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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.
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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.
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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.
Ten years apart.
Three nights of uncovered secrets.
One decision to change it all.
Miserable and bound in a marriage she never wanted, Olivia Smith has played her part in The Nation’s marriage system for the last ten years. She had two children and supported their schooling, cared for her mother and sister, and never used her Challenge Pass from the Marriage Reward System—showing everyone she believed in the life of The Nation.
Until now.
Determined to have something for herself, Olivia selects the Challenge Pass as her ten-year anniversary reward, which allows her three nights with state-sanctioned escorts at The Challenge Center. She experiences intimate encounters, uncovered secrets, and a decision that will change her path forever.
When Ethan, her true love, stands before her as a state-sanctioned escort, Olivia questions the last ten years of her life. To Ethan, Olivia is the last key to undoing The Nation and everyone who believes in its future. To Olivia, Ethan is the escape she’s wanted, but now that he’s in front of her, can she actually take the leap and leave the world she knows behind her?
In The Marriage Wars: Book One, Melissa Gowdy Baldwin’s dystopian world asks us to question the role power and gender play in our need for connection, denial, and choice.
