Return to Maren by Katherine Barger Review

 Happy Friday Friends :)

I pray today finds you all doing well, and I'm so thankful you decided to stop by The Preppy Book Princess today.

I'm Kirby, and I'm excited you're here.

Do you have any exciting plans for the weekend?

I'm going to be working today and Saturday, but I'm hoping to have some time to get some house projects done on Sunday. As well, I'd like to curl up with some more great reads.

And speaking of great reads, I'm excited to get to share today's review with you all.

Two years ago, I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing the first title in Katherine Barger's Exiled trilogy, and it became a book that ended up meaning so much to me.

I loved the second one just as much, and I've been waiting for the third book to release ever since.

If you'd like to check out my reviews of either of the first two books, you can do so using the links below:

Fortune's Fall

The Exiles

Otherwise, keep on reading down below as I can't wait to dive right into today's review with you all.

Return to Maren by Katherine Barger:

Source: Complimentary Copy Provided by the Author as Part of Her Review Team

Publication Date: October 4th, 2022

Genre: Christian Fiction/Young Adult Fiction/Dystopian

Series: The Exiled Trilogy

Synopsis:

The exiles escaped from Burgus—the most notorious prison in America—and fled to the safety of Fortune’s Fall. But Nyssa Ardelone stayed behind with the hopes that she can convince the president that the exiles mean him no harm—despite his prophetic dreams that have convinced him otherwise. With a fake dream implanted into his dream recorder, Nyssa’s confident she can make him believe that his survival is conditional on the exiles’ safe return to Maren. But the task proves harder than she anticipated when she discovers the dream has sound in it, something that’s never happened in any previous prophetic dream. Suspicious, the president becomes more unpredictable than ever before, and if Nyssa can’t figure out why the dream has sound, reuniting with her family and friends in Maren might prove impossible.

With the help of an unexpected friend, Nyssa uncovers the truth behind the sound as well as long-buried secrets about the president’s past, a past that the president will do anything to keep hidden, including the total annihilation of the exiles. To protect the exiles and ensure their safe return to Maren, Nyssa will confront the president one final time, and its outcome will either give her everything she ever wanted, or destroy everyone she loves.

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

I expected amazing things from Return to Maren, and author Katherine Barger managed to exceed every single one of my expectations. Ever since first finishing Fortune's Fall two years ago, this series has become one of my all time favorites, and it's impacted me in ways that I never could have possibly imagined. I read the first title while I was going through an awful time in my life, and the faith element within that story meant more to me than I could ever possibly say. I ended up loving the second title, The Exiles, just as much as I did the first, and I honestly couldn't believe this was the author's debut series. I couldn't wait to dive right into the final title, and I'm happy to say that Katherine Barger has delivered the finale that all of her readers have been waiting for. This series ended up being one of those rare ones that each title is just as amazing as the last, and I can't possibly recommend it enough.

Many biblical themes run throughout this final title, and I appreciated how it almost role played as both a dystopian young adult title, but also as a speculative biblical parallel title, and I appreciated how original those two components were when they were mixed together. 

By far, my favorite part of this series has been the faith element, and the emphasis on standing for Christ when it's become illegal to do so. In this final installment, the faith element definitely played an integral piece of the mission, and I found it authentic and believable watching Nyssa's newfound faith struggle amidst the horrors she's witnessing on a daily basis, and grappling with the age old question of where is God amidst all the suffering? As she starts to find the answer to that question, the reader gets to see her faith strengthen in the process, and that was definitely one of my favorite parts of the book.

This one was even more action packed than its predecessors, and I found myself on the edge of my seat not wanting to have to put the book down from one chapter to the next. There's a few plot twists that I hadn't seen coming, and I appreciated the fact that it was able to keep me guessing all the way through.

All in all, this finale was everything I could have hoped for, and it did a fantastic job of concluding the series, and pulling all the storylines together.

I can't possibly recommend it enough, but I do recommend reading both of the previous titles before picking this one up as you'll be missing out on so many important details otherwise.

Final Rating: 5/5.

Thanks so much to Katherine Barger for allowing me to read and review this one!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this novel from the author. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and this is my honest review.

Thanks so much for reading guys! I hope you all have a great rest of your weekend, and God Bless!