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emmairv89's review
Eve is the first female to be born in fifty years and she is meant to save the human race from extinction.
Eve is kept in her ‘dome’ where everything isn’t real including the sunlight and views.
Eve has nothing and everything, nobody and everyone she is trapped with no freedom, all her choices are made for her.
Holly is the closest thing to a real friend that she has even though Holly is a scientifically engineered mechanic device (robot) who is powered by three young men.
Eve knows which version of Holly she prefers who she can be herself with and confide her thoughts about the three potential candidates that she must date and marry.
After a near death experience Eve sees Hollys true face that is Bram.
This book was very well written especially when it took a strange dark turn but unfortunately there was something that didn’t click for me. I debated long and hard weather to continue this read but sadly 50% through I decided to give up.
Eve is kept in her ‘dome’ where everything isn’t real including the sunlight and views.
Eve has nothing and everything, nobody and everyone she is trapped with no freedom, all her choices are made for her.
Holly is the closest thing to a real friend that she has even though Holly is a scientifically engineered mechanic device (robot) who is powered by three young men.
Eve knows which version of Holly she prefers who she can be herself with and confide her thoughts about the three potential candidates that she must date and marry.
After a near death experience Eve sees Hollys true face that is Bram.
This book was very well written especially when it took a strange dark turn but unfortunately there was something that didn’t click for me. I debated long and hard weather to continue this read but sadly 50% through I decided to give up.
loetje's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
lydi2001uk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
zeefox's review
emotional
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.0
feelingpeachygreen's review against another edition
3.0
Ends on a cliffhanger and that's not how you end a story!!!!
- Exciting premise, very immersive world
- Some real shock moments with impact
- Some cringe writing. A line in the book was genuinely "what a noob"
- Action scenes aren't great. They're fine.
- It's YA so (spoiler) of course they let a 16 year old lad lead the rebellion. Why not?
- The real wins of this book are Eve's worldview and how it is rocked in the first two thirds
- It doesn't make sense scientifically. But I don't think questions about a genetic bottleneck are super relevant - it's a story and I like to see what people can create from an idea, even if yes (quite obviously) it's scientifically inaccurate.
I binged the first 200 pages and loved it, then I wasn't too interested.
Not an AMAZING quality book but it hit the spot as an easy dystopian read with romance ✨
jen_the_librarian13's review
4.0
I think it had a slow start but I quickly got sucked into their world. I definitely enjoyed seeing both the utopia of the tower as well as the dystopia outside.
katykelly's review
4.0
Fits nicely into the dystopia genre, a series-starter with a dual gender interest.
I like a good dystopia, a world just different enough to be possible, a gripping concept. And of course, a relatable protagonist to root for in a dangerous world. The concept here was definitely a gripping one, following a read of Naomi Alderman's 'The Power', a book about women taking control.
Here, it is the women who find themselves endangered... for fifty years, no baby girls are born. Then all of a sudden, one survives... Eve. Kept in an 'ivory tower' of sorts, like a Rapunzel, she is idolised and idealised by the now nearly-entirely male population, and now 16, has been raised to prepare her to save humanity and bring it back from the brink. A great prospect for a plot, plenty of scope for a grim world and a look at how a male world copes and interacts.
To keep Eve sane as well as pliable, a hologrammatic friend called Holly acts as companion, confidante and intermediary, but is controlled of course by men, one of who, Bram, has been working in the role since a child himself, and feels very close to her.
As the story begins, Eve is about to meet the first of three potential partners, with whom she is to attempt to repopulate. It definitely caught my imagination, and I enjoyed picturing the world of Eve in her tower, but also the outside world, what little we see of it.
A few negatives: It did feel a little 'by the numbers' in terms of plot points and what happens - conspiracy theories, power struggles, some scenes/moments that felt like The Truman Show, Hunger Games, but the one book I was hoping it would emulate and 'comment on', the already mentioned 'The Power', it didn't. I was surprised that the authors didn't once show us what men living with men really felt, how they coped without women, how the few women out there lived and survived among so many desperate and inflamed males, how education and culture has changed to account for the lack of females. This would have slowed the story down, of course.
I did like the main duo - Eve transforms in the usual way of dystopian characters, through realisation and emancipation, as Bram becomes more of a typical hero and action hero, on the run a lot and discovering leadership qualities. Both are realistically adolescents experiencing 'first love', both with issues relating to their parents, both unsure of key truths about their worlds.
There is enough of a description to feel the bleakness of the world and the perfection of Eve's Truman-like tower, and enough story left untold to whet appetites for the next installment. I didn't feel however, that this was an obvious collaboration. If each author took one character/narrator each, it didn't feel it, though I know little of the trademark style of either to spot personal touches. It flowed nicely from Eve to Bram and I wanted more from each every time we moved over to the other. I may look for part 2.
This will be a good crossover selection, both teenagers and adults will enjoy this. Hopefully in the next episode, the authors will add some psychological detail as to how the general population live in an almost-exclusively male society.
With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy, provided for review purposes.
I like a good dystopia, a world just different enough to be possible, a gripping concept. And of course, a relatable protagonist to root for in a dangerous world. The concept here was definitely a gripping one, following a read of Naomi Alderman's 'The Power', a book about women taking control.
Here, it is the women who find themselves endangered... for fifty years, no baby girls are born. Then all of a sudden, one survives... Eve. Kept in an 'ivory tower' of sorts, like a Rapunzel, she is idolised and idealised by the now nearly-entirely male population, and now 16, has been raised to prepare her to save humanity and bring it back from the brink. A great prospect for a plot, plenty of scope for a grim world and a look at how a male world copes and interacts.
To keep Eve sane as well as pliable, a hologrammatic friend called Holly acts as companion, confidante and intermediary, but is controlled of course by men, one of who, Bram, has been working in the role since a child himself, and feels very close to her.
As the story begins, Eve is about to meet the first of three potential partners, with whom she is to attempt to repopulate. It definitely caught my imagination, and I enjoyed picturing the world of Eve in her tower, but also the outside world, what little we see of it.
A few negatives: It did feel a little 'by the numbers' in terms of plot points and what happens - conspiracy theories, power struggles, some scenes/moments that felt like The Truman Show, Hunger Games, but the one book I was hoping it would emulate and 'comment on', the already mentioned 'The Power', it didn't. I was surprised that the authors didn't once show us what men living with men really felt, how they coped without women, how the few women out there lived and survived among so many desperate and inflamed males, how education and culture has changed to account for the lack of females. This would have slowed the story down, of course.
I did like the main duo - Eve transforms in the usual way of dystopian characters, through realisation and emancipation, as Bram becomes more of a typical hero and action hero, on the run a lot and discovering leadership qualities. Both are realistically adolescents experiencing 'first love', both with issues relating to their parents, both unsure of key truths about their worlds.
There is enough of a description to feel the bleakness of the world and the perfection of Eve's Truman-like tower, and enough story left untold to whet appetites for the next installment. I didn't feel however, that this was an obvious collaboration. If each author took one character/narrator each, it didn't feel it, though I know little of the trademark style of either to spot personal touches. It flowed nicely from Eve to Bram and I wanted more from each every time we moved over to the other. I may look for part 2.
This will be a good crossover selection, both teenagers and adults will enjoy this. Hopefully in the next episode, the authors will add some psychological detail as to how the general population live in an almost-exclusively male society.
With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy, provided for review purposes.
amymann's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
tasha5492's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mollybud02's review
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0