Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: Escaping Exile
SERIES: Escape Trilogy #1
AUTHOR: Sara Dobie Bauer
PUBLISHER: NineStar Press
LENGTH: 83 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 13, 2018
BLURB:
Andrew is a vampire from New Orleans, exiled to a tropical island in the 1800s as punishment for his human bloodlust. During a storm, a ship crashes off shore. After rescuing a sailor from the cannibals native to the land, Andrew becomes fascinated with his brilliant, beautiful new companion, Edmund.
Edmund is a British naturalist who has sailed the world seeking new species. Intrigued by creatures that might kill him, immortal Andrew is this scientist’s dream—but so is making his way back home. Edmund will fight to survive, even while wrapped in the arms of a monster.
As light touches and laughter turn to something much more passionate, the cannibals creep ever closer to Edmund. Can the ancient vampire keep his human alive long enough to escape exile and explore their newfound love, or will Andrew’s bloodlust seal his own doom?
REVIEW:
Sara Dobie Bauer has proven that she’s quite capable of creating short, steamy historical works filled with passion and an all-around enjoyable atmosphere. I love her newest story, A Lord to Love, and recommend it constantly to historical romance readers. But you can tell she was still finding her footing with this story. It’s adventurous, easy to digest, and filled with heavy sexual tension, but it’s also a little uneven, and I think the historical details needed another set of eyes.
Edmund, a curious Naturalist, is the only survivor of an 1800s shipwreck on a cannibal-infested island, but he’s definitely not alone for long. Andrew is a vampire exiled to the island years ago as punishment for his bloodlust, and seeing the gorgeous Edmund injured on the beach does little to tame his thirst. He nurses the man back to health, and when Edmund discovers what he is, his reaction surprises both men.
There’s a lot to like here, especially since it’s pretty crisp and short. I read it in about an hour. The tension between the two men sizzles, and Andrew’s protectiveness (and possessiveness) over his new discovery just simmers over the course of the story. I also like how Edmund’s Naturalist background makes him more interested in Andrew than scared, turning the tables on a typical monster/human romance in fiction.
Since this is a historical work, archaic worldviews are the norm. But I think Bauer could’ve written them with a little more grace. The “savage cannibal natives” conflict was a little eye-rolling—they’re on an island, just have them get chased by a jungle cat or something!—and Edmund’s previous affair with a black crewman is steeped in exotification and “black brute” stereotypes. I appreciate Bauer putting characters of color in historical works, but this doesn’t hit the mark. K.J. Charles and Jordan L. Hawk may have a few pointers.
This whole story seems a little rushed, too, even for a novella. It’s the first in a trilogy, but a trilogy of stories of this length with this amount of plot could’ve easily been put together to make one novel-length work. I don’t think these characters have earned our excitement for several coming releases just yet. However, since I really liked Bauer’s newest work, and I admit I am curious to see how these characters develop in the next two stories.
RATING: 
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