Exiled

by Rashelle Workman

[Angie]

This is one of those cases where I picked a book based on its cover. It's so pretty and over the top, and how could I not love it?! Secondary to the cover, the blurb caught my attention: alien princess? Sure, sounds fun and unique among all of the paranormal and dystopians out there. So, did this live up to my excitement and love of the cover? Well, let's just say I'm glad it was temporarily free on Amazon when I got it...

Something about the writing style was off to me. One paragraph would seem very stiff, then the next was too relaxed. It just seemed inconsistent. Also the dialogue was either cheesy or too formal. I have a hard time believing that a king, alien or not, would say "royally mucked up." The writing also seemed to suffer from too much telling and not enough showing, however cliched that may sound. It took a while for me to get into it because of this.

The characters were not likeable to me. Cheverly was nice enough, but if I had to read her using "cheese" as an exclamation one more time, I was going to scream! I didn't feel like we got to know Venus, the alien princess, very well. At times she was bland, other times she was fierce and kickass, and yet other times she was snobby and conceited. She was everything and nothing at all, and I couldn't relate to her or care what was happening to her. Michael was broody and angry, but he's had a horrible home life, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. However, he had absolutely no personality and was either sweet or a jerk depending on what the scene called for. There's a few other characters, but all of them felt flat.

As for the plot, it's a little strange and silly, but also a bit refreshing. Venus is framed as a traitor and banished to Earth where she can only survive the atmosphere for seven days. But the gods of her planet say she can return if she helps the brooding Michael find true love. Of course there's also the side-plot of an evil alien doing evil things which somehow happens to wind up involving Venus and her task. Then as the story progressed more and more stuff kept getting piled on top: mystery parentage, alien hunters, human sacrifices, etc.

I was majorly disappointed in Exiled. I wish there had been more about how the planet of Kelari worked rather than only the comparisons to Earth that were scattered throughout. Absolutely nothing gets resolved at the end, and I have no interest in continuing the series to find out what happens.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.