Exodus (The Ravenhood)

This book! THIS BOOK!! I thought Flock owned me and was completely obsessed with it. Exodus really took me by surprise. Exodus is THE BOOK of the year! Never has a book brought out so many different emotions in me, and made me feel like I am right there with all of my beloved and tortured characters. I felt like I was going trough all of it with them. It has heartbreak, uncontrollable passion,deceit,betrayal,soooo many crazy secrets,and misunderstandings. I went into this book blind, and had no idea how things were going to play out. There were just so many options and possibilities. Exodus immediately picks up where Flock left off (huge cliffhanger).. We find Cecelia meeting “The Frenchman”. She finds him both magnificent and incredibly cruel. She is perplexed by his manipulation. He’s the” man behind the curtain”, and she’s both annoyed and intrigued by his constant presence. There is an instant and distinct electricity that crackles between the two of them whether they like it or not. I personally fell in love with this Frenchman, I don’t know why… but I did! I was very mad about Cecelia’s “ Golden Sun” and her “Cool Dark Cloud” left without any explanation…. It absolutely gutted me. I love both Dom and Sean. I loved the love they all shared together. We also find that after all her heartbreak, Cecelia starts to build more confidence and starts to feel the change in herself. She lost half of her mind due to heartbreak and wants nothing to do with love ever again. She will not stop the flicker of hope she finally has of living a “normal life”, claim it as her own. She’s trying to cover her emotional scars on the surface she’s collected no matter how deep they still run. Kate Stewart is such a mastermind with her writing… She keeps it at such an amazing slow pace that keeps you guessing ,there were surprises at every turn, from chapter 1 to the very end. Leaving you shocked, guessing just what the heck is going to happen next, such delicious and agonizing anticipation. Too many shocking turn of events and so many secrets revealed. I was completely shocked too many times to count as the story played out. There were several eargasam moments that were so utterly HOT, sensual, and erotic. I was COMPLETELY gutted in one unexpected and unwanted particular scene and I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it. I’m still feeling the effects of this book, and think I will for awhile to come. What I took away from this story was all these secrets did the most damage. OMFG…This is duet style narration by my favorites Maxine Mitchell and Joe Arden. They came to slay us all with their performances! I’ve listened to countless books these two have narrated, but this one is the best I’ve heard! It must have been very difficult for both of them to deal with all the raw emotions and excruciating pain that was dripping from their voices, but I FELT it! Maxine does the majority of the dialogue in this. Both of their voices were dripping with all the emotions a person could possibly feel. Joe got me REAL GOOD with his range of all the different male characters. His absolutely thrilling portrayal of Tobias was flawless with his beautiful French accent. Those extremely slow drawn out whispers, so sexy but yet so spine tingling chilling. The way he says, “ I see you”…. with all that raw uncontrolled emotion, breathtaking. So demanding,overpowering,and yet I felt the vulnerability in his tone. Joe you OWNED me sir in 2 particular chapters. The rawness of his emotions, completely and utterly destroyed me like no other book has before! Such an amazing performance, so damn good! This was by far Maxines BEST performances I’ve ever heard. She completely blew me away! I could feel and tell she put all of her heart, soul, passion, and love into her character at all times. She deserves ALL the awards. Just give them ALL to her! There were several chapters that I just ugly cried to. She made me feel all what she was saying and feeling. The way her voice quivers instinctively makes my lips quiver, and my eyes start to cry. I believed and bought into what she was saying and how she was saying it. Her character just kept on getting hit emotionally, and she’s such an amazing actress that I felt like I was going through all of it with her. Maxines performance will stay with me for quite awhile. So emotional for me, and that is extremely rare for me to feel this way about a book. Bravo! 💋 This book deeply touched me on several different levels. Made me feel furiously mad, feel deep love, obsessed, extremely frustrated, high anticipation, and finally relieved. Buy and listen to this book NOW!! What are you waiting for?

Oh my word!!! I am beyond speechless right now because I thought I loved Flock in the Ravenhood series but I was so so so wrong. Kate, I absolutely love you because like I said, in my first review of Flock you just have a way with words. This book has completely wrecked me in the best way. They were so much twist and turns that even though I’ve seen a lot of TikTok and Facebook videos nothing could prepare me for what happened. I did a whole a lot of sobbing, weeping and having my heart ripped out of my chest. I absolutely love this book even more than I loved Flock. I’m truly speechless because this book has totally change my perspective of Cecilia’s boys of Summer. As I am writing this review, all I want to do is cry because I never thought a book could rip my heart out of chest. My review for Flock was my longest review I’ve ever written on Amazon and didn’t have any issues finding the words to writing it. I am just so lost for words because this book has changed me. I understand what the other readers feel like when it comes to reading this extraordinary book that literally ripped my heart out of my chest. This series has became my new obsession so much so that I had to finish it to the end. So right now, all I want to do is curl up in a fetal position and cry because this book is a roller coaster of epic proportions. To be honest, this book wrecked me and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in this world. Exodus answered so many questions that were not answered in Flock. I could not put this book down until I got to the end. I absolutely loved the fact that you get a perspective from then and then you jump forward in the near future where are you find out a whole lot of the answers that were not answered. I truly cannot wait to finish the last book in the Ravenhood series because there’s still questions that need to be answered. Kate Stewart you’re still on my bucket list of things I have to do before I kick the bucket. I seriously want to meet you because… I am truly lost for words at the moment. I don’t get speechless very often, but this is the rare occasion that I don’t know what words to use. When I say, it’s a rare trait for me to be at a loss for words because when I was in eighth grade, I got a trophy for most talkative. Exodus is the first book that has made me cry profusely, ripped my heart to shreds, gave me some answers, and I completely loved every second of hearing the audiobook of Exodus. Recently I saw a TikTok, where the reader said the narrators of the audiobook, for the Ravenhood series was phenomenal and I couldn’t agreed more. Joe Arden made this audiobook come to life for me, because there’s something about his voice that makes it so much real for me. As of right this very second, I would love to meet Joe Arden because you make Kate Stewart Ravenhood series so much real for me, that I could never imagine anybody ever voicing all of Cecelia’s boys of Summer. Thank you so so much for writing this book Kate Stewart for bringing this masterpiece into this world. And I truly cannot wait to meet you, to shake your hand, and tell you the haters I will never be me. Thank you yet again.

I dreaded reading this book because it meant the series was also over, but omg when I picked it up I couldn't stop. It broke me and put me back together so many times. I thought I saw how it was going but I was all wrong. I cried I laughed and I cried some more. If you do anything today read this series!!!

Every time I revisit this book, it feels like I’m reading it for the very first time. No matter how many times I pick it up, it still manages to pull at my heartstrings and leave me completely emotional. Without a doubt, this is my favorite book by Kate Stewart and my absolute favorite in the The Ravenhood Series. The story is beautifully written, deeply emotional, and unforgettable. If you’re someone who loves powerful love stories that stay with you long after you’ve finished reading, this book is a must-read. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who enjoys heartfelt romance and isn’t afraid to embark on an emotional rollercoaster. Prepare to laugh, cry, and fall completely in love with this story.

I’m still having a hard time finding the words to accurately express what this book did to me... “I know for sure that humility has changed me in a major way. And these lessons I haven’t taken for granted, even if I’ve been taken for granted in the process.” I think we can all agree that book 1 was a life-lessons masterclass. There were so many outstanding lessons presented in so many beautiful ways. The wool was pulled from Cecelia’s eyes allowing her to see life on a different level. Yet in book 2, Cecelia STILL makes shallow, ignorant comments leaving “The Frenchman” (for those who haven’t read the book) with the opportunity to embarrass her and leave her feeling stupid. I guess I understand the intent—to set up a situation that allows “The Frenchman” to impart lessons or wisdom on her— but really.. at times even I was embarrassed for her considering all she learned from the boys in book 1. Cecelia entertaining her attraction to “The Frenchman” early on made me resent her character for a few chapters. I effortlessly fell in love with Sean & Dom *swoon* in book 1 and without an inkling as to where they are or when they’re coming back.. it just felt like betrayal, which made it hard for me to get on board. It was difficult for me to even enjoy reading the first scene of what was, no doubt, unbridled passion between Cecelia and “The Frenchman”. —If it weren’t for the lingering presence of Sean & Dom in the background it would be easy to root for “The Frenchman”, but this early on.. its impossible. “I found my truth in love just seconds before it was ripped from me.” —Ok I get it. It played out perfectly. I finally submit to their love only to be completely crushed by it 😩. This is literal word voodoo, Kate Stewart!! What have you done to me?! 5 minutes later.. (Spongebob style) —> Gutted... Complete and utter devastation... I’ve heard writers describe the characters they write as being a part of them; admitting how difficult and sometimes heartbreaking it is when their stories come to an end..I don’t know what that feels like from a writer/creators point of view, all I know is I’m sitting on my bed surrounded by tissues in complete shock. —>Kate! I have to know.. did you sob writing that scene as hard as I just did reading it??? Practical magic. That’s what you’ve done here. Look it up people. It’s imbedded in the entire series and Kate, you’re a genius. “We had our song, and it’s time to take us off pause and let the rest of our story play out.” “Because loving you made me sick as f*** and losing you twice has made me terminal. I don’t want to live out any ending that doesn’t include you.” Tissues. Get lots of tissues. I started bawling about halfway through the book and hardly stopped. I’m so conflicted with this book. It made me *feel* on a subatomic level. —In a lot of ways I hate the way this story ultimately played out, (I’m selfish like that), but in many other ways... it was beautiful. Life isn’t alway pretty and love doesn’t always end up looking the way we think it should. Kate Stewart did a phenomenal job giving us a passionate love story while dousing us in reality. “If you leave, I’ll come after you. If you change your mind, I’ll change it back. I’ll fight so f*****g hard for you every single day, so you never question if you made the right choice.” Hated that we didn’t get to see more of how Cecelia’s HEA played out and absolutely HATED the epilogue (no Kate, I refuse to entertain it), but this duet is why I love reading and why I love Kate Stewart. I’ll still be processing this story and these character for days to come.

Absolutely gut wrenching and SOoo worth it . I'm absolutely in love with this series!!! The back and forth the up and down. The stubbornness, emotions SO many emotions I had with this book!! I swear I felt every emotion with this book. Kate did an amazing job with this series.

Okay this book was an emotional roller coaster I cried so much. I was definitely on the fence about reading it because of what I heard. But I definitely enjoyed it and couldn’t stop reading. But I also love to get emotional wrecked in books.

<b>Solid 3.25 ✨</b> This one gets this rating from me because it was a huge uphill battle for me to stay here.. This book took forever to take shape for me.. Cecelia really worked my nerves through this entire 52 chapter book.. Things only began to become a little interesting when I reached chapter 19.. and because these are not exactly quick chapters, you can imagine how difficult it was for me to get through the set up of this sequel.. Mainly I couldn't handle Cecelia's constant repetitive droning. And her plentiful contradictions of her own truth throughout this story. It worked my nerves something fierce. I just couldn't.. Then I just couldn't completely surrender to the male her heart ultimately chose. Tobias and Cecelia, their chemistry just didn't fully work for me.. it always felt just too forced to me.. Nothing with them flowed organically to me.. Their genesis, their middle, and their outcome just didn't blow my skirt up.. I feel that Cecelia has/had stronger, purer, and hotter chemistry with Sean and Dominic. ESPECIALLY Sean.. And if I'm honest Sean is who I wanted her with. Because he seemed to bring out the best in her, even in their moments of frustration and anger. They were the yin and yang IMO.. Even her and Dom, considering their rocky start, had much better chemistry... Now chapters 25 and 51 completely and utterly crushed me😭😭💔 They're also the reason why this book got the rating it did. Had it not been for these two chapters, my rating would have been much lower.. Some of the major reveals here, and the whys that are finally given to Cecelia, fell flat for me.. Cause in the big picture, these types of reveals just didn't feel like they warranted such secrets to be kept for so long, before she was FINALLY granted the truth, after her constantly having to beg for these truths, even years later.. So I was kind of disappointed. The explanations given just were not stirring my Kool-aid at all.. They served to make me even more upset though. Because they made me going down this rabbit 🐰 hole inside of Cecelia's jacked up mind and heart, pointless.. 😒 And what occurs in the final chapter, 52? Yeah.. I would have told Tobias to go kick some rocks.. Book 1 had me riveted from the first word to the very last.. I just hate that book 2, couldn't do that for me. Make me really care about the main folks here, with the exceptions of chap 25 and 51, I was left wanting big time with this sequel's overall story.. So now I'm faced with a difficult decision.. Do I complete the Trilogy and read book 3 or no?? So, thus far I would still recommend this Trilogy based off of book 1.. Book 2 isn't awful, but it's just not all that great for me.. I think, I know, I lost a lot of respect, patience, and empathy for Cecelia in this 2nd book. And it doesn't help that the entire story is in her POV..

"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺? 𝘖𝘧 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺." . . In my review for Flock, I mentioned you should expect to fall in love with the characters, with the world, and with its setting. In the sequel though, you're introduced to a twist you could never have previously predicted. Hence, for Exodus, you should expect much more angst, much more intensity. Expect to feel torn between complete contradictory feelings and to be in awe of the author for being able to pull this one off. Be ready for heartbreak. Be ready to be overwhelmed, anxious, and even mad for just feeling 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩. . . "𝘔𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘺. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬. 𝘈𝘯𝘥, 𝘴𝘰, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭, 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦. 𝘔𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦." . . I'll be honest, I was so gutted by the events in Exodus that I didn't enjoy the book to its full extent the first time I read it. That's all I can say without giving out spoilers, but the characters created here have real-life depth. Just like it's not at all easy to interpret and fully understand human actions happening in our world, those of RH made me feel uneasy, angry, frustrated. And, even though there was no denying the mind-blowing excellence of the book’s quality, I still, after months, couldn't yet grasp the full intricacy of this novel. After being done wallowing in my book hangover from the duet, I dived in again and fell in love harder than ever, realizing I'd found a favorite heroine, a favorite fiction world, a favorite everything. And that's how you can tell you've read an exceptional book. . . There's no doubt in mind that The Ravenhood was not only my best read of 2020, but also the best contemporary romance I've read 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘥, ever. I honestly can't wait a second longer before being able to read The Finish Line on January 26th. . . Expectations have never been higher for the evolution of a king. 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ★★★★★+

I have started and finished the Duet in a weekend. That was two days ago. I am still feeling very raw and tender, extremely emotional. During the day, while I work, I surprise myself thinking about how the Duet made me feel and I still feel the need to cry a little more. Let me be clear. I have read a few amazing books and felt them deeply, but this Duet - despite not being perfect - has left me reeling. It's jam-packed with feelings, light and heavy. Solitude, abandonment issues (the weight of caring for a fragile parent and the lack of relationship with her father even when physically present), friendship, love, lust, breaking the barriers of the comfort zone, anger, angst, mystery, learning to dig deeper into adulthood and what it means to not stop on the surface, interesting topics and conspiracy theories, shame, break-ups, separation, grief, inertia, trust issues, again so much anger and angst and conflicts and confrontation and pride, death and even more grief and anger. (SPOILERS) I felt my heart soar and break and mend and soar and break times and times again while reading it. I also felt incredibly hot and bothered and I could understand why she was so torn while feeling in love with one, two then three men at the same time. I thought that KS was amazing in sneaking characters under your skin so much that you could actually feel happiness, warmth and sunshine while being with Sean, and coolness, moodiness and "never-enoughness" (I know it's not a word) while being with Dominic. And then Tobias really threw everything in the air because when he came into the equation and started growing on you, KS had made Sean and Dom disappear so you started forgetting why you were so in love with them and that falling in love with Tobias actually made sense because he was so all-encompassing and annihilating and all man that you couldn't help it. I didn't always like Cecilia. I understood her, I understood where she was coming from (especially her relationship with her mother and how being her mother's mother crippled her for so long) and I appreciate that she was so young and impressionable but sometimes I couldn't stand her. I resented her young age and its clash against the maturity of the other characters, and the battle that they were fighting. But i liked the woman she became (even though 26 is still such a young age to accomplish all of that, even if it's implied she grew up very quickly, also because of the boys of summer). Her defining qualities for the majority of the books are her stunning beauty and her heart (which she uses as a mouthpiece. I loved that quote). Which, don't get me wrong, are two amazing qualities. And in the "now" part of the book she comes across as a shrewd business woman, and very brave. So I can appreciate her character development. I loved that one of the main characters died and that it was rather quick and that it was such a momentous plot twist. I loved how people are so cold with her once she comes back to Triple Falls. I started crying when Tyler shows up at Eddie's and that warmed my heart beyond words. It really gutted me for some reasons. And I love that she sees Sean only at the end. How he hugs her without thinking twice about it only to then put distance because every feelings comes back up again and not everything is magically forgiven and forgotten on the spot. And I loved how he gives her Dom's car and then goes back to her to mend the broken pieces before she leaves for good. I think that the ending was a little rushed. I honestly felt a little underwhelmed as I thought that there would have been some big showdown between the Ravenhood and Jerry Siegal or someone else. Perhaps it will be addressed in the bonus epilogues. I think that Tobias showing up 8 months later would have led to some more groveling and really I was extremely disappointed to just see them ride in the sunset towards her new home without a proper love scene as a parting gift. I wouldn't be surprised if the bonus epilogue would be a better glimpse into the new Ravenhood generation with Dominic Junior taking the helm. But who knows. I am also convinced that the pendant was from BOTH Dominic and Sean because they didn't want her to chose one of them and she belonged to both. That's my theory. I feel a lot about this book and I really don't know why but I can't stop thinking about it. I think these are the best kind of books.

This series has broken my heart, put it back together just to rip it to shreds and piece back together again. Wow wow wow. I need to take a beat before I read the last one and just sit with my feelings. I’ve only ever mourned one series before and it was the EOD series but I think this one may beat out that one. So. Freaking. GOOD. The story line & spice is 10/10 but the writing truly takes the cake.

I thought Flock was far more complex than the “spicy romance” label sometimes attached to it. After finishing Exodus, I am even more convinced that reducing The Ravenhood to sex, attractive men and questionable romantic decisions misses much of what Kate Stewart is doing. Exodus is about love, certainly. But it is also about loyalty, sacrifice, grief, freedom, power, protection and the terrible things people sometimes do to each other while genuinely believing they are acting out of love. And it broke my heart. Dominic's death devastated me. Looking back, his earlier belief that he would never make it to thirty becomes almost unbearable. Perhaps Dominic understood himself better than anyone else did. He lived passionately, dangerously and sometimes angrily. He was never going to be the man who stepped backwards when someone he loved was in danger. And ultimately, he gives his life protecting Cecelia. There is something particularly tragic about Dominic because we will never know what he and Cecelia might eventually have become. Death doesn't only take the person; it takes every possible future containing that person. We will never meet an older Dominic. We will never know how his anger might have softened, how his relationships might have changed, or what the man who loved books, music and rainy days might have become when the fighting was over. He remains unfinished. And perhaps that is why the scene with his Camaro destroyed me even more than his death itself. When Cecelia receives the key and opens that car for the first time afterward, his absence suddenly becomes tangible. The car remains. His things remain. The world remains. Dominic doesn't. I cried. Not elegant little book tears, either. Kate Stewart, you owe me emotional damages. Sean broke my heart differently. He was Cecelia's doorway into freedom. He helped her discover parts of herself she didn't yet know existed. His warmth, openness and protectiveness were never weaknesses; they were essential parts of what he gave her. And his grief reminded me that these books aren't simply about three men orbiting one woman. The relationships between the men—their history, loyalty and brotherhood—exist independently of Cecelia and matter enormously. And then there is Tobias. Oh, Tobias. Dark, controlling, infuriating, charismatic, frighteningly capable and capable of extraordinary love. His relationship with Cecelia fascinated me because I don't think Exodus ever gives us the comfortable option of separating “Tobias who loves her” from “Tobias who hurts her.” Both are real. He loves through control and sacrifice. He believes protecting Cecelia sometimes means withholding information, making decisions for her and ultimately depriving himself of her. His willingness to lose the woman he loves because he believes his presence puts her in danger is deeply moving. It is also deeply frustrating. Because Cecelia deserves some authority over the risks she is willing to take with her own life. And that contradiction is precisely why Tobias works for me as a character. He is not perfect. Neither is his love. But it is real. The moment that touched me most about Tobias comes toward the end, when he finally gives up the world that has functioned almost like his armour. The beautiful suits. The expensive cars and drinks. The power. The lifestyle. The control. Instead of continuing to demand that Cecelia somehow fit into his world, he shows up at her door willing to try to fit into hers. For a man like Tobias, that is vulnerability. For so much of the story, Cecelia has been trying to reach an emotionally unreachable man. At last, Tobias is the one crossing the distance. And Cecelia herself deserves far more credit than I sometimes see her receiving. The young woman from Flock desperately wanted to belong. She wanted love, freedom, intensity and the feeling of finally being chosen. The Cecelia emerging from Exodus has learned something much harder: Sometimes you can desperately love someone and still refuse to abandon yourself for them. She fights for Tobias. She fights hard. But eventually she also has the courage to set him free. “I love you” and “I cannot continue like this” are not contradictory statements. Sometimes walking away from someone you love requires more strength than staying. There is also a cruel irony running through this book that I found fascinating. Again and again, the men surrounding Cecelia try to protect her by controlling what she knows. They keep secrets. They make decisions for her. They move pieces around her life because they believe knowledge would put her in danger. But their attempts to protect her contribute to exactly what they fear. Cecelia becomes increasingly frustrated, desperate for answers and determined to reclaim control over her own life. The risks she eventually takes don't happen despite their protection; in some ways, they happen partly because of it. And the consequences are catastrophic. That makes Exodus much more than a romance for me. It asks uncomfortable questions about whether love gives us the right to decide what is best for another person. About the difference between protecting someone and controlling them. About sacrifice. About whether withholding yourself from someone can itself be an act of love. And, most painfully, about grief. None of these characters is perfect. Sean loves differently from Dominic. Dominic loves differently from Tobias. And Cecelia loves each of them differently because each awakens something different in her. Perhaps that is why I can't choose between them. Sean gave her freedom. Dominic gave her fierce loyalty and, ultimately, his life. Tobias gives her the kind of dark, difficult, consuming love that can make someone extraordinarily happy and tear them apart at exactly the same time. I finished Exodus emotionally exhausted, heartbroken over Dominic, deeply moved by Tobias, protective of Sean, and with enormous respect for the woman Cecelia is becoming. So yes, Kate Stewart completely wrecked me. And somehow my response to this emotional abuse is: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Please continue. Apparently I have learned nothing. 🐦‍⬛💔 On to The Finish Line.

I don‘t remember when I last cried this much reading a book. Emotional, and just so addictive. You get encapsulated by the characters and story until you are a part of the Ravenhood yourself. The plot? Unmatched. The characters? So complex. The stakes? Huge. The emotions? Too much. The writing? Engaging af. I will never stop recommending this book. Read it. Don‘t read any summaries, spoilers or else. Just read it.