Striking out into the wasteland with nothing but her baby sister, a handful of supplies, and a rumor to guide her, sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone survives only to be captured by the people of Sylum, a dystopian society where women rule the men who drastically outnumber them, and a kiss is a crime. In order to see her sister again, Gaia must submit to their strict social code, but how can she deny her sense of justice, her curiosity, and everything in her heart that makes her whole?I never reviewed the first one in this series but I really enjoyed it, so when this came up on NetGalley I had to grab it.
This book frustrated me so much because the strong and stubborn Gaia from Birthmarked became much weaker and lost a lot of her appeal, in the first book I liked that she was so well developed but here she just didn't have the same strength. As well as that, Leon, the lovable and sweet Leon was turned into some cold and uncaring guy who redeemed himself at the end, just as I was going to give up on him. I still love Leon though, but throughout the book, I wanted to strangle him. I really felt for Will and Peter, and totally loved the characters of Josephine and Dinah!
The romance aspect completely and utterly annoyed me but still had me hoping and praying that Gaia picked the right person. I was frustrated by the fact that not just one but TWO other love interests were brought in, creating a love square, but I could understand why the guys were into her in Sylum with so few women. I spent most of the book screaming at my kindle because Gaia could not see what was right in front of her, but I think she made her choice at the end, thank goodness.
Overall, it wasn't quite as good as book one but I enjoyed it enough to get through in a day, I'll still read book three but hope it picks up.
Overall Rating: B-
This book is due for release on the 8th November 2011 by Roaring Press in the UK and the 10th November 2011 by Simon and Schuster in the UK.
Book received as an eGalley for review
Just blogged about this phenomenon in YA Lit where the heroines seem clueless and powerless. Would love to have you share your thoughts on my blog.
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