Review of 'Exchange Rate (Worth of Souls #2)' by Bonnie R. Paulson

Check out the Book Trailer. Bonnie R Paulson plays the mother!!

Cost of Survival, Book #1

Anger isn’t an emotion anymore, it’s more of a survival mode I can’t afford to let go. My dad predicted World War III would happen in his life, but he died two years before… with my brother… …before Mom and I walked in search of refuge from the bombing. Strengthened by her faith, Mom never feels alone. But me? I don’t know what to believe or where to turn. Someone once said keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but I disagree. Friends scare me the most. They know me and my mom. Nothing about them is safe. The ones in charge… Control everything… Crud, I’ve started crying because I’m scared I won’t survive World War III. But a bigger part of me is scared I will. My mom is bleeding in my arms and she’s making me promise to follow her three rules. Pray. Don’t trust anyone. Stay alive. How long do I need to break all three? Amazon * iBooks * Nook * Kobo Exchange Rate, Book #2 I’m pregnant and I couldn’t be more excited. But the community Bodey, his dad, and I live in has rules. Rules that make Mom’s rules seem like safety nets. Only 200 people are allowed at a time. My baby will make it 201. The leader is making me choose someone from our house to die so there will be room for my child. Either I make the decision or they take… my… Even in the craziness that the world has become, I refuse to believe only 200 can live in it at once. The “community” is safe-ish, comfortable. We have food, warmth, and there isn’t immediate danger of being robbed while we sleep. Doesn’t it make sense we’d have to exchange something for all that? I’ve survived this long. Maybe that’s enough. Maybe I should die so my family can live. Or maybe I can get through the lines and find a people worth sacrificing for. **My thoughts** The pace in this installment slows down considerably, but you can't help but keep on turning the pages. I cannot fathom the horror that Kelly and her family must be feeling at this time. They think they have found some kind of sanctuary. They should be celebrating this most joyous occasion in their lives. Yet, they seem to have found the same kind of craziness from which they were running outside of the compound. In some ways, it is even worse, because these people are theoretically the sane ones in charge of the New World. Kelly has matured a great deal in the past 16 months. She hasn't had a choice. Yes, she is now a "married" woman who is pregnant. She has been on the run with her family, still trying to hide from people who want her dead. She has seen and experienced horrors that I cannot imagine.  While her routine in this compound seems to be more mundane, she is also showing that she has become a deeper thinker. She more closely examines her own place in society. She reflects more on the lessons her mother taught her. She really questions how one man can determine the worth of one human being over another. How can we make those decisions? And again, men are trying to dominate the women, throwing us back several decades.  Again, I found myself contemplating what I would do if I were in her situation. Would I be able to embrace those comforts in life, even though at any moment I could be deemed unworthy of living and easily replaced? Would I be able to stand by quietly and watch others be murdered and/or abused? Or would I give it all up and run away? How much worth is my life vs. a life with material comfort? How would any faith that I have be shaken? As with the first book, I have to love a book that stays with me even after I am finished reading it, and one that makes me really think about my own life. It's just fiction, but who is to say that some day some kind of situation like this won't be upon us? Looking forward to the resolution in book 3.  Amazon * iBooks * Nook * Kobo Worth of Souls, Book #3 Running for my life and six months pregnant, I’m terrified but confident in my decisions.With my love and family behind me, captured by the same man who chases me, I have only a small window to find help. The baby needs to come out eventually. Nobody said the end of the world would define people so much. Everywhere I turn I have to prove my worth.Mom was gone before I learned my value lay in my eyes. Not others. But how would that save Bodey? How could my worth change how the world me spins?If I can’t figure it out, everyone I love will die, trapped in a place where even following the rules won’t protect us. Amazon * iBooks * Nook * Kobo About the author: Bonnie R. Paulson mixes her science and medical background with reality and possibilities to make even myths seem likely and give every romance the genetic strength to survive. Bonnie has discovered a dark and twisty turn in her writing that she hopes you enjoy as much as she has enjoyed uncovering it. Dirt biking with her family in the Northwest keeps her sane. Follow on: Facebook / Blog / Twitter / Goodreads / Newsletter / Literary Addicts / Amazon Follow the Book Tour