Eve (Eve #1) by Anna Carey

Title: Eve (Eve #1)
Author: Anna Carey
Release date: October 4, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 318
Source: BEA

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.

Eve is one of those books that got a ton of hype back when it was first released. I admit that I was very curious back then what all that hype was about but until now I didn’t actually read the book. Sadly, I think I set my hopes too high and I found Eve seriously lacking in parts. It’s a pretty solid start to the trilogy but definitely nothing fantastic.

Eve herself was one of my biggest issues. She was made out to be this super smart girl who loved school and looked forward to learning her Trade. However, as soon as someone uttered a single word about school maybe not being so perfect, she doubted everything she knew. It literally took her one chapter to change her mind about everything she ever knew. And then she proceeded to do the same thing over and over again throughout the book. She didn’t seem to have any beliefs of her own. She just followed along with what everyone else said and she was easily swayed from even those beliefs. I just couldn’t get behind her as a heroine. She was very weak to me.

Now I’m sure you are all wondering about the love interest, Caleb. Caleb was better for me as a character than Eve was, that’s for sure, but he was still nothing spectacular. He was a much more cynical person. He had seen a lot of bad things and he wasn’t nearly as naïve as Eve. Still, he managed to be a good person with a good heart. He was a very sweet guy who honestly just wanted to help Eve in any way that he could. He never once turned his back on her and he was just an all-around good person. He, along with Benny and Silas, were my favorite characters in the book. (I couldn’t help but love Benny and Silas. They were the cutest little boys ever!)

The world was a mix of the generic dystopian world and a pretty unique one. The City of Sand is ruled by a king who is cruel, misleading, and basically a total ass. There is a lot of potential with both The City of Sand as well as the king himself but you don’t get to see either of those things in this book. I’m really hoping for a change of scenery in the next book because otherwise things will get a little boring. There just wasn’t enough unique stuff about this dystopian world for me to be hooked. However I have not given up hope because there is some serious potential here.

As for the plot, it was a little predictable. It was definitely action-packed and there were quite a few moments where I was on the edge of my seat and that is honestly what kept me reading. While I didn’t care a whole lot for Eve, I wanted to know what was going to happen to her and whether or not she and Caleb would get a happy ending. I have to hand it to Anna Carey. She managed to write a book that will keep readers up late into the night because there is honestly no good stopping point in this book. And while the ending wasn’t a total cliffhanger, I was left with quite a few questions and I am very eager to dig into the next book.

Overall, Eve definitely has its flaws but it’s an all-around good book. Fans of the dystopian genre will enjoy it and it will leave readers eager for the sequel!

Looking for more reviews of Eve?
The Bookish Babe’s review
Anna Reads’ review

Series:
Eve (Eve #1)
Once (Eve #2)
Rise (Eve #3) – April 2, 2013

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12 comments

  1. I’m glad you enjoyed this book, but that’s too bad that you didn’t love it:( When I read this, I thought that the dystopian world was pretty interesting; it was a little different because the virus, not just the government, had power.
    I agree that a change of scenery should be good. I have high hopes for Once, and hopefully I’ll get to see Eve encounter some different problems:)

  2. This review mirrors my thoughts exactly. I liked it but Eve herself was a problem for me. Actually I much prefered Once, the second book in the series. I will be interesting to hear your thoughts on that one if you read it.

  3. I haven’t heard the best reviews for this book so I’m not sure why it was raved about in the first place. It seems like a cliche dystopian based off some reviews I’ve read. Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed it and hope you like the sequel even better.

  4. I was really excited about this book, but I have heard some so-so things. I have heard some better things about Once. I will probably read it anyway though, so I can make my own opinion. Thank you for the review!

  5. I agree with your opinion of Eve. She is an unrelatable character, while Caleb is seems too perfect.

    Eve was a good book, but it probably doesn’t deserve the hype that it received.

  6. I just bought this one on my Kindle, since it was so cheap! 😉 I always love dystopia books, so I’m hoping that even though you didn’t love this one, Katie, I’ll still end up enjoying! I really dislike weak main characters, though, and Eve definitely seems like she’s a wimpy MC. However, the book seems like it has a whole lot of potential, so I’m still looking forward to reading it!

    Fabulous review, Katie! <3

    -Aneeqah @ My Not So Real Life

  7. I’d heard all the bad reviews for Eve, but when it comes to dystopian I almost always like them even if it’s just a little bit. That so wasn’t the case for this one.
    I found the story pretty boring, Caleb just kind of bleh, and Eve terribly, terribly annoying. I get that a person like that would be incredibly naive, but that thing with the radio somewhere in the middle of the story? Come on, that’s just selfish and thoughtless. I wanted to punch her in the face for that stunt.

  8. Ah, it’s disappointing that you didn’t like this story! I used to hate YA dystopia, but I’ve recently gotten into it because so many of the dystopians are getting better. But with such an increase in dystopian writing, the genre is losing its originality and characters are falling flat because they can’t measure up to others. I feel like this is one of those cases where its competitors are so powerful that it just can’t compare. I may be putting this way way way down on my TBR list now :/ Thank you for the honest review.

  9. I really liked the chapters that took place in Caleb’s gang’s hiding place. There was a lot of tension there.

    Lovely review 🙂