ARC Review - The Queen's Exiles by Barbara Kyle

The Queen’s Exiles by Barbara Kyle

Series: Thornleigh #6

Published by Kensington on May 27 2014

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 352

Rating: DNF at 42%

1572. Europe is in turmoil. In the Netherlands the streets are red with the blood of those who dare to oppose the brutal Spanish occupation. A vengeful faction of exiled English Catholics is plotting to overthrow Queen Elizabeth and install her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne. But amid the unrest, one resourceful young woman has made a lucrative enterprise ... 

Scottish-born Fenella Doorn rules like a queen over a privateer's haven on the Isle of Sark. Her success at salvaging crippled vessels affords her gold and security, and it is on one of these ships that she meets wealthy Baron—and privateer—Adam Thornleigh. Secretly drawn to him, Fenella can’t refuse when Adam enlists her to join him in war-torn Brussels to help find his traitorous wife, Frances—and the children she’s taken from him.  

But Fenella’s own bold actions have put a price on her head. Now Adam and Fenella’s lives are in peril as they race across Europe in an attempt to rescue his young ones, defend the crown, and restore the peace that few can remember.

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I tried really hard to like this book. It didn’t particularly offend my sensibilities in any way – the characters were decent, though I thought that it would have benefited from tightening up the number of characters it followed. I think it may have worked better for me if it only focused on Fenella and Adam, rather than Fenella, Adam, Isobel, Carlos, Frances, etc. I found myself dreading picking it up again, not sure which character I’d be following next, or whether I’d want to follow them at all. The only characters I truly cared about were Fenella and Adam, so it felt silly to me to feature the rest so heavily.

My biggest complaint is that the pacing was dreadful. It never really felt like anything was happening, and even when they did I found there to be a lack of urgency in the writing. I never feared for the characters, despite the frightening and risky situations they put themselves in. This was what really determined whether or not I would continue reading this book. If it were based merely on the characters and the plot, I feel like I would have greatly enjoyed The Queen’s Exiles. Unfortunately the writing made me nod off after about fifteen or twenty minutes of reading, whether I was tired or not. In my opinion, that is a sign that a book is just not meant for me.