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georginaflor 's review for:
Exile
by S.M. Wilson
✨3.5 stars✨
Hi, hello, yes, welcome to a real let down of a sequel. I feel like I’m so sick of saying the phrase ‘not bad but also not good’ at this point, but it’s exactly how I feel about this book. It was just average. In the acknowledgements, the author says that when she started writing the book, she didn’t have any real plan as to where it would go and boy does that explain a lot. It felt so on-the-spot and underdeveloped, and honestly, at times it just felt like a slightly altered copy of the first book in the series. It was like a cluster of events from the first book strung together by vaguely different, but altogether the same, reasoning for being there, hung up with barely any character development. But there were dinosaurs, so I suppose I can’t complain too loudly.
Storm went on a journey with her stance on the dinosaurs in the first book, but it felt like she was going nowhere in this one, just kind of zipping back and forth with no real purpose. There wasn’t any development to her character, she’s exactly the same at the end of this book as she is at the beginning, and it felt like such a backwards step for her. Lincoln, weirdly enough, had more of an arc in this one, and it’s largely evident through his observations of people and relationships- noticing Storm and Reban’s changing dynamic, noticing Jesa needing help/support, understanding Leif’s attitude towards him and letting it play out. He’s definitely much more three dimensional in this, and I’m ridiculously grateful for it, as he was a bit of an asshole in the first book. I still don’t fully understand what’s supposed to be going on with Linc and Storm though. It’s written as though they’re each other’s love interests, but there’s never any indicator that either of them actually does feel that way (it’s told in the form of Reban telling Storm that Linc clearly likes her, but we never see anything that could make Reban actually believe that).
Jesa and Leif didn’t make sense either- and I swear Leif is way older than them?? That’s the vibe I got from the first book, but H E Y it’s entirely possible that I’m wrong. There was absolutely zero dynamic between them until the end in the form of a sudden attraction to each other, and it felt very forced and bizarre. I didn’t really find myself invested in either of them, they were both a bit whiny and boring, and to be quite honest I just didn’t really care. They played their part in the story but they weren’t really fleshed out all that much. Reban and Storm were definitely more interesting, although you could tell the progression of their father/daughter dynamic wasn’t hugely planned out, as it felt a bit flat and underwhelming by the end. I was glad they were getting to know each other and we were finding out more about Storm’s mother, but Storm remaining on the island just felt like such a random jump, and it could have really done with more expanding on their relationship before that ending to be honest.
The whole plot revolves around them going back to Piloria to wipe out the dinosaurs, and yet there was no real resolve, no clear point where anything happened. Storm is conflicted about killing the dinosaurs the whole time, but that never reaches a conclusion, she never decides which side she stands on, and whilst I do appreciate the reality of her ambiguity, it just felt a bit pointless. Why bother, if it doesn’t lend itself to the plot at all? She goes along and helps them, she is frequently relieved about the prospect of the dinosaurs dying, so what’s the point of her occasional conflicting thoughts if they don’t actually do anything? It just didn’t work for me here, annoyingly enough. Aside from this, the book follows no real plot. There’s a story, sure, but it doesn’t follow any real purpose, and the ending feels too much like it’s only there to be a cliffhanger, rather than actually holding any meaning. The only 2 real plot twists are Galen appearing, and Storm staying with Reban, and neither of them were much of a surprise to me. I’m so annoyed at how mediocre this book was because I really wanted to love it- I mean HELLO, dinosaurs! To be fair, I did adore the dinosaur elements, and I did really love watching Storm get to know Arta, seeing why Linc did what he did for her, and them then working together to get the plants they need to save her. It was entertaining, and like I said, it wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t overly amazing. I’m assuming there’s going to be a third in the series, and I probably will read it, I just hope it’ll be a bit better than this one!😂
Hi, hello, yes, welcome to a real let down of a sequel. I feel like I’m so sick of saying the phrase ‘not bad but also not good’ at this point, but it’s exactly how I feel about this book. It was just average. In the acknowledgements, the author says that when she started writing the book, she didn’t have any real plan as to where it would go and boy does that explain a lot. It felt so on-the-spot and underdeveloped, and honestly, at times it just felt like a slightly altered copy of the first book in the series. It was like a cluster of events from the first book strung together by vaguely different, but altogether the same, reasoning for being there, hung up with barely any character development. But there were dinosaurs, so I suppose I can’t complain too loudly.
Storm went on a journey with her stance on the dinosaurs in the first book, but it felt like she was going nowhere in this one, just kind of zipping back and forth with no real purpose. There wasn’t any development to her character, she’s exactly the same at the end of this book as she is at the beginning, and it felt like such a backwards step for her. Lincoln, weirdly enough, had more of an arc in this one, and it’s largely evident through his observations of people and relationships- noticing Storm and Reban’s changing dynamic, noticing Jesa needing help/support, understanding Leif’s attitude towards him and letting it play out. He’s definitely much more three dimensional in this, and I’m ridiculously grateful for it, as he was a bit of an asshole in the first book. I still don’t fully understand what’s supposed to be going on with Linc and Storm though. It’s written as though they’re each other’s love interests, but there’s never any indicator that either of them actually does feel that way (it’s told in the form of Reban telling Storm that Linc clearly likes her, but we never see anything that could make Reban actually believe that).
Jesa and Leif didn’t make sense either- and I swear Leif is way older than them?? That’s the vibe I got from the first book, but H E Y it’s entirely possible that I’m wrong. There was absolutely zero dynamic between them until the end in the form of a sudden attraction to each other, and it felt very forced and bizarre. I didn’t really find myself invested in either of them, they were both a bit whiny and boring, and to be quite honest I just didn’t really care. They played their part in the story but they weren’t really fleshed out all that much. Reban and Storm were definitely more interesting, although you could tell the progression of their father/daughter dynamic wasn’t hugely planned out, as it felt a bit flat and underwhelming by the end. I was glad they were getting to know each other and we were finding out more about Storm’s mother, but Storm remaining on the island just felt like such a random jump, and it could have really done with more expanding on their relationship before that ending to be honest.
The whole plot revolves around them going back to Piloria to wipe out the dinosaurs, and yet there was no real resolve, no clear point where anything happened. Storm is conflicted about killing the dinosaurs the whole time, but that never reaches a conclusion, she never decides which side she stands on, and whilst I do appreciate the reality of her ambiguity, it just felt a bit pointless. Why bother, if it doesn’t lend itself to the plot at all? She goes along and helps them, she is frequently relieved about the prospect of the dinosaurs dying, so what’s the point of her occasional conflicting thoughts if they don’t actually do anything? It just didn’t work for me here, annoyingly enough. Aside from this, the book follows no real plot. There’s a story, sure, but it doesn’t follow any real purpose, and the ending feels too much like it’s only there to be a cliffhanger, rather than actually holding any meaning. The only 2 real plot twists are Galen appearing, and Storm staying with Reban, and neither of them were much of a surprise to me. I’m so annoyed at how mediocre this book was because I really wanted to love it- I mean HELLO, dinosaurs! To be fair, I did adore the dinosaur elements, and I did really love watching Storm get to know Arta, seeing why Linc did what he did for her, and them then working together to get the plants they need to save her. It was entertaining, and like I said, it wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t overly amazing. I’m assuming there’s going to be a third in the series, and I probably will read it, I just hope it’ll be a bit better than this one!😂