Thank you so much to the publisher, Penguin, and The Write Reads for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and allowing me to join the blog tour!
It is six months since the Arcadia set sail for the first time in forty years. But this wasn’t the freedom the inhabitants were hoping for. Esther Crossland did what she had to do, but it has left a trail of destruction in her wake. Now the wrecked ship is abandoned. Its inhabitants are in exile, trapped in sprawling make-shift shelters made up of warehouse, tents, shipping containers.
Esther and Nik, architects of the rebellion, are on the run. Esther is in hiding, desperate to do something to help her people, and Nik seems to have abandoned all hope, on a journey taking him further and further from home. And neither of them want to face up to their true feelings about one another . . .
Not only that, there is a new villain in town. With the fall of Commander Hadley, it’s left to the ruthless Admiral Janek to deal with the traitors, and her own past is beginning to catch-up with her.
Then the shaky ceasefire negotiated by General Lall, Nik’s mum, falls apart. Nik and Esther find themselves in a world of betrayals and double crossings – a game of power, with no one to trust but themselves.
I love being able to pick up the second book in a duology straight after finishing the first book. So, that is exactly what I did after finishing The Stranded. I wasn’t too sure how this one was going to compare to the first book but I ended up loving this YA dystopian novel just as much, if not more. Be warned, if you have yet to read the first book in the duology, this review CONTAINS SPOILERS.
It has been six months since the Arcadia set sail for the first time in forty years. But, it was the freedom those onboard were hoping for. Now, the wrecked ship is abandoned and its inhabitants are in exile. Esther and Nik are on the run, one in hiding and the other journeying further and further from home. Plus, there is a new villain in town. Who can they trust in this final showdown?
Just like the first in the series, this is told in multiple POVs. Esther and Nik return and we are introduced to Meg and Janek. I loved reading more about Esther and Nik in this book and seeing how they’ve grown since the first book.
Meg is my favourite of the new characters. At the start of the book I was not a fan of her but as the book progressed I looked forward to her chapters. Her motives are in the wrong place but I still had a soft spot for her. Also, if you thought that Hadley was a horrible villain, then you will despise Janek even more.
There are a few new secondary characters introduced who are each unique and easy to tell apart. Plus, we see some familiar faces and have their stories expanded on which I thoroughly enjoyed.
The tension has gone up a notch in this book and I found myself hooked wanting to know what was going to happen to the characters and their ‘homes’. The chapters in this one seemed to be shorter than the first in the series, with even more cliffhangers which meant I was sneaking in a chapter whenever I could.
Sarah Daniels managed once again to immerse me in the world of Esther and Nik. The new settings we see are described in such a way that I could perfectly visual them in my head, which I can’t normally do easily. Although this is the last in the duology, I would be beyond ecstatic if another book was announced and would be reading it the minute I could.
Overall, I would highly recommend reading The Exiled and the first in the series, The Stranded. They are immersive and thrilling YA dystopian novels that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Be sure to check out all the other posts on this massive blog tour. I have a review of The Stranded, so be sure to check that out and give The Write Reads a follow on Twitter!
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