Prototype by M.D. Waters

Prototype 
by M.D. Waters
Read: February 7 - 8, 2014
Published: July 24, 2014 by Dutton Adult
Source: ALA
Category: Dystopian, woman's issues, adult, romance
Series: Archetype # 2 (Duet series)
Find: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

The stunning debut that began with Archetype— and has readers buzzing—concludes in Prototype, when a woman’s dual pasts lock onto a collision course, threatening her present and future.

Emma looks forward to the day when she can let go of her past—both of them. After more than a year on the run, with clues to her parents’ whereabouts within her grasp, she may finally find a place to settle down. Start a new life. Maybe even create new memories with a new family.

But the past rises to haunt her and to make sure there’s nowhere on the planet she can hide. Declan Burke wants his wife back, and with a little manipulation and a lot of reward money, he’s got the entire world on his side. Except for the one man she dreads confronting the most: Noah Tucker.

Emma returns to face what she’s done but finds that the past isn’t the problem. It’s the present—and the future it represents. Noah has moved on and another woman is raising their daughter.

In the shocking conclusion to M.D. Waters’s spectacular debut, Emma battles for her life and her freedom, tearing down walls and ripping off masks to reveal the truth. She’s decided to play their game and prove she isn’t the woman they thought she was. Even if it means she winds up dead. Or worse, reborn.
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NOTE: There is very little I can say about this book that isn't a spoiler for Archetype. I'd advise you NOT to read further unless you've read the first in this duet. PLEASE. But do check out my review for the first book. 

Five things I want to say about Prototype:

1) I felt so much for Emma in this story. Even more than in the first book. She's trying very hard to find her place within her world after the intense revelations that came out in Archetype. She's facing prejudice from within her organization because of what she is and who she was, and how that differs from who she is now. Of course, she's still trying to dodge Declan's ever present grasp, as well as face her own feelings for Noah and Adrienne. 

2) This is much less a book about reveals, although there are some in this story, and more about Emma's coming to terms with herself and whom she wants to be going forward. 

3) Characters stood out most strongly in this story. I loved so many secondaries, especially Foster, Leigh and Miles. Of course there's the ones that are bad news too. 

4) Romance. (This is very spoilery for the first book!) Looking at Noah and Emma's romance as a whole over the two books, along with what we know of their past relationship, it has a sweeping, epic, inevitable feel to it that made me ache and desperately want them to find their way back to each other. Still, I felt very uneasy about how the situation with Sonya was handled. Actually, Noah/Sonya is where my major issue with this book came from, and it's really my only hesitation about recommending this series. 

When Emma returns after being away a year, she discovers that Noah has started dating Sonya and together they are raising Adrienne. It is a huge blow to Emma, but she also understands that she left for a year and feels like she has no claim on Noah - or her daughter. However, it's very clear immediately that Noah hasn't really moved from Emma. 

I have never liked or trusted Sonya, but still I was not happy about the way Noah treated her throughout this story. It's clear he wants Emma and yet he sticks to Sonya for quite a while, mostly because he's unsure of whether Emma is back to stay. Although I can understand his rational - it has to to with the fact that she's been helping him to raise his daughter - he should have been honest with Sonya earlier than he was, and because he wasn't, he definitely loss a bit of respect from me. No matter how much I disliked Sonya and her actions, it was no excuse for how Noah treated her - and as a result Emma. Even though I adore Noah and his love for Emma and Adrienne, I cannot see him as a most favorite love interest because of this. 

5) From the beginning of Archetype to the end of Prototype, I was completely hooked on the entire duet. You all know how I feel about love triangles, but this book was worth the pain. And it really wasn't one once the truth came out. Despite some of my issues with the romance, this is a beautiful love story about two individuals who can't help but be drawn back to each other despite the very serious circumstances  - and people - that try to pull them apart. This book especially, made me think a lot about identity and fighting for what I want. 

Love Triangle Factor: Felt like a Medium at times, but really there was no contest for either of these two. 
Cliffhanger Scale: Series Conclusion