Review - Promised

by Caragh M. O' Brien
publisher: Roaring Brook Press
date of publication: October 2, 2012
format: ARC
pages: 295
source: from the publisher for review
series: Birthmarked (#3)

From Goodreads:

After defying the ruthless Enclave, surviving the wasteland, and upending the rigid matriarchy of Sylum, Gaia Stone now faces her biggest challenge ever.  She must lead the people of Sylum back to the Enclave and persuade the Protectorat to grant them refuge from the wasteland.  In Gaia's absence, the Enclave has grown more cruel, more desperate to experiment on mothers from outside the wall, and now the stakes of cooperating or rebelling have never been higher.  Is Gaia ready, as a leader, to sacrifice what--or whom--she loves most?

I have adored this series from the very beginning and am sad to see it come to an end.  When I first met Gaia Stone and learned about the difficult world in which she lives, I was completely hooked.  I was so hooked, in fact, that I read the first 2 books in a day and a half!  When a story grabs you up and takes you along on such a smooth ride that you don't realize just how long or how much you've been reading, you know there is something special going on.  This is no less true for Promised, the final book in Caragh M. O' Brien's Birthmarked trilogy.  From start to finish, Promised had me completely enthralled.  This is something I am really going to miss about this series.  After all, you can only read a book for the first time once.

Gaia has come a long way since her midwifing days in Wharfton.  First an unwitting accomplice to a cruel adoption system, then a refugee fighting the rigid structures of a corrupt matriarchy, Maia now faces her biggest challenge yet.  Throughout Promised, Gaia finds herself struggling with her conscience and boundaries.  From the boundaries between the Enclave and Wharfton to the boundaries between fighting for what's right and acts of terrorism, there are so many sides of the coin to consider.  Though I was genuinely surprised by some of the decisions Gaia made, the ways in which she continues to think over every possible detail she can is nothing short of illuminating.  It really gives you a clearer view of her character.  Even when you think she has made a mistake, she shows you what strength and determination can do.  If Gaia doesn't make you think while you read her story, I have no idea how else I can explain the experience.

In some ways, the story line has come full circle in its re-visitation of the rights and wrongs of the Enclave's adoption practices.  This time, however, the worst has come about and I found myself truly horrified by the Protectorat's latest schemes.  While Promised isn't a horror story, there is horror to be found in the form of cruelty, greed, and the stripping away of human rights.  The story made me experience such a wide array of emotions that I was left in a bit of awe.  From the sweetest moments to the sorrowful ones, Promised has a way of evoking feelings you may never have thought you had.  I really love that about this book.

Now that the Birthmarked series has come to an end, I feel a bit quiet about it.  How exactly do I fully describe the experience I had in reading it?  I will say that I have enjoyed every single minute I have spent in reading these books.  I can't wait to see what else Caragh M. O' Brien has in store for the future.  If her next works are half as wonderful as Birthmarked, I will be a very happy reader, indeed.  Thanks, Ms. O' Brien for such a fantastic, thought-provoking series.

Buy Promised at the Following Locations:

Amazon / IndieBound / B&N / The Book Depository

Obligatory legal statement: This review copy was provided to me free of charge by the publisher. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.