Promised by Caragh O'Brien

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?

Goodreads Summary

Promised, the conclusion to the Birthmarked series, offers up a perfect ending.  Gaia must find a way to get the people of Sylum to the Enclave, they need rescuing from the wastelands.  However, the Enclave is not quite how she remembered it; there are terrible experiments being carried out on mothers with a wary eye on any possible dissenters.   For Gaia's wish of sanctuary to be granted, the Enclave will require a terrible sacrifice.  Will Gaia find the courage to respond to the outrageous request?

Gaia's character is realistic.  She's not trying to please the reader, she's trying to make the best out of a very difficult situation.  She has a bleeding heart, she cares deeply for the people of Sylum and her loves ones.  She wants to give them the best possible outcome.  The decisions and feelings Gaia experiences are raw.  Not all of the decisions are easy to agree with, but the reader will likely see the logic in them.  There are a few new characters in this book and some that return from the first.  The characters will give the reader a variety of reactions, some good, some bad, and some might leave a bad taste in the reader's mouth. 

The plot itself is just as intricately fashioned as the first two books.  There is a continuation of the general plot from book one, but the author has thrown in more than a few twists that will have the reader avidly turning the pages.  The ending is both shocking and somewhat satisfying, it will likely live on in the reader's memory for a long time.  This book is recommended to young adult/teen readers.

3 1/2 Stars

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