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A Feminist Manifesto: The Marriage Wars: Book Two
In a nation that breeds control through obedience and loyalty, rebellion begins with a woman who refuses to be claimed.
Olivia Smith has escaped the Nation–but not with her children. Betrayed by the man she trusted, and haunted by the one she left behind, Olivia’s love for Ethan fractures under the weight of loss and rage. Her husband, Thomas, has disappeared into the shadows with their children, and he’s not just hiding them. He’s using them.
The Resistance’s mission to retrieve Rose and Lucas ends in disaster, and Olivia decides she’ll never let a man lead her war again. With the help of Samara, she joins the exclusive Rose Bay Challenge Center, immersing herself in the twisted desires of the Nation’s elite as an attendant. There, Olivia claims her power back through seduction, secrets, and the fire of her own autonomy. But amidst the veiled facade of Rose Bay, a darker truth waits beneath the surface.
With the help of a mysterious outsider, Olivia discovers the Nation’s true agenda. Her children, her body, her legacy–all stolen to serve a vision of a future she never chose, and one she’s only beginning to understand.
As Olivia uncovers deeper truths, she learns to rise alone. No longer just a mother fighting for her children, but a woman awakening to the truth that she must become something more.
The Nation stole the last ten years of her life. She’s going to steal everything else.
Olivia Smith has escaped the Nation–but not with her children. Betrayed by the man she trusted, and haunted by the one she left behind, Olivia’s love for Ethan fractures under the weight of loss and rage. Her husband, Thomas, has disappeared into the shadows with their children, and he’s not just hiding them. He’s using them.
The Resistance’s mission to retrieve Rose and Lucas ends in disaster, and Olivia decides she’ll never let a man lead her war again. With the help of Samara, she joins the exclusive Rose Bay Challenge Center, immersing herself in the twisted desires of the Nation’s elite as an attendant. There, Olivia claims her power back through seduction, secrets, and the fire of her own autonomy. But amidst the veiled facade of Rose Bay, a darker truth waits beneath the surface.
With the help of a mysterious outsider, Olivia discovers the Nation’s true agenda. Her children, her body, her legacy–all stolen to serve a vision of a future she never chose, and one she’s only beginning to understand.
As Olivia uncovers deeper truths, she learns to rise alone. No longer just a mother fighting for her children, but a woman awakening to the truth that she must become something more.
The Nation stole the last ten years of her life. She’s going to steal everything else.
370 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 18, 2025
2 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 23, 2025
ARC review...
Everything I thought was coming next was child's play compared to what Melissa brought in Book Two! There are so many twists and turns and my expectations were blown out of the water. If I could pick just one emoji for this book it would be (wide eyes)!!!
Random Thoughts:
*I loved both Ethan and Jude in Book One and I cannot express how differently I feel about them after this book; not good, not bad just different!
**The more I read, the more I want to watch this series unfold on the big screen.
***I loved the little Capital Books cameo especially the "squeaky stairs" and all of our deep love for Katie :)
****I hate Thomas and his all too common "man/boy" brain.
I cannot wait to see what happens next; how much longer must I wait for Book Three?
Everything I thought was coming next was child's play compared to what Melissa brought in Book Two! There are so many twists and turns and my expectations were blown out of the water. If I could pick just one emoji for this book it would be (wide eyes)!!!
Random Thoughts:
*I loved both Ethan and Jude in Book One and I cannot express how differently I feel about them after this book; not good, not bad just different!
**The more I read, the more I want to watch this series unfold on the big screen.
***I loved the little Capital Books cameo especially the "squeaky stairs" and all of our deep love for Katie :)
****I hate Thomas and his all too common "man/boy" brain.
I cannot wait to see what happens next; how much longer must I wait for Book Three?
November 3, 2025
Olivia burned her prison doooownnnn! Olivia transformed from a helpless victim into her own hero, not needing a knight in shining armor to rescue her.
This book took me on a wild ride following book one! I didn’t not expect the plot I was served but I was doing so many epic double takes as the secrets spilled out.
Olivia deals with grief, trauma, cognitive dissonance, and overall, unraveling the lies she’s been fed for years. This dystopian novel dives deep into Olivia’s journey with anger, hopelessness, motherhood, and power. Can’t wait for book 3!!
This book took me on a wild ride following book one! I didn’t not expect the plot I was served but I was doing so many epic double takes as the secrets spilled out.
Olivia deals with grief, trauma, cognitive dissonance, and overall, unraveling the lies she’s been fed for years. This dystopian novel dives deep into Olivia’s journey with anger, hopelessness, motherhood, and power. Can’t wait for book 3!!
November 15, 2025
ARC Reader:
Book two delivered! Watching Olivia discover herself and navigate all the surprises along the way was a joy. Super chilling parallels to what we’re living in now, truly a cautionary tale. So interested to see where the author takes us next!
Book two delivered! Watching Olivia discover herself and navigate all the surprises along the way was a joy. Super chilling parallels to what we’re living in now, truly a cautionary tale. So interested to see where the author takes us next!
October 27, 2025
ARC review: truly incredible. Olivia’s journey through heartbreak, grief, loss, and constant realization opens up doors and new waves of feelings I never imagined.
October 10, 2025
The second Marriage Wars book hit in the best way. Olivia’s transformation—from keeping the peace to claiming herself—felt real and earned. It brings that burn-it-all-down vibe with no regrets, but still makes space for a poetic look at womanhood and motherhood that really landed for me. There are a few fun and surprising twists. I finished fired up, a little elevated blood pressure, and very ready for whatever comes next.
November 9, 2025
A Feminist Manifesto: The Marriage Wars Book Two by Melissa Gowdy Baldwin
Published by Running Dog Press. Thank you to the author, Melissa Gowdy Baldwin, for my gifted ARC of this unforgettable book.
Melissa Gowdy Baldwin has done it again—and by “it,” I mean she’s handed me a novel that made me consider rage therapy, reconsider motherhood, and fantasize about burning down a fictional regime in the best possible way.
Book Two doesn’t gently continue where Book One left off. It drags you, breathless, into a Resistance SUV and reminds you that Olivia Smith is no longer a woman to be pitied. She is fury in motion. She is heartbreak and vengeance and grief braided into something sharper than a blade. She’s done being owned, done being saved, and completely done with silence.
The story begins with Olivia dreaming of Rose and Lucas—running, laughing, just out of reach. Then she wakes. Alone. Still without them. Still betrayed. Still in exile. The rawness of that dream gutted me. You already know what she’s lost, but Baldwin makes you feel the hole it left behind all over again.
The Olivia we meet here isn’t healed. She’s haunted. But she’s also cracking open. Every scene peels back more of the lies she’s been fed—by the Nation, by Ethan, by her own mother. No one’s hands are clean. Not even the Resistance, which Baldwin smartly refuses to frame as the righteous alternative. The “good guys” still manipulate. Still hide the truth. Still expect women to sacrifice themselves for the cause.
Olivia says no.
One quote that stopped me cold:
“Children lose their lives when their mothers can’t breathe.”
She doesn’t want to lead a rebellion. She wants her kids back. She wants the lie of safety replaced with something real, even if that means she has to become someone new to take it. Olivia is no longer anyone’s wife, anyone’s pawn, anyone’s property. She’s not reclaiming her old self—she’s burning that version to the ground.
Ethan is still in the picture, and yes, their chemistry simmers the entire time. But this time, Olivia isn’t swept away by romance. She’s awake. She knows what he took from her when he made the choice to leave her children behind. The hurt is massive, but it’s also clear: love without accountability isn’t love at all.
Samara, on the other hand, is the unexpected rock. The woman Olivia should hate becomes the woman she trusts most. Their bond—layered, messy, and healing—is one of the best relationships in the book.
And then there’s Olivia’s mother. That confrontation? It’s searing. Raw. Unforgivable. The emotional carnage left in that hallway scene should come with a warning label. Baldwin does not flinch away from the complexity of mother-daughter relationships under patriarchy. The generational damage is real. So is the fury.
This book isn’t tidy. It’s not about triumph in the traditional sense. It’s about rage. Autonomy. Unlearning the systems that raised you to disappear. It’s about what happens when a woman finally decides her life belongs to her.
And it is absolutely riveting.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — Five stars and a fire in my chest that hasn’t gone out since I finished the last page.
#AFeministManifesto #MelissaGowdyBaldwin #MarriageWarsBookTwo #FeministDystopia #DystopianFiction #OliviaEmbers #FeministFiction #BookReview #BurnItDownReads #Fall2025Books #WomenReclaimingPower #NoMoreSacrifice #ResistanceReads #RageIsRighteous #BestsellerInTheMaking
Published by Running Dog Press. Thank you to the author, Melissa Gowdy Baldwin, for my gifted ARC of this unforgettable book.
Melissa Gowdy Baldwin has done it again—and by “it,” I mean she’s handed me a novel that made me consider rage therapy, reconsider motherhood, and fantasize about burning down a fictional regime in the best possible way.
Book Two doesn’t gently continue where Book One left off. It drags you, breathless, into a Resistance SUV and reminds you that Olivia Smith is no longer a woman to be pitied. She is fury in motion. She is heartbreak and vengeance and grief braided into something sharper than a blade. She’s done being owned, done being saved, and completely done with silence.
The story begins with Olivia dreaming of Rose and Lucas—running, laughing, just out of reach. Then she wakes. Alone. Still without them. Still betrayed. Still in exile. The rawness of that dream gutted me. You already know what she’s lost, but Baldwin makes you feel the hole it left behind all over again.
The Olivia we meet here isn’t healed. She’s haunted. But she’s also cracking open. Every scene peels back more of the lies she’s been fed—by the Nation, by Ethan, by her own mother. No one’s hands are clean. Not even the Resistance, which Baldwin smartly refuses to frame as the righteous alternative. The “good guys” still manipulate. Still hide the truth. Still expect women to sacrifice themselves for the cause.
Olivia says no.
One quote that stopped me cold:
“Children lose their lives when their mothers can’t breathe.”
She doesn’t want to lead a rebellion. She wants her kids back. She wants the lie of safety replaced with something real, even if that means she has to become someone new to take it. Olivia is no longer anyone’s wife, anyone’s pawn, anyone’s property. She’s not reclaiming her old self—she’s burning that version to the ground.
Ethan is still in the picture, and yes, their chemistry simmers the entire time. But this time, Olivia isn’t swept away by romance. She’s awake. She knows what he took from her when he made the choice to leave her children behind. The hurt is massive, but it’s also clear: love without accountability isn’t love at all.
Samara, on the other hand, is the unexpected rock. The woman Olivia should hate becomes the woman she trusts most. Their bond—layered, messy, and healing—is one of the best relationships in the book.
And then there’s Olivia’s mother. That confrontation? It’s searing. Raw. Unforgivable. The emotional carnage left in that hallway scene should come with a warning label. Baldwin does not flinch away from the complexity of mother-daughter relationships under patriarchy. The generational damage is real. So is the fury.
This book isn’t tidy. It’s not about triumph in the traditional sense. It’s about rage. Autonomy. Unlearning the systems that raised you to disappear. It’s about what happens when a woman finally decides her life belongs to her.
And it is absolutely riveting.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — Five stars and a fire in my chest that hasn’t gone out since I finished the last page.
#AFeministManifesto #MelissaGowdyBaldwin #MarriageWarsBookTwo #FeministDystopia #DystopianFiction #OliviaEmbers #FeministFiction #BookReview #BurnItDownReads #Fall2025Books #WomenReclaimingPower #NoMoreSacrifice #ResistanceReads #RageIsRighteous #BestsellerInTheMaking
November 19, 2025
I waited literally years for this sequel and I was not disappointed. The book starts off soon after book one ends and Olivia is a mess. She’s struggling to come to terms with the fact that her children are still in The Nation under their father’s influence and she is ready to burn the world - Nation and Resistance - down to get them back. She has also just found out that her entire life was a farce and is figuring out how to gain that control over her autonomy… by making plenty of bold moves and mistakes. The Feminist Manifesto begins with high emotions and it stays ramped up the entire book.
The twists are explosive. Everything you thought you had figured out from the first book? It’s wrong, you’ll never guess what’s actually going on and just how insane The Nation is.
Jude is still one of my favourite book boyfriends. My heart broke for him in this book. He loses the two people he loves and he has to figure that out on his own as they are too busy fighting each other. He didn’t play as big of a role in this book which is probably for the best because everyone was getting emotionally beat up and I don’t think I could handle seeing that happen to Jude.
I could go on forever, but I’m limited on space so just know that this book was released today and both The Feminist Manifesto and the first book, The Marriage Wars, should be added to the TBR immediately. Check the trigger warnings because there are some very difficult scenes to get through, but it’s so worth it. This series is so relevant to today’s political climate, just like it was when The Marriage Wars was released in 2023.
The twists are explosive. Everything you thought you had figured out from the first book? It’s wrong, you’ll never guess what’s actually going on and just how insane The Nation is.
Jude is still one of my favourite book boyfriends. My heart broke for him in this book. He loses the two people he loves and he has to figure that out on his own as they are too busy fighting each other. He didn’t play as big of a role in this book which is probably for the best because everyone was getting emotionally beat up and I don’t think I could handle seeing that happen to Jude.
I could go on forever, but I’m limited on space so just know that this book was released today and both The Feminist Manifesto and the first book, The Marriage Wars, should be added to the TBR immediately. Check the trigger warnings because there are some very difficult scenes to get through, but it’s so worth it. This series is so relevant to today’s political climate, just like it was when The Marriage Wars was released in 2023.
November 7, 2025
ARC Review… Book 2 kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Olivia evolved into such a fierce, powerful woman in her unwavering focus to get back with her children. There were so many parts of this book that I didn’t see coming, and it left me eagerly wanting to read book 3!! The new locations and characters, as well as the expanded notion of The Nation and its reach, were all so carefully crafted and revealed. As a Sacramento resident, I loved the added benefit of highlighting to the suburbs, downtown, west sac, tower bridge, Cameron park, capital book store, and even highway 50.
November 21, 2025
It’s going to be hard to wait for the third book in this trilogy because book two was so good. We get to know the characters introduced in the first book better as well as meet important new ones. Secrets held for years are revealed and propaganda exposed. Spicy and suspenseful dystopian fiction, yes, but Olivia’s tale is relevant to what many women face now. What will we do for our children, our autonomy? Film worthy, too. Book three can’t come fast enough.
October 29, 2025
This was even better than book one. I loved every minute of it. There are so many layers to this book; it challenges paradigms of gender and power dynamics. Several times I found myself stopping to ponder my own notions of what is normal. The characters are complex, as are the relationships between them. This was a home run for me.
November 2, 2025
ARC review: I absolutely loved seeing Olivia’s growth into her own self. The book was a rollercoaster of emotions as we watched her navigate trauma, grief and a multitude of other things. Lots of twists and turns and surprises. Can’t wait to read what’s next for Olivia.
November 25, 2025
This should be a movie!!! Or show series. So so good.
November 18, 2025
As I write this, Cheetah girls - Cinderella is playing in my head.
“Then one day I realized that fairy tale life wasn't for me
I don't want to be like Cinderella
Sittin' in a dark cold dusty cellar
Waitin' for somebody to come and set me free
I don't want to be like someone waiting
For a handsome prince to come and save me
Oh I will survive
Unless somebody's on my side
Don't want to be no no no one else
I'd rather rescue myself”
So blessed to be apart of this ARC team. The female rage I get to feel and release while reading these books is healing in a way and I’m so thankful to get to experience the magic Melissa brings to life through the pages. I hope one day we get to see this series made into a tv series so I can experience it all again in a different format!
“Then one day I realized that fairy tale life wasn't for me
I don't want to be like Cinderella
Sittin' in a dark cold dusty cellar
Waitin' for somebody to come and set me free
I don't want to be like someone waiting
For a handsome prince to come and save me
Oh I will survive
Unless somebody's on my side
Don't want to be no no no one else
I'd rather rescue myself”
So blessed to be apart of this ARC team. The female rage I get to feel and release while reading these books is healing in a way and I’m so thankful to get to experience the magic Melissa brings to life through the pages. I hope one day we get to see this series made into a tv series so I can experience it all again in a different format!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews