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ecooper99's review against another edition
Jane Harper is pretty hit or miss for me. I absolutely loved THE LOST MAN, and I enjoyed both THE DRY and THE SURVIVORS. FORCE OF NATURE, however, didn't work for me. So I was a little apprehensive going into this one. Within the first few chapters, I realized this wasn't going to be for me. It was just so damn slow. Six chapters in, I still didn't care about what happened to any of the characters. I'm pretty sure the entire novel is meant to be a slow burn to some major revelation, but I just didn't have the patience to get there.
mhverney's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe it’s because I had such high expectations… ok, in any case, it’s probably a 3.5 maybe 3.75. But it doesn’t quite cut the mustard. It lacks the intensity of The Dry, which I adored, the sense of place is not as strong, and Gemma did not convince me as a love object. The biggest problem though, is actually a technical one: I did not like the way in which we finally get the truth on who killed Kim, it felt clunky. I still love this writer and will keep reading her, but that was not her best.
taylasversion's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
3.5 ⭐️
Not ready to say goodbye to Falk. Jane Harper if you’re reading this, I’ll read a million more of these if you want to write more!
I’m a little bias to this, being set in my home state. I had a great time reading this, as I did with the others. This installment of trilogy is the slowest burn of them all. Even in the shower I found myself trying to put the pieces together. However this time, the main story didn’t have as much of a satisfying ending to me as the others. The reveal was slightly underwhelming, and rather than clues to piece together the ending (of the main story) it felt more based on assumptions and hunches.
Regardless, I still liked it, and I hope they make this one into a movie as well.
rgoodhart's review against another edition
4.0
It’s been a long while since I read The Dry and Force of Nature so I didn’t remember much about Aaron Falk… other than I liked him!
It took me a while to get into this and tbh it was only once a potential romantic interest for Falk was on the scene that I really felt invested in the story. I found the ‘mystery’ element too slow moving for me but enjoyed discovering the truth when it was finally revealed. And I loved the development of the relationship between Falk and Gemma.
Having visited Australia and been to a country fair certainly helped with imagining the scenes Harper described.
It took me a while to get into this and tbh it was only once a potential romantic interest for Falk was on the scene that I really felt invested in the story. I found the ‘mystery’ element too slow moving for me but enjoyed discovering the truth when it was finally revealed. And I loved the development of the relationship between Falk and Gemma.
Having visited Australia and been to a country fair certainly helped with imagining the scenes Harper described.
gayatriii's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars is being generous. I can’t believe this is the same person who wrote the dry and force of nature. Exiles is slow and tedious. Devoid of any suspense or tension. It’s a mystery that never feels mysterious. And it’s page after page of storytelling that just feels lacklustre. There is a nice enough love story that goes on and on, with the crime plot line dragging along with the most obvious conclusion. I also didn’t buy the culprits motivation. The secondary mystery was still more interesting and layered but could not salvage this book, unfortunately.
One of my fav new authors, so very disappointed.
One of my fav new authors, so very disappointed.
chloerach's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
kyra_c_c's review against another edition
4.0
A well written mystery with depth of character and great ending. Maybe not as fast paced as The Dry (which is the other Falk book I have read) but still engaging. I'm definitely a Jane Harper fan now!
laurareadsdaily's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25