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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
I was somewhat interested in this book when it initially came out, but didn't read it for some reason. But I finally checked it out, and it turned out to be pretty damn good! I liked the royal politics and the intrigue going on, as well as the mystery of who was trying to take out the royal line and all the secrets the characters were trying to hide.
I liked that the characters were flawed, but I feel like some of the flaws came out of nowhere. Like the mother going mad and the brother suddenly willing to do horrible things to get the crown and getting in line with what his girlfriend was telling him. He believed that his sister could betray him way too quickly, I think. I will say that it was nice to have the romance extremely played down (at least for the girl) in this, that the plot was more about trying to find out what happened to the family and trying to prove they deserved the crown.
Also, here's an embarrassing thing to admit: it took me until I already finished the book and was on my way home from work when I suddenly realized the characters' names have the same initials as Cain and Abel, and have some similarities with that story. Carys is cursed like Cain and is banished from Eden-- except in this case, being "cursed" means she has power over the wind. On that note, the world-building was very well done and intriguing. I wouldn't mind reading more stories from this world because of that.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. I feel like some character bits were either rushed or just not fleshed out enough to make the motivations believable. I'll definitely continue reading, and while I'm waiting for the sequel I might seek out some of the novellas to read more about this world.
I liked that the characters were flawed, but I feel like some of the flaws came out of nowhere. Like the mother going mad and the brother suddenly willing to do horrible things to get the crown and getting in line with what his girlfriend was telling him. He believed that his sister could betray him way too quickly, I think. I will say that it was nice to have the romance extremely played down (at least for the girl) in this, that the plot was more about trying to find out what happened to the family and trying to prove they deserved the crown.
Also, here's an embarrassing thing to admit: it took me until I already finished the book and was on my way home from work when I suddenly realized the characters' names have the same initials as Cain and Abel, and have some similarities with that story. Carys is cursed like Cain and is banished from Eden-- except in this case, being "cursed" means she has power over the wind. On that note, the world-building was very well done and intriguing. I wouldn't mind reading more stories from this world because of that.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. I feel like some character bits were either rushed or just not fleshed out enough to make the motivations believable. I'll definitely continue reading, and while I'm waiting for the sequel I might seek out some of the novellas to read more about this world.
WOW. So many feelings about this amazing book.
I was curious to read this, as I am quite a fan of Joelle Charbonneau's Testing trilogy and it was obvious that Dividing Eden would be a drastically different book to read. Also I met Joelle at BookCon 2017 and got a signed copy of this book, so you can imagine I was dying to read it!
This book has countless twists and turns and makes you root for both of the protagonists. Carys and Andreus may be twins but as the tragic events unfold, will they stick together or will they fall apart?
Not really a spoiler but let's just say they definitely did not do too well with the sticking-together part.
The transitions from loving twins to vengeful and jealous (and mistaken) enemies is something that broke my heart, after seeing how they protected each other in the beginning of the novel. They were supposed to be a team, but now they are on opposing sides trying to get the upper hand. At first they don't have a choice, but later their true colors (blue and yellow specifically, ha ha I'm sonot funny) start to show.
Another thing to point out that the author does wonderfully is portray the religious side of Eden to the reader. The people worship multiple gods and the human seers who claim to see visions of the future. I think Joelle Charbonneau does a great job of explaining just enough of the religious beliefs and practices of the people, but not enough to bore the reader. Religion is especially important in Dividing Eden because it influences pretty much all of the people- including the royal family.
It's hard to write this review without spoilers (which I'll add later), but what I can say is that while reading the book, I had the same problem as Carys and Andreus: who do I trust? Who is behind the murders and the sabotaged power line, and who can I allow to help me?
Unfortunately, while Carys is able to glean the truth by the end, Andreus just can't see what was right in front of him the whole time: the woman he loved was at least partly responsible for all of the things that happened. And he'll keep believing that Carys was responsible for her death, unless his sister can find a way to change that (which hopefully she can do).
Anyways, the most surprising part to me was that the book just…ended. I thought this was a standalone when I bought it, but it is obvious from the way it ended that the story is far from over. I would expect this to be a duology, although it could end up as a trilogy. Who knows? I saw just now that Goodreads does mark this book as part of the series, but gives no indication as to when the next book will be out or how many there will be total. Since Dividing Eden just came our, I guess we'll have to wait and see. And trust me… I'll be waiting!!
I was curious to read this, as I am quite a fan of Joelle Charbonneau's Testing trilogy and it was obvious that Dividing Eden would be a drastically different book to read. Also I met Joelle at BookCon 2017 and got a signed copy of this book, so you can imagine I was dying to read it!
This book has countless twists and turns and makes you root for both of the protagonists. Carys and Andreus may be twins but as the tragic events unfold, will they stick together or will they fall apart?
Not really a spoiler but let's just say they definitely did not do too well with the sticking-together part.
The transitions from loving twins to vengeful and jealous (and mistaken) enemies is something that broke my heart, after seeing how they protected each other in the beginning of the novel. They were supposed to be a team, but now they are on opposing sides trying to get the upper hand. At first they don't have a choice, but later their true colors (blue and yellow specifically, ha ha I'm so
Another thing to point out that the author does wonderfully is portray the religious side of Eden to the reader. The people worship multiple gods and the human seers who claim to see visions of the future. I think Joelle Charbonneau does a great job of explaining just enough of the religious beliefs and practices of the people, but not enough to bore the reader. Religion is especially important in Dividing Eden because it influences pretty much all of the people- including the royal family.
It's hard to write this review without spoilers (which I'll add later), but what I can say is that while reading the book, I had the same problem as Carys and Andreus: who do I trust? Who is behind the murders and the sabotaged power line, and who can I allow to help me?
Anyways, the most surprising part to me was that the book just…ended. I thought this was a standalone when I bought it, but it is obvious from the way it ended that the story is far from over. I would expect this to be a duology, although it could end up as a trilogy. Who knows? I saw just now that Goodreads does mark this book as part of the series, but gives no indication as to when the next book will be out or how many there will be total. Since Dividing Eden just came our, I guess we'll have to wait and see. And trust me… I'll be waiting!!
This book has sat on my shelf for so long! I remember being super hyped before this was published and so excited to read about twins warring for a throne, but then I somehow got it into my head it was going to be too similar to a lot of ya books I was reading at the time.
I’m so glad I was wrong-ish. I mean sure this has a lot of over played ya tropes but they’re tropes for a reason I and really enjoyed them. The characters were well written the court politics were messy and bloody and the magic was super intriguing.
Overall 4/5 or 75% I’m glad I have a signed copy now!
I’m so glad I was wrong-ish. I mean sure this has a lot of over played ya tropes but they’re tropes for a reason I and really enjoyed them. The characters were well written the court politics were messy and bloody and the magic was super intriguing.
Overall 4/5 or 75% I’m glad I have a signed copy now!
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"Power was dangerous."
Gosh, the ending! What a good twist! I'm so excited for the next book.
Yeah I know, the first half of the book is really slow pacing but I think it did a pretty good job in explaining the world. Things get interesting after that and it just blew away my mind.
OMG! I'm so looking forward to what will happens next. I really hope Carys knock the sense out of Andreus because I super pissed at him! Andreus oh Andreus. I started liking you a lot at the beginning and the more I read the more I hated you. You are just one jealous dickhead. On the other hand, the more I read the more I loved Carys. Carys is babe! That is the kind of kick-ass heroine I'm looking for in YA. She is both physically and mentally strong. Also, loved how much she looked after of her brother.
But, I am still confused about the "curse". Why is it even a curse? Considering it is a strong thing that might help the kingdom. I don't see why it is a bad thing?
Spoiler
I mean they could use the "curse" to power the windmills.Well, I guess we have to wait until the next book to find out why.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.5 STARS
Welcome to Eden, another typical fantasy YA novel where Red Queen meets Carve the Mark in a sweeping tale of little world building with a bad case of convenient plot lines, and potential for great characters who fall short with all telling and no showing.
Okay...but honestly though? I didn't hate it. It's mediocre. It's typical. I didn't love it. I liked it. I probably won't read the squeal.
I first picked up this book because a) the drop dead gorgeous cover, b) that summery (it just sounds amazing), and c) one of the best blurbs I've ever read off of the back of the book. But in the end, I'm glad I didn't buy it and borrowed it instead so that I wasn't wasting money on the book I would ultimately be disappointed in.
HERE'S WHY:
First off lemme just mention why it's a tad bit like Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard:
•The cover screams the essence of Red Queen. I mean, JUST LOOK AT IT.
•Fantasy featuring technology
•The world in general
•Just the vibe of the book is so much like Red Queen
•There's a psychotic queen mother in both
And Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
•toxic sibling relationship
•a world in which magic is at the core of everyone's beliefs. (CTM in the Current and this book in the Winds)
•features seers vital to the plot
These things are necessarily "bad" aspects of the book or things I didn't like but were interesting and worth mentioning.
Likes:
•THAT GORGEOUS COVER. I mean, it's neat, clean, shiny, symbolic, and so so very aesthetic. #yesforthiscover
•For once the main country in the book is easy to pronounce. Eden. Nice en' easy.
•Carys (the main female protagonist) is actually someone I was growing to like by the end of the book. I appreciated the rep for drug addiction that went along with her character. I was disappointed, however, that everything about her was told and not shown. It made her boring when she could have been so much more. She appeared at first to be your typical YA female protagonist with no will but to appear strong when in reality she is fiercely loyal and actually has some humor that isn't purely sardonic. But that fact that she was supposedly "smart" and "loved her brother" showed to be the opposite of true WHEN SHE COULD NOT FIGURE OUT THE MOST OBVIOUS CRAP. And her best friend from far away who has nothing to do with anything has to tell her instead. Okay, so that turned into a dislike.
•The action of the book was actually enjoyable to read. And some of the plot devices of people twisting other's actions and words was clever and interesting.
Dislikes: aka my buttload of squirmishes
•Little to no world building was present, and when it was it was dumped onto the page in mile long paragraphs that had me rolling over for a nap to dream about something even slightly more interesting. #nothanks
It's just another case of lazy world building which is maybe just a thing for YA and I need to read more adult fantasy. Anyway, the world building we do get about the windmills and such is good and interesting but little to nothing else to talked about. We have almost no insight on how the commoners live, what the rest of the world is like in relation to Eden, what economy is etc. Little references to people and places are made with no explanations.
•Also there's this war that's going on. But why are the characters not talking about it more? Why is it just...there? If this war is supposedly effecting Eden so much, why are the heirs to the throne not talking about it or doing anything about it? It just seems like yet another thing thrown in for some convenient matter. I mean, I still don't even know who or why they are fighting?????????
•SO MUCH TELL AND NO SHOW. There were so many things about this book that were almost amazing. Like caring for great characters. Which I couldn't because I was told what they were feeling and not really shown. For instance, I was told many times that Carys really wanted the Tears of Midnight (the drug she is addicted to in the book), but I wasn't really shown as much. I didn't feel her addiction because it was spoken of more as a fact and not treated like an inner struggle. We never really got any backstory on why she starting taking it in the first place. She just did and it was like "Ok, she's into this drug and can't stop but HEY we're gonna make to convenient to the plot and use it against her!" And that's just one of many examples.
•Once again a book where he author cannot explicitly state whether someone is a person of color. Words like "brown" and "black" can't be used for skin color. Instead we get vague little terms like "dark" or "dark tan" or "a lighter tan." Like it's not that hard to just say the character is black???
•The sibling bond seems wholly unrealistic in the sense that they've looked out for each other all their lives, and in such a short span of time, one of them quickly betrays the other just because they've been seduced to believe something false. I mean, was it that hard to just go AND TALK TO THEM ABOUT IT. No, IT WAS NOT PEOPLE.
•The plot was insanely predictable. Every. Single. Point. Of it. Guessed it before it came. Especially that "big reveal." *rolls over to sleep for the 5000 years it seemed to finish this book*
•Carys was the only character I came close to liking. I would have liked more of Larkin. But no, Larkin had to be the best friend that only shows up when the plot needs to her reveal something big. Every other character was introduced in a rush or not introduced very well at all. Honestly, I still can sort it any of the Elders/the "bad guys" who don't seem all that bad when I don't even know who is who. I started to like Max, the little boy Andreas befriends until I realized that Max too only existed for plot convenience.
•Both main characters are rather stupid seeing how they couldn't figure out...anything or didn't even think to look into matters further after the deaths of their father and brother. Like, they just kinda cried and then shrugged it off.
And finally, some things I can't decide if I like to dislike:
•I basically despise Andreas. (Carys' twin and the male protagonist.) But I also really like him as a morally gray character. Except he was horrible to his sister. Which makes him interesting but also despicable. His addiction to sex and to Imogen was glossed over when it should have been treated as an addiction just as bad as Carys to the Tears of Midnight drug because ultimately, his addiction was worse for everyone than his sister's was.
•This point somewhat ties in with my thing about Andreas. I love that there is a lot of political intrigue and distrust and lying and betrayal. I live for it! But that fact that a relationship as strong as what these twins were suppose to have was broken so quickly and by really stupid things pisses me off. It makes the story seem really inauthentic.
And then there's all the typical YA fantasy tropes that I feel were overused by being implemented in this book:
•Dead and/or little existence of parents
•A character who trusts someone they're sleeping with that they barely know more than they're own family they're known forever.
•It's about royals...which is all I ever get it seems.
•All romance, pre existing and newly formed within the novel, emerges far too quickly to be anything realistic.
And the list goes on.
Well, I tried. I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone whose read a lot of YA. Maybe to someone to wants something really fast and not super deep to read. This might be for you. There are some good aspects. I just think that the author could have reached so much more potential. And the sad thing is that this book screams fantasy YA author debut when in reality the author has written many books.
All I can say is that I'm obsessed with this cover, so pictures of this novel will be coming to soon to my bookstagram.
Welcome to Eden, another typical fantasy YA novel where Red Queen meets Carve the Mark in a sweeping tale of little world building with a bad case of convenient plot lines, and potential for great characters who fall short with all telling and no showing.
Okay...but honestly though? I didn't hate it. It's mediocre. It's typical. I didn't love it. I liked it. I probably won't read the squeal.
I first picked up this book because a) the drop dead gorgeous cover, b) that summery (it just sounds amazing), and c) one of the best blurbs I've ever read off of the back of the book. But in the end, I'm glad I didn't buy it and borrowed it instead so that I wasn't wasting money on the book I would ultimately be disappointed in.
HERE'S WHY:
First off lemme just mention why it's a tad bit like Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard:
•The cover screams the essence of Red Queen. I mean, JUST LOOK AT IT.
•Fantasy featuring technology
•The world in general
•Just the vibe of the book is so much like Red Queen
•There's a psychotic queen mother in both
And Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
•toxic sibling relationship
•a world in which magic is at the core of everyone's beliefs. (CTM in the Current and this book in the Winds)
•features seers vital to the plot
These things are necessarily "bad" aspects of the book or things I didn't like but were interesting and worth mentioning.
Likes:
•THAT GORGEOUS COVER. I mean, it's neat, clean, shiny, symbolic, and so so very aesthetic. #yesforthiscover
•For once the main country in the book is easy to pronounce. Eden. Nice en' easy.
•Carys (the main female protagonist) is actually someone I was growing to like by the end of the book. I appreciated the rep for drug addiction that went along with her character. I was disappointed, however, that everything about her was told and not shown. It made her boring when she could have been so much more. She appeared at first to be your typical YA female protagonist with no will but to appear strong when in reality she is fiercely loyal and actually has some humor that isn't purely sardonic. But that fact that she was supposedly "smart" and "loved her brother" showed to be the opposite of true WHEN SHE COULD NOT FIGURE OUT THE MOST OBVIOUS CRAP. And her best friend from far away who has nothing to do with anything has to tell her instead. Okay, so that turned into a dislike.
•The action of the book was actually enjoyable to read. And some of the plot devices of people twisting other's actions and words was clever and interesting.
Dislikes: aka my buttload of squirmishes
•Little to no world building was present, and when it was it was dumped onto the page in mile long paragraphs that had me rolling over for a nap to dream about something even slightly more interesting. #nothanks
It's just another case of lazy world building which is maybe just a thing for YA and I need to read more adult fantasy. Anyway, the world building we do get about the windmills and such is good and interesting but little to nothing else to talked about. We have almost no insight on how the commoners live, what the rest of the world is like in relation to Eden, what economy is etc. Little references to people and places are made with no explanations.
•Also there's this war that's going on. But why are the characters not talking about it more? Why is it just...there? If this war is supposedly effecting Eden so much, why are the heirs to the throne not talking about it or doing anything about it? It just seems like yet another thing thrown in for some convenient matter. I mean, I still don't even know who or why they are fighting?????????
•SO MUCH TELL AND NO SHOW. There were so many things about this book that were almost amazing. Like caring for great characters. Which I couldn't because I was told what they were feeling and not really shown. For instance, I was told many times that Carys really wanted the Tears of Midnight (the drug she is addicted to in the book), but I wasn't really shown as much. I didn't feel her addiction because it was spoken of more as a fact and not treated like an inner struggle. We never really got any backstory on why she starting taking it in the first place. She just did and it was like "Ok, she's into this drug and can't stop but HEY we're gonna make to convenient to the plot and use it against her!" And that's just one of many examples.
•Once again a book where he author cannot explicitly state whether someone is a person of color. Words like "brown" and "black" can't be used for skin color. Instead we get vague little terms like "dark" or "dark tan" or "a lighter tan." Like it's not that hard to just say the character is black???
•The sibling bond seems wholly unrealistic in the sense that they've looked out for each other all their lives, and in such a short span of time, one of them quickly betrays the other just because they've been seduced to believe something false. I mean, was it that hard to just go AND TALK TO THEM ABOUT IT. No, IT WAS NOT PEOPLE.
•The plot was insanely predictable. Every. Single. Point. Of it. Guessed it before it came. Especially that "big reveal." *rolls over to sleep for the 5000 years it seemed to finish this book*
•Carys was the only character I came close to liking. I would have liked more of Larkin. But no, Larkin had to be the best friend that only shows up when the plot needs to her reveal something big. Every other character was introduced in a rush or not introduced very well at all. Honestly, I still can sort it any of the Elders/the "bad guys" who don't seem all that bad when I don't even know who is who. I started to like Max, the little boy Andreas befriends until I realized that Max too only existed for plot convenience.
•Both main characters are rather stupid seeing how they couldn't figure out...anything or didn't even think to look into matters further after the deaths of their father and brother. Like, they just kinda cried and then shrugged it off.
And finally, some things I can't decide if I like to dislike:
•I basically despise Andreas. (Carys' twin and the male protagonist.) But I also really like him as a morally gray character. Except he was horrible to his sister. Which makes him interesting but also despicable. His addiction to sex and to Imogen was glossed over when it should have been treated as an addiction just as bad as Carys to the Tears of Midnight drug because ultimately, his addiction was worse for everyone than his sister's was.
•This point somewhat ties in with my thing about Andreas. I love that there is a lot of political intrigue and distrust and lying and betrayal. I live for it! But that fact that a relationship as strong as what these twins were suppose to have was broken so quickly and by really stupid things pisses me off. It makes the story seem really inauthentic.
And then there's all the typical YA fantasy tropes that I feel were overused by being implemented in this book:
•Dead and/or little existence of parents
•A character who trusts someone they're sleeping with that they barely know more than they're own family they're known forever.
•It's about royals...which is all I ever get it seems.
•All romance, pre existing and newly formed within the novel, emerges far too quickly to be anything realistic.
And the list goes on.
Well, I tried. I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone whose read a lot of YA. Maybe to someone to wants something really fast and not super deep to read. This might be for you. There are some good aspects. I just think that the author could have reached so much more potential. And the sad thing is that this book screams fantasy YA author debut when in reality the author has written many books.
All I can say is that I'm obsessed with this cover, so pictures of this novel will be coming to soon to my bookstagram.
EDIT 03/01/20: Changing my rating from 3 stars to 2 stars.
Okay so I have some feelings about this book, most of which have to do with Charbonneau's treatment of women in the novel. First off, on two occasions when Carys talks to her friend Larkin, their exchanges were just... ugh:
These lines bothered me SO. MUCH. The way Carys and Larkin casually degrade and belittle women is honestly disgusting. One of my pet peeves in fiction - and especially in fantasy - is when the main female characters are staunchly opposed to the idea of femininity and being feminine. FYI - there's nothing wrong being feminine or liking what are considered "feminine" things. And it pisses me off that there's this idea that to be a "strong female character" a woman has to be "unfeminine" or be opposed to femininity (basically implying that for a woman to be a "strong female character" she needs to be a man). FUCK. THAT.
Second - Carys talks about getting whipped and beat, which is apparently a regular occurrence - and everyone seems okay with this - including Carys herself. She just accepts it. WHY?? Even her brother is totally okay with her continuously taking awful punishment for him (which is supposed to be justified because of his "curse", but Andreus never ONCE spoke up for his sister and was like "Yo, literally WHIPPING MY SISTER is wrong"?????)
Rant aside - The world building elements of the novel were good, but the characters were generally unlikable. None of them resonated with me at all.
Overall, it was okay, but the occasional and casual sexism was garbage.
IDK if this is a spoiler but -
Okay so I have some feelings about this book, most of which have to do with Charbonneau's treatment of women in the novel. First off, on two occasions when Carys talks to her friend Larkin, their exchanges were just... ugh:
"Ladies are boring. Every move on every situation already prescribed. Gods, they're barely even people."
"'I've been told that not being considered a lady is a compliment.' She smiled and waited for Larkin's grin in return. 'That it is.'"
These lines bothered me SO. MUCH. The way Carys and Larkin casually degrade and belittle women is honestly disgusting. One of my pet peeves in fiction - and especially in fantasy - is when the main female characters are staunchly opposed to the idea of femininity and being feminine. FYI - there's nothing wrong being feminine or liking what are considered "feminine" things. And it pisses me off that there's this idea that to be a "strong female character" a woman has to be "unfeminine" or be opposed to femininity (basically implying that for a woman to be a "strong female character" she needs to be a man). FUCK. THAT.
Second - Carys talks about getting whipped and beat, which is apparently a regular occurrence - and everyone seems okay with this - including Carys herself. She just accepts it. WHY?? Even her brother is totally okay with her continuously taking awful punishment for him (which is supposed to be justified because of his "curse", but Andreus never ONCE spoke up for his sister and was like "Yo, literally WHIPPING MY SISTER is wrong"?????)
Rant aside - The world building elements of the novel were good, but the characters were generally unlikable. None of them resonated with me at all.
Overall, it was okay, but the occasional and casual sexism was garbage.
IDK if this is a spoiler but -
Spoiler
in what kingdom does the queen consort become queen regnant after her husband dies? That's literally not how lines of succession work. But maybe that's just how Eden works. It's not really built upon.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced