The Escape, Alice Ward

Safety is much more than just being in a safe place physically.  When evil has many faces it's difficult to protect against all its guises.  Madeilena is a princess with an unenviable fate.  Her father has sold her to a rich prince that hides his evil behind a facade of wealth and good looks.  Xander realizes his acquiescence has endangered his children.  His ex-wife has invited a predator into their lives.  When these two heartbroken people meet they quickly realize that to find true freedom they'll need one another.  But they'll also have to find the strength inside themselves to face their struggles head-on or their very real demons will win.

This overall story was both difficult and incredibly wonderful.  Xander's situation was terribly painful to watch.  When evil finds your children and you feel responsibility for not saving them sooner that guilt can have the power crush you.  I ached for Kylian and what he had to go through.  But with a father like Xander I felt hope.  Xander was so very willing to be the savior for his children and I loved his zeal in how much control he used to temper his anger and express extraordinary amounts of love.  His tenderness was precious and essential for opening doors for his son.  And when Maddie shows up it provides the last piece to the puzzle.

The notion that women are second-class citizens isn't all that archaic, really.  It's rampant in some cultures, including parts of our own here in the Western world.  Watching Madeilena realize just what her fate is to be and how little she appeared to mean to her father was difficult to swallow.  Her mother is a gem, though, with the effort she put in to making sure Maddie had a way to escape.  The way it was set up was interesting and I was glad that only the essential details were recounted.

The escape itself could have taken up quite a few chapters of description and would have taken the focus away from the journey to the soul's freedom rather than just escaping her marital captivity.  I enjoyed seeing things through Maddie's eyes, especially the little cross-over scene from The Choice in Central Park.  Her entrance into Xander and his children's lives was dramatic but a quick flash of drama that served to start their story rather than add to the overall craziness that surrounded them.

Their relationship had a series of fits and starts in the beginning but was still very quick in its progression.  One of my guilty pleasures with romance novels is finding stories that are sweet and tender between the MC's right away.  That no matter what goes on around them they build something intense and very, very loving right away.  Lots and lots of feels combined with genuine affection-fed sexual situations.  And honesty, tons of honest expressions of thoughts and feelings.  The Escape had a whole bunch of that.  Whether the honesty slowed their progress or sped it up, they used their words as well as their actions to show their feelings and intentions.  I loved it.  And the steam was definitely hot.

Xander and Maddie were an awesome pair.  The way Maddie helped Kylian with his triggers was one of my favorite scenes ever.  Her quiet understanding and genuine way of helping them all was truly touching.  Xander's desire to do the right thing, to show his love and do his best to protect them balanced the softer side that Maddie brought.  The show-down in the beach house was quite dramatic and while I thought it was a little extra, it certainly made for an exciting scene.  I also think the paparazzi scene when they return is a bit unrealistic, I don't believe in their patience or sympathetic responses and would have appreciated a press conference situation instead with a more reputable reach through legit news sources rather than gossip mags leading the charge with their story.  Overall, though, this story was moving, sweet, and even fun at times.  Absolutely enjoyable way to spend a couple-few hours.

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