Review: Eden

Title: Eden
Author: Keary Taylor
Date Released: June 3rd, 2011
Pages: 408
Rating: 4 out of 5

Description:
Eve knew the stories of the Fall, of a time before she wandered into the colony of Eden, unable to recall anything but her name. She's seen the aftermath of the technology that infused human DNA with cybernetic matter, able to grow new organs and limbs, how it evolved out of control. The machine took over and the soul vanished. A world quickly losing its humanity isn't just a story to her though. At eighteen, this world is Eve's reality.

In their Fallen world, love feels like a selfish luxury, but not understanding what it is makes it difficult to choose between West, who makes her feel alive but keeps too many secrets, and Avian, who has always been there for her, but is seven years her senior.

The technology wants to spread and it won't stop until there is no new flesh to assimilate. With only two percent of the human population left, mankind is on the brink of extinction. While fighting to keep Eden alive, Eve will discover that being human is about what you will do for those you love, not what your insides may be made of. And even if it gets you killed, love is always what separates them from the Fallen.

Review:
I really liked Eden because 1) it’s dystopian, which means 2) it’s original and definitely intriguing.  In this dystopian novel, you’re introduced to a cybernetic infection that has ravaged 98% of the world, only leaving 2% totally human.  Eve, the protagonist, found a safe haven with the small community of Eden, but arrived with no memory of anything except for her name.  Eden takes place five years later, where she gets caught up in a love triangle between Avian, the guy that’s a little too old for her, and West, who knows about Eve’s past, but whom she doesn’t trust. 

Eden was definitely a page turner.  I gotta say though that I felt like it concentrated a lot more on the love triangle, rather than surviving the infection.  However, love plays a big part in Eden because in a way it helps Eve identify herself and prove that she can feel.  It also makes her more human, knowing what love is and how it feels.  In the end, there was a scene that was so intense, but yet had so much emotion, and it kind of reminded me of a movie where the guy or girl has that revelation that that person is the one and it’s just all magical…  I think that that was probably my favorite part of the book :D

One thing that I wasn’t the biggest fan of was the plot.  It was so-so, to be honest.  It was really interesting in the beginning because everything’s happening, but then the middle gets a little slow and repetitive, with Eve trying to figure out whom she loves, Avian or West.  I’ll admit, the love triangle sometimes got a little frustrating because both of the guys seemed perfect!!!  Although West had his flaws, and Avian was a little too old (by 7 years), they still had their pros that absolutely weighed out their cons, which was probably why it was so hard for Eve to choose between the two!  But yeah, sometimes it was a little frustrating and annoying reading about Eve’s constant struggle between who she loved. 

Despite her indecisiveness, Eve is a very strong and definitely a courageous character and I liked her.  At times, I also found her to be a little funny because of how clueless she was about things they had before the Fall, such as restrooms and showers.

I really liked Eden and it was a very entertaining read.  I think that anyone would enjoy it, especially if you're a sucker for love triangles.  If you aren’t, note that almost the whole entire novel seems to revolve around it… I, on the other hand, happen to love them :)  If you’re looking for another dystopian to read, look no further! 

Cover Review:

This cover is really cool and definitely shows what the book is about.  The cybernetic eye is a really cool touch to the cover because in the book, it's usually one of the first things that shows signs of the infection.  And that dash of blue from the eye really stands out.  It also has that dystopian vibe, like the cover for Divergent. 

Cleo :)

*Description and cover from goodreads.com

**Review copy purchased for Kindle.