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It has truly been quite awhile since a book disappointed me as much as Wrath of an Exile by Monty Jay. This is book one in the River Styx Heathens series, a second gen/spin off of the Hollow Boys series. I have not read the Hollow Boys but I was still able to understand what was going on in Wrath of an Exile; though, there were times that I felt I was missing context. I wanted to read this book because it was a take on Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and that is one of my all time favorite stories. It was also supposed to be dark romance and that, along with the cover, fully got my attention. Unfortunately, Wrath of an Exile was a let down in every way. This review will have spoilers.
I like to give a heat level rating for all books with romance. If you’re curious about my rating system, you can check it out here.
Synopsis:
In Ponderosa Springs, this version of Romeo and Juliet isn’t a tragedy. It’s war.
Jude Sinclair is West Trinity Falls’ favorite exiled loner.
Cocky. Insufferably hot. Family foe.
Raised across the tracks in a rival town, he reeks of trouble. Which is the one thing I’ve always had a problem avoiding and now that he’s just down the hall, it’s harder to resist the pull.
My father made one rule when Jude moved in, never trust a Sinclair.
The last thing I need is for my new foster brother to make me question my loyalty with his filthy smirks and poet tongue. But with every forbidden kiss and secret hookup, I quickly find myself faced with two options.
Betray my family? Or betray my heart?
My Thoughts:
- Rating-
- Heat Level-
I’m not sure where to even start with this review because there was nothing I liked. The two main characters are Jude and Phi. Jude isn’t a terrible character but he’s SO bland. Take any main guy from a dark romance who has a tragic past, water him down and you have Jude. He’s a “poet” who grew up with an abusive, drug addicted father and nobody in the town likes him because of things his grandfather and father did. Then there is Phi… she is every single “not like other girls” stereotype rolled up into one. She lights up every room she’s in, she’s gorgeous, she’s rebellious, she likes to race and work on cars. She also has a tragic backstory because she was raped and never told anybody about it. She also blames Jude because he was friends with her rapist so she assumes he knew about it.
Somehow, even though Phi thinks Jude knew about the rape (he didn’t) she is still super attracted to him and eventually starts a love/hate relationship with him… That makes zero sense to me but sure. Giving characters a traumatic backstory doesn’t automatically make them interesting and it also doesn’t create chemistry between them. Phi and Jude have zero chemistry together and that is what made this book so hard to get through. I never believed they were into each other and I definitely wasn’t rooting for them to defy the odds and fall in love.
Speaking of falling in love, supposedly everybody hates Jude but her entire family and friend group didn’t care when it was finally revealed that they were together. The family and friend group barely makes an appearance throughout this entire book anyways. They would be mentioned in passing or they would speak a couple of lines to Phi but other than that, they could have been cut from the book entirely and nothing would have changed. EVERYTHING revolves around Phi and Jude. Most of the story is spent in Phi or Jude’s heads, literally. I was so sick of reading their thoughts because it was always the SAME. Jude was constantly thinking about how everybody hates him and Phi was focused on her trauma and her conflicting feelings for Jude. It was so repetitive and boring. Wrath of an Exile is a perfect example of telling, not showing in books.
Final Thoughts:
It’s honestly funny that this book is portrayed as a Romeo and Juliet retelling and even has “Hate + Love= War” on the cover because there is no real drama and there is for sure no war. There is just two teenagers who think they’re really deep and smart but they’re actually just cringe😬 From the other reviews I’ve seen, the Hollow Boys series is much better than this but I’m not sure I want to take the time to find out. If you’ve read the Hollow Boys, let me know if I should. Thanks for reading!
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