Book Review: Rise by Anna Carey

Title: Rise

Author: Anna Carey

Series: Eve (Book #3)

Pages: 310

Publisher: Harper

Year Published: 2013

First Line: “Charles rested his hand firmly on my back as we spun once, then again around the conservatory, the guests watching.”

“How far will you go when you have nothing left to lose?

When she lost her soul mate, Caleb, Eve felt like her world had ended. Trapped in the palace, forced to play the happy, patriotic princess of The New America- and the blushing bride of her father’s top adviser- Eve’s whole life is a lie. The only thing that keeps her going is Caleb’s memory, and the revolution he started.

Now, Eve is taking over where Caleb left off. With the help of Moss, an undercover subversive in the King’s court, she plots to take down The New America beginning with the capital, the City of Sand. Will Eve be able to bring about a new, free world when she’s called upon to perform the ultimate act of rebellion- killing her father?

In Rise, Eve must choose who to leave behind, who to save, and who to fight as Anna Carey’s epic tale of romance and sacrifice in the chilling dystopia of The New America comes to a stunning conclusion.”

My Rating: 5/5

This has been a tremendous series. One that teaches and makes the reader wonder about the future. The never ending what ifs that come with a future based novel make them such a fun read. Especially one filled with such great characters and concepts. The ideas in this book are fantastic and very well carried out. Thoughts are fully explained but not to the point where a reader gets bored. I have loved reading these books and this final one has finally given me just what I wanted. It is truly a 5. Anna Carey does an amazing job with her main character, making her relatable but not predictable, which I think for authors is a tricky task.  So thumbs up Anna Carey!

THANK YOU ANNA CAREY FOR ONE OF THE BEST SERIES I’VE EVER READ! SERIOUSLY!

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Spoiler: Rise by Anna Carey

Thank goodness I get to write a spoiler for this book! I just had so much trouble keeping out spoilers in the book review. Ahh! Sorry for the craziness. So anyways, I big thank you to Anna Carey for writing such awesome books, this series has been amazing and I’m sorry to have it end so soon.  But oh what an ending it was! I loved the whole idea of this book. The last book that ended, ended on such a suspenseful note. And this book just answered so many questions from the past. Especially just in the idea of the setting changing and our main character growing up so much. Not so much in age, but maturity.

♥Characters♥

♥Eve: Mentioned above how much Eve has changed. She has finally come into her own and started to realize just how much of what the School taught her is a lie and that you can’t just go all willy nilly (ya I used it) trusting everyone. Especially in such hard times. My heart broke when I read that she was pregnant (guess that confirms exactly what her and Caleb got up to in that plane). I think it was one of those moments where anyone whose gotten into this series freaked the frick out. I didn’t think she would actually kill The King but when she finally did. Woah I was stunned, whoever makes the excuse that pregnant women shouldn’t do this or that in their condition should read some of this book. A great main character.

♥Charles: I think he is a really important character to include. In Once I thought he was just a rude rich boy, but he turned out to be more than that. Although by the end I think he realized that him and Eve would never be a happy couple that didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends. He also protected her multiple times. First with her pregnancy and then when she was caught with Moss. I guess you could say he grew on me.

♥The King: This guy has some major issues. Maybe the fact that he thinks he is saving all these people has gone to his head, but he deserved what he got. He might have loved Eve’s mother, but he didn’t have a good way of showing that love. He also seemed to feel the need to have things sent back to a different time. A time way before the plague when there were the many classes. Hopefully things run better now.

♥Clara: Another character that grew on me. She didn’t turn out to be stuck up, more stuck in a position she didn’t want to be in. I can’t imagine having your childhood sweetheart ripped from you and given to your cousin who just arrived from the wild. That thought really helped me understand some of her past character traits. But by the time they hit the dugout, she’s just another victim of the King in my eyes.

♥Beatrice: A sweet lady who helped Eve so much. Although she was the reason that Caleb got caught originally. I loved her and think that she would make a good mother to the girls from the School who know nothing but Teachers. Nothing of love.

♥Pip: I cried when she died. It was just another person that didn’t need to die at the kings hand. Indirectly sure, but still his fault none the less. And to have to spend her last days feeling like she wasn’t good enough for anything other than breeding… She deserved so much more.

♥Ruby: I think that she will be a good mother, although she didn’t have a choice about becoming one. She seems more the mothering type than Pip. You can see that in the way that she cares for Benny and Silas.

♥Moss: I didn’t see his death coming, but it was a necessary plot twist for sure.

♥Arden: I can see her being an awesome, kick-a** rebel leader, not sure if the role of president will be quite right for her, but who knows. She certainly would have a fresh take on things.

♥Caleb: I knew he couldn’t be dead! Ha!

♥Moment to Remember♥

♥Pg. 225

“I’d read when you missed someone you became them, that you did things to fill the space they’d left you so you wouldn’t feel so alone.”

♥Final Line: “‘I’m his wife.’”

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Book Review: Over by Anna Carey

Title: Once

Author: Anna Carey

Series: Eve (Book #2)

Pages: 354

Publisher: Harper

Year Published: 2012

First Line: “I started over the rocks, clutching a knife in one hand.”

“When you’re being hunted who can you trust?

For the first time since escaping from her School, Eve can finally sleep soundly. She is living in Califia, protected from the terrifying fate that awaits orphaned girls in The New America in the year 2041. But she was forced to abandon Caleb, the boy she loves, wounded and alone at Califia’s gates. When Eve gets word that Caleb is in trouble, she sets out in the wild again to rescue him, only to be captured and brought to the City of Sand. Trapped inside the city walls, Eve uncovers a shocking secret about her past- and must confront the harsh reality of her future.

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.”

My Rating: 4/5

This review has been a long time coming, I read Eve in February of this year and had been meaning to see if I could find the rest of the trilogy and in my last book splurge I found and purchased them. This book is a great sequel to the first taking place about a month after the end of the first book. I think that this book while it was a good book, it just didn’t live up to my expectations. There were plot twists and good ideas, but the events were oddly planned out and didn’t run as smoothly as I would have liked.

On the good side of things, characters expanding were great and seeing so many other parts of the post-plague America really struck it home for me. I would recommend this read for anyone who is interested in apocalyptic reads, or futuristic. Probably around the age of 15+.

THANK YOU ANNA CAREY SHOWING A REVOLUTION IN FULL SWING!

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Spoiler: Once by Anna Carey

I have been meaning to do with review for a long time and tadah it’s finally happening! Once is the sequel to Eve by Anna Carey. I was happy to find that this book started out in Califia and that it didn’t stay there. It wasn’t a very exciting place it seems, though I would have liked to know more about the other escapees. It’s a pretty important spot and not one readers got to learn that much about. I did like reconnecting with some of the characters from the main book, and revisiting the school, it was a really touching part of the book. No lie, there were tears over here.

♥Characters♥:

♥Eve: She’s grown out of her naïve, little girl phase and is starting to see how the world is now. I was so sad for her when she got to Califia and found out they planned on just trading her in anyways. What happened to human decency? Isn’t that what the trails about? I did think that the news she was the King’s daughter was horrifying news for her. After witnessing what happened to her peers because of him, being related to him would be horrifying, sickening really. My favourite part would have to be the moment of happiness with Caleb in that plane. There is nothing quite like falling asleep with someone you love there beside you. In the end, I think that she’ll be a great help to the resistance if she can be a good enough actress to sneak past her fathers eyes.

♥Arden: I love her, she has spunk and even though she barely made it to Califia she was ready to fight again for Eve and she did, the best she possibly could. Sad times where had when I read that they took her back to the school and put her in the birthing program (that makes it sound so scientific, but wasn’t sure how else to say it). She should have been brought to the city as well. She would have made waves. Not to mention she lost the first thing she’s loved since well ever as far as we are to know. Poor Heddy.

♥The King: I don’t understand how he’s still in power. I imagine mainly because these people just want something to believe in and he’s there, telling them everything will be ok, like a mother after a bad dream. All in all, the Outlands in his great city sound worse than the outside, but people aren’t allowed out so how would they know if things have gotten better since the last time they were outside. The fact that he just explains away the schools and the labour camps is another thing. Jerk!

♥Caleb: He is such a sweetheart. He believe in true love, that much is obvious. I don’t think that he is really dead, but it’s possible. The New America is filled with violence. So why not kill off anyone who gets in the way.

♥Ruby and Pip: We didn’t really know them all that well, but as readers our hearts go out to them all the same. Being used and abused is no way to live, but they have no choice, they are imprisoned. Hopefully they escape with Arden.

♥Charles: He doesn’t seem like a bad person, but I wonder if the only reason he’s marrying her is for the power trip. Could you blame him? King is a pretty good title and everyone else here seems to be greedy and just go for what they want so why not join the club. Hopefully things go according to plan.

♥Moss: This was a big shock for me. I just sat there and reread the sentence over and over! Great job Anna Carey. I do hope this character knows what he’s doing and doesn’t screw everything up. There is too much on the line for that.

♥Beatrice: Hopefully she finds her daughter, but I have a feeling that the King will not let that happen.

♥Moment to Remember♥

♥Pg. 160

“’It wasn’t a date,’ I said, an edge to my voice. I remembered that term from School; the Teachers had referred to it as part of the courtship period. They told us men sometimes acted like gentleman before revealing their true intentions.”

♥Final Line: “The ceremony was about to begin.”

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo

Book Review: Eve by Anna Carey

Title: Eve
Author: Anna Carey
Series: Eve (Book #1)
Pages: 322
Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher
Year Published: 2011

"Sixteen years after a deadly virus wiped out most of the Earth's population, the world is a perilous place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, 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 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 winds 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."

My Rating: 5/5

I love this book! Anna Carey has an incredible way with words that I related to the story without a problem. I lived in the world with Eve. I felt her happiness and her pain. When she hurt, I cried and when she was happy I laughed and smiled. The world that Anna Carey has created although frightening is far to possible. Since Eve is based in the future it makes all the events horror filled, more so then if it was based in present time. I didn't realize that this book was part of a series and now I'm going to search everywhere I can to find the next book, Once.  This book was mind blowing and I can hardly wait to read the next one.
THANK YOU ANNA CAREY FOR ASKING, WHAT IF?

Thanks for reading,
Love,
Sidny ♥♪♫

Spoiler: Eve by Anna Carey

Eve is another book that is written in the setting of the future and so far it's the best future based book I've read. This book deals with so many themes that I didn't expect it to touch on. The themes of education, government, love, greed, and the "what if" theory are just some of themes used in this piece of work. Eve attends school after the orphans are rounded up. This 'school' isn't really a school at all. In fact its a distraction so that the girls will later be taken to another building to be used as for breeding. But not breeding that they agree to at all. In fact when Eve sees the girls in this building they are in leather restraints and have scars across there stomachs where the babies have been cut out to make things worse, they don't even get to see them. The government in this book also plays a big role. During the plague, the government collapsed until a leader seemed to rise from the ashes. We hear a lot about "the King of the New America" to me he just seems like a dictator. A horrible, horrible dictator. Love is shown in this book not only between your common relationship but also between friends.

Characters:
Eve: Eve is the main character in this book and she was the best person to tell the story that Anna Carey had laid out. Eve in the beginning is hardly an adult and very naive. She doesn't question anything at the school as she's never led to but when Arden suggests the breeding, Eve is at least smart enough to check it out. I love that Eve begins to trust Caleb and that she falls for him even though she's been taught not to. I think that she did the right thing by following him and I hope that they reunite in the next book.

Arden: If it hadn't been for Arden, Eve would have never escaped. I don't think that she survived being found by the soldiers but if she does I hope to see her spunky personality in the next book. She added a little sass.

Caleb: I don't understand how he could guide Eve to Califia if he knew all along after they'd be separated. This must be true love. I was interested in the fact that the boys were forced to do labor and that they weren't taught to hate women, although some of them do anyways.

Leif: I thought this guy would turn out to be alright after I read about his brother Asher, that he had a reason to act the way he did and deep down he was a good guy. But when he tries to take advantage of Eve and then after gives her up for revenge it made me lose faith in humanity.

Marjorie & Otis: I was surprised to see older people working on the trail and the way they connect it to freeing the slaves was a great connection. I cried when they were shot and was extremely upset with Eve for being so stupid. They were fantastic characters.

Benny & Solas: These two boys helped me understand how horrible the labor camps really were, they couldn't spell and they just never had the chance to be children at all.


Moments to Remember:
♥Pg. 62
"'And what is it that I'm planning? Really, I'd love to hear.'
  We were trotting down a highway now, the metal guardrails barely visible beneath the vines. Off in the distance was a half-crumbled bridge. 'You want to have intercourse with me,' I said matter-of-factly."

♥Pg. 119
"I'd met Caleb two days ago and he'd yet to do anything I could deem suspicious. He hadn't left me at the river. He'd brought Arden and me breakfast and lunch, towels and fresh rainwater to bathe in. He'd even swept the room for us when we were sleeping."

♥Pg. 138
"'I do this funny thing sometimes,' he said, shooting me a mischievous grin. 'I open a book, and I look at each page. It's called reading.'"

♥Pg. 243
"'Thank you, darling. I was in New York and there he was one night, sitting across from me, telling some ridiculous story about recycling.'
  'It wasn't about recycling,' Otis chuckled to himself. 'But that's okay.'"

♥Pg. 270
"In School and out of School, I had believed that love was a liability-- something that could be wielded against you. I began to weep, finally knowing the truth: love was death's only adversary, the only thing powerful enough to combat its clawing, desperate grasps."

Thanks for reading,
Love,
Sidny xoxo