Lovin' los libros

We jump back in where we left off- Eve and the crew are settling in at New Eden, trying to establish a life, but always being wary of the threat of the Bane (soulless human machines that are the product of the virus TorBane gone wrong) However, Eve is restless. She is not used to not being in action 24/7 and now she has to deal with the aftermath of some of her choices that she made in The Bane. There was a bit of a love triangle in the first book, but Eve has made her choice (and it is the right one in my opinion!). Still, there are several scenes where Eve is caught in the middle between them and although I did understand the one guy's behavior due to his circumstances, it still drove me a bit crazy. She made her choice! Let it alone!

The community of New Eden does get a bit of a shock when a new group of humans shows up to town. They say they heard their message looking for survivors and are seeking refuge. However, everyone is on the defensive. Eve does not trust this group at all and so the community of New Eden is having to be very cautious. It is sad that there is so much distrust in the air. The human population has been wiped out. People should be banding together to help each other, not fight against each other and sow the seeds of discord. However, there will always be varying opinions on how best to do things.

Eve is still a badass in this book. She still struggles with her emotions and finding a good balance, even though she is getting helped by a doctor in New Eden, who is connected to her past. He does treatments to help straighten out her emotional receptors, but at one point, she fears it's been too much and she really feels herself spiraling out of control. She feels suffocated, trapped, and is really a ticking time bomb waiting to go off on someone (West). I really enjoyed watching her deal with this and this is where Avian really shows how much he cares for her. Both of them are so attuned to one another- he knows when she's on the verge of a meltdown and when she's in need of a break. She is used to living freely and she feels New Eden is more a cage than a new home. Still, he is right there with her, and refuses to let her drown in all of these emotions.

Avian, however, is in love with Eve and doesn't always make the most rational decisions when it comes to her and her safety. We really see a very different side to him than we did in the first book where he was passive aggressive and almost shy. However, his overprotectiveness of Eve does cause some problems later in the book.

West, on the other hand, is as infuriating as ever. He pushes Eve's buttons and refuses to accept the hard truths. He has been through quite a lot (especially after the ending to the last book!) so we have to give him some leniency in the beginning. However, his persistence really started to drive me crazy. Not to mention, he is not exactly trustworthy. He has withheld information from Eve and has lied to her on several occasions in the past. Yet, Eve feels guilty for what has happened to him and for the choices she has made without him knowing.

We find out quite a bit more about Eve and her past in this book, which is going to be critical in the last installment of the series. Keary did a really great job of tying that in with the storyline and really making everything work out seamlessly.

We really have two major storylines in this book: We have Eve finding out more about her past and we also have the threat of the Bane growing larger and larger every day. It turns out the Bane are actually evolving, which does not bode well for the remaining human population. The odds are stacked against them, yet they are resilient and determined to fight back.

The end is not what I would call a cliffhanger, but it definitely has a 'Oh shit!' moment that leaves you ready for the next book.

Overall, the second installment of the Eden trilogy is packed with action and really leaves you breathless at the end. I could not put this one down!

 

ABOUT KEARY TAYLOR:

Keary Taylor grew up along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where she started creating imaginary worlds and daring characters who always fell in love. She now resides on a tiny island in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their two young children. She continues to have an overactive imagination that frequently keeps her up at night. She is the author of the FALL OF ANGELS trilogy, EDEN, and WHAT I DIDN'T SAY. To learn more about Keary and her writing process, please visit www.KearyTaylor.com.