***The Starry-Eyed Revue***: eve

Title: Once
Author: Anna Carey
Narrator: Tavia Gilbert
Series:  2nd book in the Eve series
Publisher:  Harper Audio
Publication Date: July 3, 2012
Source:  purchased audiobook
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

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.

After giving Eve only two stars, I probably shouldn't have continued the series. But my curiosity being what it is, rubber-necking syndrome kicked in and I just had to pick up the next book to find out what happens to our "heroine". Seeing as how it would have truly brought tears to my eyes to actually purchase a hard copy of this series and have it sitting on my shelf, hating it all the while, I opted for the audio again. (Though I don't deny that the covers are kind of pretty. There again, I should have known better...post-apocalyptic novels shouldn't have pretty covers IMHO.)

And again, all that saved me from ripping out my hair in frustration was Tavia Gilbert's narration, even if I did hear some of the same character voices from the Night Huntress books: The King very much sounds like Mencheres and Eve is still a very ramped-up, overly-dramatic version of Cat. Rather than making me excited for Once, it made me long for Cat and Bones. *sigh*

Aside from a hastily thrown together plot, my biggest complaint with this series is Eve's continued naïvete. She never doubts for a second that her plans are going to work, that she might be the only one trying to manipulate and con people to get what she wants. Sure, some might see this as optimistic, but I see it as a big ole character flaw, especially considering everything in her world has already gone all wrong. I just can't get on board with a protagonist like Eve.

I've seen so many rave reviews for this series, and I just don't get what I'm missing. I expect a sequel to be an improvement upon the first book, and I really didn't see that here. Granted, I shouldn't have expected anything spectacular considering my luke-warm feelings toward the first book, and I should count my blessings that it's not one of those info-dumping middle books, but I'm still not convinced I should read the next book. Even though I know I ~~probably~~ will. Damn curiosity.

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Labels: anna carey, audiobooks, disappointments, dystopian, eve, harper-collins, post-apocalyptic, reviews

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Title: Eve
Author: Anna Carey
Narrator: Tavia Gilbert
Series: 1st book in the Eve series
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: October 4, 2011
Source: purchased audiobook

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.

Another day, another post-apocalyptic novel. I’ve read a ton of them in the last year or so, and I don’t feel like I’m burned out yet on this subgenre. I still think there are plenty more out there and plenty more waiting to grace the shelves with their presence, and it’s likely that I’ll enjoy the majority of them. Unfortunately, Eve wasn’t one of those.

The story was flat, there was little back-story provided, and nothing of great importance seemed to happen in the book. Sure, there was some action and running for the hills, that sort of thing, but as for anything pertaining to the demise of the world Eve finds herself a part of, nada. It was a lot of running. Okay, well, trying to escape. Eve didn’t actually run the whole time. It went more like this: escape, run, get rescued, run, get captured, run, sanctuary at last. Or something along those lines.

Eve was such an annoying protagonist. She was naïve, self-absorbed, and ridiculously whiney. Oh, and she has terrible judgment. Her only redeeming quality was her idea to teach the boys who rescued her how to read. Sometimes, I can look past an unworthy heroine if the plot is good or the love interest is commendable. Alas, neither is the case. Caleb was chivalrous to a fault, endangering his own life in more than one instance for the very unworthy Eve. I could get on board with that…if the guy weren’t lacking a personality.

Everyone and everything in this novel was just so generic. It lacked any detail or depth. It was like a watered-down version of Lauren Oliver’s Delirium. A girl who was perfectly content with her non-life is finally let in on the secret, and she reacts by escaping and falling for a boy. That wouldn’t be so bad if there was actually some substance to this book.

Tavia Gilbert is one of my favorite narrators. She narrated the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost and many other audiobooks I’ve loved. Sadly, her narration of Eve is the only thing that helped me to finish the book. She lent an air of petulance to Eve’s character that really drove home just how infuriating Eve was and it left me wondering how anyone could have gone out of their way to rescue this frustrating, naïve girl.

I’m not sure if I’ll pick up the next book. Maybe if/when the audio is on sale and if Tavia is the narrator. I had really high hopes for this book, but sadly, I was unimpressed.

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Book-A-Likes: Delirium by Lauren Oliver, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

** As of the date this review was posted, B&N is offering up the Nook book of Eve for $2.99, and Audible is offering the audiobook at $7.86 for members in the You Pick Sale.