Caragh M. O'Brien: Prized

Wow.
Now THIS is what a book 2 should be.

I avoided reviews before reading this (thankfully), but just read this review and was slightly irked.  But then I saw her reading list, and that she rated The Perks of Being a Wallflower only ONE star, and I realized that a book that goes against traditional, super-religious thinking may not be received with open-minded love.

Are there issues with the book? Heck yes.  Does Gaia irritate me? Several times in the novel.
But is the journey worthwhile?

Super-Heck YES!

I love that O'Brien delved into controversial issues (assisted miscarriage, love triangles/quadrangles, matriarchal society, autopsies, genetic and reproductive issues, etc.), and I love the overall tone of this book. It is rife with agonizing decisions that Gaia is forced to make.  It is peppered with frustrations that the reader and the characters must grapple with.

If a book 3 never comes, I won't be sad.  This was a highly satisfying, very exciting, super intense, awesome read.  Done in one day.  Love, love, love, LOVED this book.

Anne Osterlund: Exile

I won't lie.  I have had this book all summer long.  I have been avoiding reading this, just like Harry Potter 6 & 7 and just like A Conspiracy of Kings.  It's what I seem to do when I find I don't want an awesome saga to end.  I haven't finished HP6 because I know book 7 is the end.  I know that there will be at least one more book from Whalen-Turner, but who knows when she'll get around to it.  And because I thought this was a sequel, I didn't want Aurelia's story to end.  And now I've discovered the little #2 in parenthesis on Goodreads, and who knows when/if another book will be on its way?! 

GRRRRRRR....because, THIS ONE WAS AMAZING.  I finally started it last night, and finished it today at noon.  It was emotion-filled, heart-wrenching, and satisfying and mortifying and frustrating all at once.    Aurelia develops her strength through her journey in this book.  Initially, as I was reading, I was turned off by the heavy emphasis on the developing love story, but towards the end and looking back on the text, I know that there was strong reasons behind the focal points of the book.  

I won't lie, the writing is also what makes the lovey-dovey stuff more tolerable.  Osterlund is really adept at pulling the reader into the emotions of the situation with the skill of her craft.  I cried and teared up several times.  Though I don't think I smiled or laughed as much as I think I remember from the first book.  The slight shifts in perspectives (Aurelia's and Robert's) without the voices blurring together (unlike Crossed) add an interesting dimension to the text, and had I not been rushing to get through it, I think I would have been even more impressed with the technique.  

I will say that Osterlund is not on my "nice" list for some of the serious losses Aurelia endures, but I will not be too irked and will give her a chance to rectify things in the *potentially* culminating story.  :)

While I am glad I finally read it, I am NOT glad that I will have to wait to see if Aurelia and Robert's story will culminate in a truly satisfying ending or if this wide-open "use your imagination" is all readers will get!  Loved. This. Book!