***This review has also been posted on The Social Potato

I am now officially calling 2016 the year of the meh books because I have yet to read a book that has truly blown my mind and makes me want to roll around in the mud with joy. Banished is by no means a bad book, I would actually say that on the whole, it was a lot better than its predecessor but my problem with the book and what prevented me from loving it was the shit ton of romantic drama.

Romantic drama is the bane of my existence. Why cannot two people love each other and that be it? Why is it that there has to be 50000000 complications before my otp can be together? UGH. I am okay with *some* drama as long as I get groveling but when the main couple basically faces a new hurdle every couple of pages, I cannot. I want my couples to be able to work together as a team and trust each other. Trust is IMPORTANT and my rant is starting to get out of hand so let me pull myself together. Give me a second. I am alive. Okay. So within the context of this book (can you tell that the drama frustrated me?), I just wanted Jayden and Kadesh’s reunion to be a sweet one rather than them forming another fragile relationship after everything they had been through in Forbidden.

Now that I have that major rant out of the way I can calm the fuck down (to some extent) and talk about everything else in the book. WE GO ON A JOURNEY. And I like journeys so I really liked that aspect of the book. The stakes were super high and it was so so fun (I am a closet thrill-junkee…. SHHHHH.)

Jayden has also come so far since Forbidden. Her strength was admirable in Forbidden but it always seemed a little naive. In Banished; however, Jayden has matured so much that I just wanted to hug her and tell her I was proud. What? All characters are secretly my children. Kadesh on the other hand did not fair as well. He was still swoony but the fact that he chose to keep things a secret because he wasn’t ready to deal with issues was not a good thing. I realize he kept them a secret not because he didn’t think Jayden was ready because he wasn’t ready (which is better than nothing) but I was not satisfied. I am going to stop right here because otherwise, I will go on another long rant about romance stuff since that seriously disappointed me.

The setting also continues to be amazing. This time we got to see even more of the world and that made me happy since world building is always really important. I did notice that religion became a part of this story in a way it wasn’t in Forbidden. Or maybe I just noticed it more? It wasn’t like shoved down our throats which is nice but I also felt like the way religion was done wasn’t necessarily accurate given the era? I don’t want to say more because again, things get out of hand when I go on and on about something completely off topic. I am just really bad, aren’t I? You should all treat yourselves to chocolate if you are still here and reading my review. YOU HAVE EARNED IT.

So what else can I talk about? The ending? YOU MEAN THAT THING THAT HAD ME BITTING MY NAILS AND MAKES ME WANT TO BEG THE AUTHOR FOR BOOK 3? yeah that thing. it was okay I guess. *flips hair and walks out*

But on a serious note, if you are looking for a book set in a completely different time period, this is it. You have come to the right place, the Mesopotamian setting of the series is what appealed to me in the first place and now here I still am because the characters and the great plots keep me coming back for more.

Note that I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Oh. Dear. GOD. Oh God oh God oh God.

This hero was even worse than the one in 'The Child of Judas'. He actually SLAPS THE HEROINE. And not one, TWICE. 

So we start off with our sweetheart heroine, Gail, swooping in to save Carl's ass. She drives through a STORM for him for God's sake. That's how much she loves him. Now, I'm all for smitten heroine (my most favourite trope), and I loved that she was doing that. I also loved how she wasn't a doormat and stood her ground, gave him his due. Whenever he yelled at her/insulted her, she didn't keep quiet. She was fiery, with just the right amount of sweetness. It was at the end that I hated her.

But let's not get into that now. For now I'll concentrate on my hatred for HIM.

So, as I was saying, our hero here is sulking. All because the woman he loved left him and married someone else BECAUSE HE BROKE HIS LEG. I'd think that says enough about OW, right? But NOO. Our dense hero sticks like an ant to chewing gum to his 'love' for OW. Aye, I know, that's another of my favourite tropes. But see, what made me really angry was how he treated the heroine. He kept rubbing the heroine's plain face into her every chance he got, insulted her and kept bringing up OW all the time. OH GOD. He was such an ASS. And not in the good, I-love-hating-him way. In a if-you-choose-him-you're-signing-up-for-a-life-of-psychologist-consults-and-hospital-visits. I saw no redeeming qualities in him. Even after they get married and Gail changes her appearance to please him, puts on a bit of make-up and everything, he doesn't notice ANYTHING. And then when Carl's cousin comes over and shows interest in Gail, Carl gets all possessive and back-off-beeyotch. You don't love/value her, asshole, but are married to her so he can't have her either? (Don't get me wrong, I hate adultery and the lot. And Gail had no interest in the cousin whatsoever. But Carl's possessiveness really bothered me because HE FUCKING DOESN'T CARE ABOUT GALE AT ALL.)

Now we'll get to the part which maddened me THE MOST. He crossed THE LINE after this. He discovers that Gail hides OW's divorce from him and gets angry with her. OF COURSE she's going to hide it from you, you idiot!!! I CAN'T THINK OF A SINGLE REASON WHY SHE SHOULD TELL YOU.

And then HE SLAPS HER. Oh God. He actually hits her so hard that she is flung across the room.

And she just takes it, thinking she deserves it. And then he packs up and LEAVES HIS PREGNANT WIFE FOR THE OW. By this time I was just like 

So he up and leaves her, and she's pregnant and alone. And of course, because it's Harlequin land, she must have all happiness snatched away from her, she has an accident and miscarries. And STILL, STILL, EVEN AFTER ALL THE THINGS THE ASSHOLE DOES, she loves him.

But wait, that's not it. She even DEFENDS him to her sister, and says that she (the sister) mustn't say bad things about him because she loves him. When Asshole comes back, begs for forgiveness, says that nothing happened between him and OW - he came back because he realises he loves her, he's been at his house the entire time and blah blah blah, she forgives him and they live unhappily ever after. And I wouldn't have cared if his grovel was the king of all grovels (which it definitely wasn't - Diana Palmer does them best), he was past all redemption. 

As for the author's writing, it didn't really light a match with me. I found it too flat and unemotional, but the flow and dialogues were superb. It was the descriptions (or lack of them) and story-telling I didn't like. I'm not sure whether or not I'll pick up more of this author's books, but most probably not.

1 star, I'm giving grace because of the wonderful hero.

This time it was the heroine that ruined an otherwise perfectly good book for me. (Makes me happy, seeing that I'm getting back on track.) So, like in so many good books, this one had a very unlikable heroine. No, she wasn't bitchy or immature or anything - I quite like her sensibility and her maturity, it was the OTHER MAN that was the root of all of it. She disobeyed her guardian, waved away his advice, and still continued her friendship with Cantlin (OM). If I had a guardian, who had been nothing but honest with me, advising me to stay away from a certain young gentleman with a reputation, I would STAY AWAY. And, as she claims she was, if I was in love with my ward, I would certainly not go out with other guys. It was such a pity, because the heroine was quiet, but not a doormat. She knew how to stand up for herself. And she was sweet and innocent too. BUT THE OM TROPE RUINS IT ALL FOR ME

But TBH, that was the only thing I disliked about her. Still, that one thing made me decide to give this book a 0 star. The 1 star's for the hero.

Anyways, moving on. The hero was really swoon-worthy. I've always loved the guardian-ward trope, and the Lucifer-like guardian-ward trope even more. Sweet, sweet 'These Old Shades'. I'm always comparing books with this trope to Georgette Heyer's. And they never come close to that one. So, about this hero. There weren't many redeeming qualities about him, but then again I'm always on the guy's side.. But what I loved was the air of mystery that clung around him, his mind (I have a thing for intelligent heroes) and his deportment, his manners, the way he spoke. *sigh* He really was like Lucifer. 

The plot wasn't all that interesting, nothing much really went on. But Burchell is a wonderful writer, her books are always so deep unlike your regular Harley. They actually talk about things that matter, going into the core of a subject and philosophising. Thank you Leona, for convincing me to give her another try. I'm loving her ;)