Book Review: Once (Eve #2)

Release Date: July 3, 2012
Author: Anna Carey
Publisher: HarperTeen
Length: 320 pages
Source: Gifted ARC

When you're being hunted, who can you trust?

For the first time since she escaped from her school many months ago, Eve can sleep soundly. She's living in Califia, a haven for women, protected from the terrifying fate that awaits orphaned girls in The New America.

But her safety came at a price: She was forced to abandon Caleb, the boy she loves, wounded and alone at the city gates. When Eve gets word that Caleb is in trouble, she sets out into the wild again to rescue him, only to be captured and brought to the City of Sand, the capital of The New America.

Trapped inside the City walls, Eve uncovers a shocking secret about her past--and is forced to confront the harsh reality of her future. When she discovers Caleb is alive, Eve attempts to flee her prison so they can be together--but the consequences could be deadly. She must make a desperate choice to save the ones she loves . . . or risk losing Caleb forever.

In this breathless sequel to "Eve," Anna Carey returns to her tale of romance, adventure, and sacrifice in a world that is both wonderfully strange and chillingly familiar.

    

Review:

Characters: Once again Eve is front and center in this epic dystopian sequel, obviously. This time she's changed a little bit. She's spent a great deal of time with the women of Califia and has gathered new information and knowledge. You will definitely see her as a changed women at the start of the novel. One of the things I loved most about Eve's character development is something I can't say due to the fact that it's a BIG spoiler. However, it's a big game changer and brings Eve to question what side she's really on. Next we have Caleb, who we last saw leaving Eve in Califia with injuries to his leg. When we see him this time his physical appearance changes as well as his standing in the revolution. He doesn't feel like a progressed or changed character as much, in fact he's not in the book as much as he was in the first, however it seemed intentional and well thought out.

Romance: One of the things that I loved about the romance in Eve was that there was no love triangle involved. While I am a sucker for a good love triangle, I feel as though many writers only do them to cause drama and not to progress the actual story line. In Once things change a bit. Eve is catches the eye of someone else and and while she does not return his affection do to her feelings for Caleb, his attention will cause some pretty big problems. I'd have to sat that this type of love triangle is done well, not only is it realistic, but it also ties in closely with where the storyline looks to be headed.

Predictability: Wow, just wow. I was utterly blown away with the twists and turns in this book. Pretty much right away things go crazy and I am caught off-guard several times. Even though there are a few things that I could see from a mile away, they weren't things that ruined the book in any sense. However the amount of twists did make this review super hard to write, as a few game-changing curve balls are thrown withing the first ten chapters.

Ending: I don't know what it is with me and endings lately, maybe I still can't get over the crazy cliffhanger from another book I recently read. but most of the endings I have read lately fall short of my expectations. I do have to admit that this ending is shocking and makes you go, "WHAT!?" but the last sentence isn't something that you will freak out about. Which may be a good thing, as I've said in previous posts, a crazy cliffhanger of an ending is a bittersweet thing, it may give you that adrenaline rush, but it makes the wait for the next installment seem much longer than it really is. I think it was done well but I would have liked a more cliffhanger like ending.

Rating:

This book is fun and engaging, and I could never seem to put it down. I would say if you haven't read Eve yet go pick it up at your local bookstore or if you would rather borrow it from your local library that's cool too, and then don't forget to pick up a copy of Once on July 3rd.