It was a choice he had happily made, his life for hers, his freedom for hers. But now she was out there somewhere, battling the wastelands with precious few supplies and a baby to care for. The chances for survival were slim, but his own survival was not so great either. Punished and tortured for his part in Gaia's escape with the records, he was in no position, or fit state, to go after her. But when given the opportunity there was no way he would let it slip through his fingers. He had cared m More...

The new thing in YA is doing novellas or short stories to promote upcoming sequels. Unfortunately, some authors use this only for a vehicle for a sneak peak for the sequel instead of using it as a forum to say something new and fresh about the story being told.

Tortured by Caragh O'Brien falls in that category. The story takes place after Birthmarked. We follow Leon as he is healing from torture from his father. We get some discussion of what happens to him and how he plans to get Gaia back. That More...

Tortured is a short story set after Birthmarked but before Prized. It is told from Leon's POV. And it is amazing. I loved hearing Leon's thoughts. It isn't very long; only 32 pages. Well, okay, only 16. But still. Those 16 pages are amazing. And I'm so glad this ebook was out there. Becasue Leon was my favorite character in this book series; and I was so excited to read from him. :)

This short story is very sad, though. Because it deals with what happens after Leon got tortured. And it is horribl More...

To continue the joint review format, our friend, Cyn, is back again :)

♥ Overall:
Celeste: This short story was just ok for me. It was free on Amazon kindle so I am not going to complain too much.
Cyn: I could’ve done without it, but I liked it. Leon kept fighting for Gaia even when he was put in such a bad situation. *sniff sniff*

♥ What did you like:
Celeste: I liked that it was written from Leon’s point of view and we could get a small peek into his head. It confirmed that he really did love Gaia More...

Wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Perhaps if it had come out before Prized the way the author intended then it would have had the impact that maybe she was going for. I'm not saying I didn't like it, because I did, but what I really wanted to know was a little bit more about Leon, things we didn't know already, I wish we could have heard some more of his thoughts especially regarding Gaia instead I felt like we just kinda watched the scene unfold, not really from anyone's perspective. Ugh I'm More...

Kurzbeschreibung:
"But what about Leon?" Now, in this new story that bridges the gap between Birthmarked and Prized, Caragh M. O'Brien answers her readers' most common question with a tale of suffering and determination from Leon's perspective. Be warned. The story is a spoiler for the first book in the award-winning trilogy. This promotional e-book includes this exclusive bridge story, as well as a teaser chapter for Prized, book two in the Birthmarked trilogy, available wherever e-books are sol More...

I enjoyed Birthmarked, so I was excited to see we’d get a behind-the-scenes look in Tortured. This was just a really quick peek at what Leon goes through after Gaia has to leave him behind at the Enclave. Let’s just say, I knew things were going to be really hard for him, but I never could have been prepared for this! I really liked Leon, even though I don’t feel like he was given enough dimension to be a character I could adore. I knew he’d be at the mercy of his stepfather’s wrath, but the con More...

I found Tortured an interesting read, but it's hard to get much satisfaction out of it because it's over so quickly. Things that took placed in Birthmarked are explained further, but Tortured ends before any action can take place. This novelette-length piece bridges the events between the end of Birthmarked and the beginning of Prized. It's free as an ebook, which was probably a good idea on the publisher's part. Tortured isn't so much a sequel as it is a single chapter, and it would be kind of More...

I wouldn't recommend reading TORTURED before you've read BIRTHMARKED, which is the first book in Caragh M. O'Brien's trilogy. If you haven't read BIRTHMARKED, check out my review here.

TORTURED is a novella, Book 1.5, and features a scene that takes place between BIRTHMARKED and PRIZED. O'Brien's other novella, RULED, is Book 2.5, and I personally wouldn't read it until at least halfway through the final book in the trilogy, PROMISED. I started reading it earlier and had an element spoiled that More...

COLLASAL DISAPPOINTMENT! This is NOT a book, it's not even a short story or novella. It's a chapter containing a whole 15 pages (Nook version). I was really looking forward to some insight into what happened to Leon and how he might make it back to Gaia. What I got was 15 pages of his assisted escape from the Bastion and nothing else. There is no plot, no development, there is NOTHING! This should have been an Epiologue at the end of the first book but, instead, they market it as its own entity. More...

Free for Kindle right now, along with the titles below! More info and details linked on my blog.


More...

I know it's pretty short, but it's a pretty good read for someone who's a fan of the Birthmarked series. Seeing a guys' POV is pretty rare in YA nowadays - especially one who's actually nice from the beginning. I was also curious to see what had happened between the events that Gaia herself mentioned - this book certainly helped to bridge that. However, what I liked the most was that Leon was so loyal to both his family, Gaia, and Gaia's friends & relatives. It's really shown, not just told More...

This VERY small "bridge" book answers what happens to Leon between book 1 and 2. I didn't know about it until after I'd finished book 2 and went back and read it. It was very good writing, just like the other books, and did fill you in on a little of what poor Leon went through. I have to admit I was hoping for more, (view spoiler)[you didn't see what he experienced in the wasteland at all (hide spoiler)]. So, just so you know, it is very, very short. I'm really surprised they even made cover art for it. That's okay, still lo More...

I reviewed this with Cyn :)

♥ Overall:
Celeste: This short story was just ok for me. It was free on Amazon kindle so I am not going to complain too much.
Cyn: I could’ve done without it, but I liked it. Leon kept fighting for Gaia even when he was put in such a bad situation. *sniff sniff*

♥ What did you like:
Celeste: I liked that it was written from Leon’s point of view and we could get a small peek into his head. It confirmed that he really did love Gaia so much. I also loved getting a glimpse at More...

I know this was just a short but I'm so glad I picked it up for free! I loved that we got a little insight into Leon. I felt so bad for him though! His father is an absolute deuchebag I don't know what the deal is but I hope by the end of this series we get to see why his Dad is such a jerk. I just don't buy that Fiona is the reason for his hostility but hopefully we'll find out in the third book. I did really enjoy the scenes with his mom, I feel really bad for her but I'm not sure why she stay More...

So I picked this up because it was available as a free ebook. I knew going into it that it takes place after the first book, which I did not read. I knew there would be spoilers. But I wanted to get a feel for the writing, characters, and the world to see if I would like it. That said, even it obviously that it works better for fans of the story, I'm not sure if I care enough about the world they are in from that little bit I read to make me want to go read the story...That said, I was curious e More...

I have pretty mixed feelings on this bridge story. Here's why:

When I read Prized, and it was revealed that Leon had made it to Sylum, I was elated. However, it seemed like he appeared out of thin air. He was all of a sudden just there, in the prison, with no explanation at all. Later in Prized, Leon briefly mentioned his torture and how his stepmother aided in his escape, but it was vague and not very convincing. So, when I heard Tortured was coming out, I looked forward to learning more about L More...

I’m so glad that we get some insight into what happens to Leon but this novella (or short story or whatever) made me so mad at his parents… including his step mother who still seems to think that stealing babies is ok. And what they did to Emily taking her son, dangling him like a carrot to get her to turn over the ledgers and when she does revealing that they had already given him to another family. (it’s official I’ve gotten a little too involved in this world. I think I better pace myself a w More...

A novella set between the stories Birthmarked and Prized and told from the point of view of Leon. This seems to be the trend in YA fiction these days, to set novellas in between the books of a series. Some can be very revealing and interesting while others are just so short as to be a waist of time. Tortured is one of the later in that nothing of much interest has been revealed. What's included here is what happens to Leon after Gaia's departure from Enclave. This could easily have been included More...

I was very lucky to discover that there was a book in between book 1 Birthmarked and 2 Prized.Well not a book exact but a story. I had just started book 2 Prized (And I love that one by the way) when I noticed that this book was around.

This is a free Ebook which is also very nice. Most people read this after they'd read the first 2 books but I do think it is best if you read this after Birthmarked. It was a short story but it satisfied my curiosity a lot. A short story but with a lot of impact.
I More...

I absolutely love novella that go in between books in a series...probably because I'm always anxious to know what happens when we're not following the characters around as a reader. This novella goes in between Birthmarked and Prized by Caragh M. O'Brien, and it's in Leon's point of view. It isn't very long, but it lets you see what happened to him between the books, and you get to read something from his perspective, which I always find awesome. :D

If you're a fan of the series you should defin More...

Tortured is a bridge story in the Birthmarked series. It falls between Birthmarked and Prized and explains what happened to Leon. Do not read this book first as it will spoil the ending of Birthmarked.
This story comes in Ebook format only and its FREE.

Tortured is told from the point of view of Leon and it details his escape and his determination to find Gaia in the wasteland. It also explains some of Leon's family dynamics and the torture he suffered under the direction of his father.

My first e More...

My Review:

For those of you who have read this series you know who Leon is and how he's wonderfully sweet . For those who have not read this series then I hope this review will peek your interests some.

Tortured is a 32 page novella that tells what happen to Leon right after the ending of Birthmarked. It is a great little book to read before you start Prized. So without going into a whole lot of detail because I don't want to spoil Birthmarked for anyone. I will just tell what I liked about the b More...

Tortured is called a “bridge” between Birthmarked and Prized, which basically means it’s a chapter or two about something that happened in between the two books and was discussed in brief in the second but wasn’t shown or discussed in detail. Luckily, it was free. It’s a “promotional eBook,” whatever that means. Books these days get trailers and promotional bridge sections, I guess.

Tortured is not about Gaia. It solely concerns itself with Leon, the boy from the Enclave who Gaia has a bit of a t More...

This free short story for Kindle is a "bridge" story between Birthmarked and Prized. It basically tells about how Leon escaped into the Wastelands.

It is free and well written so those are the positive points. It is very, very short though. I think it took me 10 minutes to read. The second half of the download is a preview of Prized (which I have already read and enjoyed).

I also thought this didn't add much to the series overall. It basically tells us that Leon was tortured and then, with the hel More...

A short story revealing what happened to Leon after the end of Birthmarked.

This little insight into his mind and way of thinking make some things clear about his character and his determination is obvious.

Looking forward to reading more about him in Prized

Just finished this novella in like five minutes. It's the novella in between the first and second books.

It basically tells us that Leon is alive, although was tortured for four days by his father for information. Now he is going after Gaia. We also learn that Emily, Gaia's best friend, had her child advanced and tried to trade the ledger with the baby names and births on it to have her baby returned to her. That plan failed.

It was nice to learn that Leon was alive but it was way too short.

The super short story between Birthmarked and Prized, I immediately picked this up after finishing Birthmarked. It’s definitely a read in order kind of thing because it picks up with Leon after the ending of Birthmarked. I was intrigued with reading from Leon’s perspective for a little bit, I kind of liked it. I hope there will be more of it. But really this just fuels the fire because now I can’t wait to start Prized. There seems to be a lot of putting off work in my future.

Tortured takes place between the events of Birthmarked and Prized. In this story we join Leon after he has been tortured for information on Gaia and her plans. We get a little more insight into the Enclave, and the reaction Gaia's departure evoked. It is a good story, but to fully understand the events unfolding you should definitely read Birthmarked first. I did like the insight we got into Leon's relationship with his mother. Overall this is a nice addition to the series. More...

Having loved Birthmarked, I knew that I had to read Tortured. Leon was such an enigmatic character, and having an entire novella just about him really intrigued me.

But, Tortured was more of a promotional e-book, with a teaser chapter for book two making up the bulk of the book. Leon's short story was super short. It was good, and I enjoyed it for the entire 15 minutes it took me to read it, but it left me wanting more. Which was a good thing because I was able to jump right in to Prized (book t More...