A thrilling sequel to The Stranded! Full of edge-of-the-seat drama, action and intense emotions - The Exiled continues Esther's, Nik's and the inhabitants of Arcadia's stories. It's hard not to give spoilers to those who haven't read the first book but, I can say they face even greater heartbreaking conflict and life altering decisions in The Exiled. Meanwhile other characters from book one face difficulties as they discover life, following the events at the end of 'The Stranded', is harder than ever. And with deadly secrets, spies and manipulation by the powers at the top - no-one can be sure who to trust or what to believe. This distrust and uneasiness pits allies against each other and leads the characters into dangerous and often unwise directions. This duology is one of the best, most enjoyable YA speculative thriller series out there. With complex characters that I really cared about and a vividly created world so immersive it's easy to imagine this happening in our present reality. A fast paced, heartstopping, storyline that draws you in and keeps you up at night turning pages. With thrilling action, an engaging plot, thought-provoking themes, relationship angst and underlying love story - this sequel is a satisfying, excellent conclusion to this duology. Suitable for teens and adults, I highly recommend these books to both. If this duology was a movie, it'd be a blockbuster cinema hit enjoyed by a wide range of ages.

I was super excited to start this book after finishing The Stranded and it really lived up to all my expectations, answered any questions I had after book one and is a brilliant sequel overall. This is a YA dystopian series that you don’t want to miss! We are thrown back into the chaos 4 months after the rebellion really takes off which left the Arcadia crashed and abandoned on the coast of the federal states. However, instead of being aboard this disorderly ship, we now get to witness the cramped fenced in area where the surviving passengers of the Arcadia have been exiled to. As well as this, the Coalies are still a huge problem, the exiled are now faced with more starvation, destruction and disease among the camp. So it’s not looking good for any of them. Much like the first book, the world building is so detailed to the point where I could walk alongside Esther down the alleys (not that I would want to), feel the desperation of the exiled passengers in the cramped and diseased warehouses and feel the contrast in this with the luxury that the Coalies & the Government get to experience. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love multiple povs but this one hits differently. We get to see the world and the mayhem created from so many different views and sides of the rebellion, like the first book. This made it so easy to get consumed by this book and the short chapters really make it easy to fly through. Overall, The Exiled is as dark and eerie as The Stranded which is the perfect atmosphere for a YA Dystopian. With more evil and ruthless bad guys and more at stake for the fight to freedom, you will not be able to turn the pages fast enough. Sarah Daniels has created such a unique and powerful story that I will find hard to forget!

Having only recently read The Stranded, which was an incredibly popular read on its release last year, it was enormously tempting to plunge straight into this follow-up but I forced myself to take a short break in order to read a few other titles to cleanse my palate and build up my appetite for this. Whether or not you do the same, this is a sequel that lives up to the promise of the first book – equally grim in places, and tense and gripping with a cast of brilliantly imagined characters. If you have not as yet read The Stranded, you can pick this up as a standalone but I really would recommend you read both titles in order so that you do not miss any of the plot details that seemed so unimportant in Book 1 but come to fruition here. Where that first title dealt with the lives of the people stuck on board cruise ship Arcadia and the eventual battle between those forming the resistance on the ship and the Federated States – those calling the shots on dry land – this second read focuses on what comes next. It is several months after the fateful events that saw the Arcadia grounded and those whose were able to flee the ship have settled into a camp comprising various old buildings originally used as warehouses within quayside shipyards. Rebel Esther has become used to the wanted posters bearing her image and that of associate Nik who both played a significant part in the events that led to the ship travelling to its final resting place but her thoughts are elsewhere when we meet her and boyfriend Pat as they try their latest plan to find a way to breach the fence that holds everyone prisoner. Unsuccessful again, Esther tries her best to speak to the rebel leaders but unable to turns her attention to trying to care for those in need of medical attention within the camp. At the same time, fugitive Nik is miles away – working to clean up the sea under a false identity while his mother – the head of the rebels – and Admiral Janek from the Federated States both search for him for very different reasons. When Nik is left with no alternative to return to the camp and is given an ultimatum about his loyalty to the rebels, he is forced to make some difficult decisions but his reappearance reignites the feelings Esther once held for him. As the two of them try their best to ignore their emotions, the sadistic and amoral Janek is plotting not just the downfall of the rebels but her own political advancement. When the fragile ceasefire between the two sides reaches the point of breaking down, Nik and Esther must fight not just for their own freedom but the freedom of the whole camp but they have not reckoned on the steps that Janek is willing to take to stop them. Can the two of them finally succeed in their plans or will they be crushed once and for all? Dystopian fiction seems to have become more popular than ever over the past few years, possibly as some of us increasingly wonder if we seem to be heading closer and closer to living in the sort of society portrayed in such reads. While the virus that was the original reason for those onboard Arcadia, and the other ships travelling at the same time, being quarantined appears to have long disappeared, its possible re-emergence is again given as a good reason by the Federated States for not allowing its occupants to settle. It does not take a genius to draw parallels with the way that those fleeing persecution are driven to desperate measures to reach the safety of the United Kingdom and other countries and are often portrayed as enemies of the state when they really are not. While Janek played a much smaller part of the action in The Stranded, here she has risen to a position where she is far more powerful and as a consequence far more dangerous to those who would oppose her – no matter which side they are on. Happy to threaten those who would defy her and to use violence if she deems it necessary to her progress, she is a thoroughly evil baddie who readers will love to hate. Throughout the duology, Sarah Daniels has created some very strong, credible female characters who are unafraid to take their places in whichever roles they find themselves. As someone who was brought up with girls and women playing only secondary roles in the stories they read and viewed, I took an enormous amount of pleasure from seeing Esther, Janek and several other characters in action on the pages here. For anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction, this is an absolutely cracking read. Fast-paced and action-packed, I read it in two sittings and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Almost following straight on from ‘The Stranded’ this book “The Exiled” is set six months after the ‘Arcadia’ crashed into the Federated States. With the residents now housed in camps, in equally as bad conditions as those on board the ship (if not worse), the vivid descriptions the author relays to the reader really does have you at the centre of their terrible lives, deep in the thick of disease, poor sanitation and horrific living conditions. After the tense action of the previous book, “The Exiled” continues with the fast paced suspense and addictive storyline and brings Esther and Nik back together to save the residents from potential slavery or even execution. I loved these characters previously and I still love them now. As an adult I completely immersed myself in these books and can only imagine teenagers, who these books are predominantly aimed at, would enjoy even more! I still say a tv series would make a fabulous viewing, such a unique concept for a dystopian thriller series and due to the clear, concise and interesting description the author conveys, together with a compelling narrative, I’d be first to sign up to watch. Another mind blowing, thought provoking (what would you do in their situations) and page turning novel, I can happily recommend these two books and Sarah Daniels and her exemplary writing. Scarily realistic and not at all unbelievable for future happenings. #TheExiled - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️