Review by Tolerance Ncube -- Escape by Belle Ami
Posted: 09 Aug 2017, 05:57
[Following is a volunteer review of "Escape" by Belle Ami.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Romance and politics, hard as it may be to make sense between these two words, Escape by Belle Ami is a sexy romantic thriller with its main focus being on the tension between Israel and Iran and the race to develop nuclear weapons, the book knits the two words into a story which I found to be breath taking.
The book views politics not only as the governance of a state by the government but it further goes on to unveil the deep hidden secretes of top government officials in the ministry of intelligence and security involving production of nuclear weapons.
The book features two major characters who are Cyrus Hassani and Layla Rose Wallace, Cyrus Hassani is employed in Iran as the assistant to the deputy director of an Iran’s secretive intel organisation and has authority over the nuclear ambitions of Iran at the same time he is a spy for the Israel foreign intelligence agency(Mossad)
Having lived as a spy, Cyrus Hassani had lost emotional connection to anyone, he had lost the zeal for family and to love, but even in the mist of this there is one characteristic I admire about him, he hates corruption and individuals who abuse their positions to commit unnecessary torture and rape to vulnerable individuals, the likes of Mohammad and the deputy director of Iran’s secretive intel organisation himself whom fate serves them well for their actions at the end.
On the other hand, Layla Rose Wallace is an art history doctoral candidate at Harvard who had never had a sexual relationship with anyone. She against the will of her father who is a renowned nuclear physicist goes for a holiday to Dubai with her boyfriend Zamir where she incidentally falls victim to a kidnapping meant for Zamir by Iran’s secretive intel organisation and the two are taken to Iran.
Upon realising who her father is, the Iran’s secretive intel organisation seek to make her a perfect target for blackmail in order to acquire the services of her father who is a nuclear physicist to fulfil their nuclear ambitions. Meanwhile her father together with the Israel’s prime minister and his team have come up with a plan of how she is to be rescued, Cyrus Hassani being a Mossad spy is charged with a mission to safely escort Layla out of Iran. The charge secretly given to Cyrus by the Israelis was clear, if the worst comes to the worst” kill her rather than allow her to be captured by the Iranians”.
Escape is a well-written and fast paced novel. What l liked about the book is that it kept me interested in reading on due to the suspense which hung at the end of each chapter up to the last chapter especially beginning from the end of chapter 3 where Layla and Zamir are kidnapped. I also liked the style in which the book is written in terms of how a different setting is introduced (for example from Dubai to Iran and vice versa and change in setting from place to place within a city or a country). The attention to detail is also another thing which makes the book interesting. If ever there were any grammar or editing errors, they were so minor that l completely read over them without notice of any.
I really enjoyed reading the book especially the politics part of it which was thrilling, knowing how the top government officials in the ministry of intelligence and security go about with their secret operations involving spies and murders. The romantic part of it is also good, it aroused in me strong motivation and desire for true love exhibited by the two characters. However, the final sex scene in the book was a bit too immoral than romantic for me on the side of Layla who was portrayed as being more of a street hooker than a decent lady whom I had come to love and admire from the previous chapters.
Apart from that setback, l really liked the book and enjoyed reading it and give it a rating of 4 out of 4 stars, I think it cannot be given anything less because there are no significant errors of gramma or editing which I noticed and also there are no loose ends in the story of the book but all are tied up well together. I strongly recommend this book to a mature adult due to the nature of sex scenes in the book which are very explicit and someone who likes government politics which involves top hidden secretes and spies.
******
Escape
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
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4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Romance and politics, hard as it may be to make sense between these two words, Escape by Belle Ami is a sexy romantic thriller with its main focus being on the tension between Israel and Iran and the race to develop nuclear weapons, the book knits the two words into a story which I found to be breath taking.
The book views politics not only as the governance of a state by the government but it further goes on to unveil the deep hidden secretes of top government officials in the ministry of intelligence and security involving production of nuclear weapons.
The book features two major characters who are Cyrus Hassani and Layla Rose Wallace, Cyrus Hassani is employed in Iran as the assistant to the deputy director of an Iran’s secretive intel organisation and has authority over the nuclear ambitions of Iran at the same time he is a spy for the Israel foreign intelligence agency(Mossad)
Having lived as a spy, Cyrus Hassani had lost emotional connection to anyone, he had lost the zeal for family and to love, but even in the mist of this there is one characteristic I admire about him, he hates corruption and individuals who abuse their positions to commit unnecessary torture and rape to vulnerable individuals, the likes of Mohammad and the deputy director of Iran’s secretive intel organisation himself whom fate serves them well for their actions at the end.
On the other hand, Layla Rose Wallace is an art history doctoral candidate at Harvard who had never had a sexual relationship with anyone. She against the will of her father who is a renowned nuclear physicist goes for a holiday to Dubai with her boyfriend Zamir where she incidentally falls victim to a kidnapping meant for Zamir by Iran’s secretive intel organisation and the two are taken to Iran.
Upon realising who her father is, the Iran’s secretive intel organisation seek to make her a perfect target for blackmail in order to acquire the services of her father who is a nuclear physicist to fulfil their nuclear ambitions. Meanwhile her father together with the Israel’s prime minister and his team have come up with a plan of how she is to be rescued, Cyrus Hassani being a Mossad spy is charged with a mission to safely escort Layla out of Iran. The charge secretly given to Cyrus by the Israelis was clear, if the worst comes to the worst” kill her rather than allow her to be captured by the Iranians”.
Escape is a well-written and fast paced novel. What l liked about the book is that it kept me interested in reading on due to the suspense which hung at the end of each chapter up to the last chapter especially beginning from the end of chapter 3 where Layla and Zamir are kidnapped. I also liked the style in which the book is written in terms of how a different setting is introduced (for example from Dubai to Iran and vice versa and change in setting from place to place within a city or a country). The attention to detail is also another thing which makes the book interesting. If ever there were any grammar or editing errors, they were so minor that l completely read over them without notice of any.
I really enjoyed reading the book especially the politics part of it which was thrilling, knowing how the top government officials in the ministry of intelligence and security go about with their secret operations involving spies and murders. The romantic part of it is also good, it aroused in me strong motivation and desire for true love exhibited by the two characters. However, the final sex scene in the book was a bit too immoral than romantic for me on the side of Layla who was portrayed as being more of a street hooker than a decent lady whom I had come to love and admire from the previous chapters.
Apart from that setback, l really liked the book and enjoyed reading it and give it a rating of 4 out of 4 stars, I think it cannot be given anything less because there are no significant errors of gramma or editing which I noticed and also there are no loose ends in the story of the book but all are tied up well together. I strongly recommend this book to a mature adult due to the nature of sex scenes in the book which are very explicit and someone who likes government politics which involves top hidden secretes and spies.
******
Escape
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
Like Tolerance Ncube's review? Post a comment saying so!