Born

Whole #2

by E.A. Rohler

E.A. Rohler continues the love story of Jake and Mara in the riveting Whole trilogy.

Mara and Jake Salvador have saved the Earth from destruction and had the wedding of their dreams. But just when things are starting to feel normal again, an unexpected pregnancy throws their lives back out of whack. On top of that, Ellie is going through her own crisis that she’s been hiding from Mara and their father shows up on Earth with dire news—children all over Pearth are going missing, and it’s up to him to find the cause.

Can Mara take care of her newborn child, help her father solve the mystery of the disappearing children, and keep Ellie from doing something she might regret all while keeping her relationship with Jake intact? Find the answers to these questions and more in Born, the second book in the Whole trilogy.

182 pages, ebook

First published April 26, 2021

About the author

E.A. Rohler is an American novelist and author of the Whole series. She spends her days as a product design engineer and her nights writing light sci-fi with a rom com twist. Born outside of Detroit, she now lives in Chicago with her husband and two children.

Feel free to ask her anything about books, pizza, or toddlers (her areas of expertise).

Reviews

[Kristen Claiborn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was at a disadvantage when I started this book because I had not read the first one and it’s not available at my library (it appears to be an Amazon only book). Because my book budget is a big $0, I wasn’t able to read Whole, which is the first book in this trilogy. I had no idea what I was about to “walk” into when I downloaded this one, and I was genuinely surprised with what I found.
This book chronicles Mara and Jake, who seemed to have discovered another universe that happened to be the second half of all people on Earth. When somebody on Earth dies, their “soul” is joined with their opposite on Pearth (the alternate universe) and they become Whole (which explains the title). Government officials on Pearth are aware that Earth exists, but the same is not true for most people on Earth. Mara and Jake have traveled back and forth between the two, and Jake seems to be the first person to become “whole” without either of his entities needing to perish first. In Born, Jake and Mara become aware of children that are disappearing on Pearth and take it upon themselves to solve the mystery. As the story unfolds, the situation becomes increasingly more personal for them, thus the urgency deepens.
This book is incredibly imaginative! I don’t typically enjoy fantasy/sci-fi books; I have enough trouble making sense of the world with which I am familiar, I have no desire to try to figure out a new world. This book, however, utilizes a world (worlds?) I already know, so I was able to focus entirely on the story. Jake and Mara are likeable characters, and I absolutely loved Mara’s assistant. I did feel like Ellie’s character lacked some development that would have made her more understandable, but it’s possible that I missed some of that because I didn’t read that first book. Overall, it’s a great story and very creatively executed.

[Joey Feldmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is... fine. I won this in a giveaway and therefore had not read the first book. But I very quickly did feel lost or that I only understood a part of the story. It's just that the story was only meh.

What I liked: The characters are appealing and positive. They treat each other well and with mutual respect. When new characters are introduced, or old characters brought back in, it makes sense. The ending feels satisfying and earned.

Not as much: There was too much "and time passed" action in this book. I feel like it couldn't decide between being an "action/ adventure" type book or a "built on relational moments" one, so it did neither. Instead, a large portion of the book was "And I did my job. And then I did my job some more. I then I took care of my baby. And then I went shopping and did my job again." The action never felt consequential. I think maybe it felt as if the main character was the side character in her own story. I'm not sure I am saying what I want well, but it was a story that felt mostly "there." Maybe if I HAD read the first book, I would feel different. (Many of the things that happened at the end seemed designed to wrap up cliffhangers/ lingering problems from the first book.) But while I didn't dislike this book, I also did not find it memorable.

[Serena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good I couldn’t put it down and finished it the day I started it. The author made it flow so well after the first book. I’d compare her writing to Madeleine L’Engle’s writing except more YA instead of child-based audience so you really connect to it differently!! I can’t believe I have to WAIT for the third book haha. This series really pulled me in and I’ll be anticipating the next one greatly!!

I won this book from a Goodreads giveaway, and naturally, as it was the second in the series, I had to purchase and read the first book beforehand and I have zero regrets!

[FindingFiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

A continuation of a multiverse young adult sci-fi. As Jake and Mara can finally build a life together with Jake being his whole self, not everything is a slice of cake when children of Pearth go missing.

Call me greedy, but I wanted more conflict. Everyone was so mature and even with conflict, it seemed to resolve quickly. I like the aspect of having a problem arise with the birth of their child as it makes sense to have some consequences to having Jake’s whole self being on Earth versus Pearth.

I’m looking forward to the next instalment.