I had a really hard time with Prized, the second book in the Birthmarked series by Caragh O’Brien. I enjoyed Birthmarked and the dystopian world it created. The second book is a brand new world and almost completely a new set of characters, other than a few familiar places. I am having a hard time writing a review without spoilers, so I am just going to give pros and cons:

Pros:
The world building of Sylum is really interesting
The characters are well-written with interesting personalities and strong traits
Gaia does falter in her personality but stays true to herself
Story moves along solidly and compels me to listen (audiobook) because I wanted to know the end of the story


Cons:
I was SO agitated during this book with the way people acted
The Matrarac was so frustrating with her choices and her lack of seeing outside her box
The discrimination of men was so crazy, not even educating them and treating them like slaves
Leon! What the heck is wrong with him, I understand that miscommunication causes issues, but SERIOUSLY
The town people not wanted to better themselves even though they are living in a town that is “killing” them
The love square, geez wiz! A love triangle is bad enough and this was TOO much


Not a horrible book, definitely going to want to read the ending of the series to see what happens next, Promised.

I was searching in Goodreads and saw that Caragh was born in Minnesota, so that is neat that I am reading material from another Minnesota native. I can understand why she wants to write about warmer climates when it is -40 below here!

For more reviews check out my blog A Flurry of Ponderings