still playing out...still affecting lives of people, real or imagined, some never get to tell their version of events while others do.
******
Escape
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
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4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
The Escape was indeed exactly that as it catapulted me into the countries that headline the news on most news channels on any given day. The topic is one which affects any living person...nuclear warfare. Published by The Hartwood Publishing Group, LLC, Hartwood Publishing, Phoenix, Arizona and authored by Belle Ami, this book is a known story told expertly and accurately. I rate this book 4 out of 4 because it is a professionally edited book with no grammatical or spelling errors and a captivating, original but relatable work of fiction.
Modern day Iran, in its current conflicted tyrannical Islamic state is depicted so well in this tale of a young American girl who finds herself a hostage by association but quickly becomes the center of attention of Israeli as well as Iranian intelligence agencies. A battle ensues for Layla amidst a war which has been on going since biblical times, with the author doing great justice to the historical and political history of both countries and their tumultuous relationship. The college girl has men in her life, she is worth little to some and there are those who will not allow any misfortune to befall her and as the story unfolds the many sides of Adam’s descendants are either loved or hated by the reader. The author uses the main character’s journey to explore the reality that life is not a script to be learnt and acted out in a predetermined direction but instead a minute by minute existence with no promise of tomorrow. The romantic thriller has just the right elements of suspense, anticipation, love, hunger and passion, giving exactly what promised in the description of the genre.
Humans are born hungry and the characters in this book are no different as they are each depicted around their individual desperate hunger and need for either power, love, revenge, acceptance, validation, passion, redemption or integrity, depending on their demons that haunt them. I really enjoyed this book as the author awarded due attention to every character, leaving no one as a bystander but instead using each one to portray humanity at its best and its worst. I liked how she merged the characters into the settings, not giving an impression of cut outs stuck on a random background but instead truly letting us the readers, see, taste and feel the cities, towns and villages that the characters were in and appreciate the bigger picture. I really appreciated her attention to detail when using descriptive terms and phrases that sank us the readers deeper into the story and allowed us to feel very much part of the happenings, I personally feel this is the most important aspect of any fictional work. She used the vernacular language of the characters and explained the meaning where necessary to enrich the essence of the characters, so we grasp that they are much like anyone, they have roots and are uniquely similar to everyone else. Just because a story is fiction does not mean the characters should feel fake, the author is respectful of us as her audience as she recognises our need to feel connected to these characters, and she uses language, food, culture and religion to forge that bond.
The author is quite brilliant as her work has a depth and breadth that is impressive for a 166 page book. She does not show any partiality or bias to either of the religions which feature in the story but still not brushing over them, embedding them into the characters and the plot in a clever, fitting manner. The concepts in the story are not new however her story telling style is, so then reading the book feels like the very first time but not really, which I am fond of.
A suitable audience for this book is anybody who enjoys a good adrenaline pumping thriller with a romantic twist. Both men and women can enjoy this book, as it has both a softness and hardness that would be appealing to both genders.
This book is definitely memorable as it is relevant and spot on about the realities of life in the modern day Middle East and Europe. Any news article or interview seen by anybody who has read this book will most assuredly trigger memories of this story, consciously or otherwise. The war in the middle east has been on going since the time of Goliath and David, then it was swords and body amour, now it is nuclear bombs and technology and it is books such as these that remind us that the ending of the story is yet to be written...the story is still playing out...still affecting lives of people, real or imagined, some never get to tell their version of events while others do.
******
Escape
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
Like BookSeed's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Lemoncella Cocktail by Rene Natan
