Review: Once by Anna Carey

Once by Anna Carey

Series: Eve, Book #2

Published: July 3rd, 2012

Publisher: HarperCollins

368 pages (hardcover)

Genre: Young adult science fiction/post-apocalyptic

Acquired this book: From the library

Warning: May contain spoilers

{GoodReads || Buy this book: Book Depository || Amazon || Chapters/Indigo}

{Read my review of Eve}

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.

 

Once is the second book in the Eve trilogy. When we left Eve at the end of the first book, things were very uncertain. Her whole life had been turned upside down, she discovered everything she knew was a lie, and she was on the run. Those themes carried over nicely into Once.

I like the direction this trilogy is taking - it’s different from other dystopian novels, where the characters are in the wild and it’s all about survival. This is more about politics within the City of Sand, and rebuilding but at a price. While I enjoyed the storyline and the twists and turns, the whole thing seemed to lack a sense of urgency. Eve kept saying she was trapped, but that feeling didn’t really come across for me.

The New America was quite interesting. It’s similar enough to our world to be relatable, but there are also enough things that are slightly off to give you that kind of creepy post-apocalyptic vibe of a world that’s experienced a major disaster and is no longer the world as we know it.

I liked the new characters and plot twists introduced in this second installment, and the reappearance of familiar characters. Eve doesn’t know who she can trust, and it seems like her whole life is full of secrets, lies, and betrayal. I didn’t connect with the romance between her and Caleb as much as I did in the first book, but I still hold out hope for them in the next book.

The end was very exciting and left me itching for the final book in the trilogy. I can’t imagine how things are going to play out, but I’m looking forward to finding out. Overall, Once was a very enjoyable story, and if you haven’t begun this trilogy yet, I really encourage you to.

Have you read Eve or Once? What did you think?

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Update Thursday #6

I got this idea from the amazingly wonderful Jessica from Thoughts at One in the Morning. Every Thursday, I’ll be posting an update on my reading, writing, what’s going on at the blog, and anything else I think should be mentioned.

Hi guys! I hope you're all having a great first week of September. Mine's been really good so far. On Sunday I went with my mum, sister-in-law, and 2-year-old nephew Logan to the local rose garden and we spent about two hours wandering around, taking pictures, and enjoying the beautiful day. The roses were gorgeous, and I took...wait for it...368 pics lol. I'm obsessed with macro shots of flowers, so as you can imagine, I was in heaven! I haven't uploaded any of those pics anywhere yet because I want to add my photography watermark to them, but I have a little sample for you below. ;-) Yesterday I went out for lunch with my mum and two family friends who I've known forever. We went to the Chinese buffet (YUM), and then to the native reserve for a little drive and to check out a store there. It was a lot of fun. Also, this week I started Susannah Conway's Unravelling e-course. I wanted to take the course the minute I read about it on Susannah's blog, so I'm absolutely thrilled to be part of it. I can't talk about the assignments or anything, but I'll be talking a bit about the things I'm learning on my other blog, as well as posting more photos.

Ok, onto bookish and bloggish things!

READING:

Since last week, I finished So Damn Lucky by Deborah Coonts, and I also started and finished My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick. You guys. MLND was freaking amazing. I've read so many amazing YA contemps lately, and each one becomes my new favourite. If you haven't read it, you need to.

 

I started reading Once by Anna Carey, and Cicada by Belle Whittington.I have a ton of library books out right now, so I'm trying to get through these quickly but I haven't had a whole lot of reading time lately.

ON THE BLOG:

I reviewed Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock, and gave it four stars for it's terrific character and world building.

I shared the top ten books on my fall TBR list. What are you reading this fall?

I started a new feature this week called Music Monday. I came up with it last Thursday when I decided to add a section in my Update Thursday for music, but I felt the post was cluttered with one extra thing. I'd love for more people to participate, so please check it out and mark it down for Mondays!

I begged and pleaded for votes in the Top 25 Indie Authors list. Please consider voting for me (Marie Landry, Blue Sky Days)!

I posted the sign-ups for the second annual Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge! If you're looking for something fun to do in October and you love paranormal books (or fantasy or urban fantasy or sci-fi), check it out and consider signing up. It was a lot of fun last year, and there's a chance to win a prize at the end!

I participated in the Labor Day Read-a-thon and read 545 pages (my goal was 500).

WRITING

 I haven't done any actual writing, but I did send out book #2 to my beta readers - eep! I'm excited and nervous, and felt totally sick to my stomach after I sent it. My alpha reader read it in three days and loved it, so that was a good sign, but now I'm really anxious to see what my betas think. I really miss writing, and I think I might start on revisions for book #3 soon because I know it's going to involve quite a bit of writing. 

In other writing-related news, I think I might have found the image for the cover of book #2 last night! I searched a different stock photo site than I usually search, and found the image within five minutes (after spending hours searching the other site - gah). I played around with it and I'm actually kind of in love with the possibilities...I'm going to make a mock cover in the next couple of days, send it to a few friends to get their opinion, and then plan a cover reveal. If you're interested in helping me out with a cover reveal, please let me know so I can mark you down.

That's it for me! What's new with you? What have you been reading and blogging about lately? What's going on in your life?

Book Review: Eve by Anna Carey

Eve by Anna Carey

Series: Eve, Book #1

Published: October 4th, 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen

318 pages (hardcover)

Genre: Dystopian/Post-apocalyptic/Science fiction

Acquired this book: From the library

Warning: may include spoilers

{GoodReads || Purchase this book: Book Depository || Amazon}

Synopsis: Where do you go when nowhere is safe?
Sixteen years after a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth’s population, the world is a perilous place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a future as the teachers and artists of the New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school’s real purpose—and the horrifying fate that awaits her.
Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Arden, her former rival from school, and Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust . . . and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.
In this epic new series, Anna Carey imagines a future that is both beautiful and terrifying. Readers will revel in Eve’s timeless story of forbidden love and extraordinary adventure.

I’m still fairly new to the dystopian genre, and I’ll admit it still terrifies me. I’ve always had a huge fear of the apocalypse, but I’m also learning that I have a fascination with post-apocalyptic books. 

I loved the concept for Eve - a plague wiped out a great deal of the population of earth, and orphans were sent to special schools before going off to learn a trade, or so they thought. But rather than actually going into the real world to follow their dreams, they would be used as ‘sows’ to produce children and repopulate the earth. What a sick - but all-too-believable - concept.

Eve’s perfect little bubble of a world is burst and she escapes before she’s sent to spend the rest of her life producing babies. She meets some interesting characters along the way, makes new friends, and learns a lot about herself and what the world is really like post-plague. Her journey isn’t only a physical one, but an emotional and mental one as well.

It was all so real and believable in a very frightening way. I constantly found myself wondering what I would do in Eve’s place, or how I would handle certain situations. There were parts that were absolutely heartbreaking, which I’m quickly learning is a common theme in dystopian books.

There was a nice mixture of action and suspense, and enough plot twists and turns to keep me interested the entire time. The ending had me cursing because I want to know what happens and I hate that I have to wait until July…July?! 6 months?!  Seriously?! Ugh.

This book counts toward the following 2012 challenges: January 2012 Harper Imprint Challenge, 2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge, 2012 Support Your Local Library Challenge, 2012 New Authors Reading Challenge. See my progress in these and other challenges here.

In My Mailbox Week 17 ~ December 4th

In My Mailbox is weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren.  The idea is to share books you've acquired during the week, whether you've won them, bought them, picked them up at the library, received them for review, whatever.  It's a great way to bring attention to books and authors and share the love!

Big thank you to Michelle Warren for sending me the beautiful Wander Dust bookmarks. Be sure to check out Michelle's website and Facebook page. Thank you also to Lisa from A Life Bound by Books for the author doodle bookmarks!

Books mentioned:

Bought:

Jenny Pox by JL Bryan {GoodReads || Buy}

Review:

Within by Clare Marshall {GoodReads || Buy}

Library:

Supernaturally by Kiersten White (GoodReads || Buy}

Eve by Anna Carey {GoodReads || Buy}

What did you get in your mailbox this week?