Eve by Anna Carey

Eve by Anna Carey
Release Date – October 4th, 2011 (some places Sept 26th)
Publisher – HarperCollins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 336 pages
My Rating- 6.5/10
**obtain at Book Expo America for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. The night before eighteen-year-old Eve’s graduation from her all-girls school she discovers what really happens to new graduates, 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 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 starts out very promising. Our main character discovers the harsh realities of what is facing her upon graduation, and it’s not “college level” learning like she has been told. The reality really is quite chilling and makes perfect sense for this type of society. Eve, of course, wants to get out. She escapes, but leaves her two friends behind. This is where my disconnect from the novel begins.

I couldn’t relate to the main character. She makes bad decision after bad decision. She is often the cause of trouble and issues for others. She was not capable of taking care of herself at all. I get that she had been sheltered but I found it really hard to like her.

Her friends Pip and Ruby were quite interesting and I would hope they make an appearance in the next books. A fellow student who also escapes is Arden. She’s fantastic. She’s much more capable, and quite interesting. I am hoping to see much more of Arden in the second and third book.

People who dislike insta-love in novels may have a tough time with this one. Caleb is the love interest and it happens pretty fast. It’s made all the more apparent how quickly it happens when you factor in Eve’s schooling. Eve and the other girls at her all girls school take classes that teach them not to trust men (boys, etc). They are told that men only want one thing basically and that they will hurt them. Eve is terrified of men. She should want to run the other way as a result, but as soon as Caleb saves her the romance begins.

It appears that everyone wants Eve. Caleb, Lief (another boy she meets along the way) and the mysterious “King”. The “King” is the person running things after the virus has killed most of the population and he sends people out to find Eve when she manages to escape. The “King” does provide some potential in that we don’t know much about him, but he does seems like a real threat.

The ending was quite interesting and I am curious to see where this will go. I am interested to read the next book as I feel the potential is there and hope that the secondary characters that I enjoyed are more prominent.

I think certain people will love Eve, As I mentioned, there is potential here, and a few interesting characters that made the book much more enjoyable. I just wish Eve had been one of them.