It’s throwback Thursday so whilst I still have some I haven’t shared to death, here’s one of the reviews I shared way back in 2019… pre-baby!! Enjoy xx
Dates read: 4th Feb – 14th Feb 2019
Genre: Dystopia/Young Adult
Year published: 2018
Here’s a summary of the book taken from Goodreads:
AGAINST ALL ODDS, SHE SURVIVED.
THE FIRST GIRL BORN IN FIFTY YEARS.
THEY CALLED HER EVE . . .
All her life Eve has been kept away from the opposite sex. Kept from the truth of her past.
But at sixteen it’s time for Eve to face her destiny. Three potential males have been selected for her. The future of humanity is in her hands. She’s always accepted her fate.
Until she meets Bram.
Eve wants control over her life. She wants freedom.
But how do you choose between love and the future of the human race?
Why I picked this book to read
Firstly, I picked this book to read as part of my monthly book club. This book won the votes for Feb’s book to read. I really didn’t have a problem with it winning as it’s been on my ‘to read’ list since June last year. I read the description and definitely felt sucked in by the potential storyline. I love a good dystopian book and reading the summary made me think of Hunger Games etc. Always a book I’ll enjoy! Finally, another persuading factor for picking this book is that I’m a big fan of Giovanna Fletcher. I’ve enjoyed some of her other books and particularly enjoy the work she does for her podcast ‘Happy Mum, Happy Baby’.
What did I like about the book?
Well, it’s taken a good 10 days to get the motivation to write the review for this book. I’ve not been able to pinpoint why that is, as It’s not like I don’t like writing a review. I also feel like I need to point out that I have plenty of time on my hands to write the review as well hahaha… the only conclusion I can come to is that I can’t put my finger on how I felt about this book, so here’s hoping writing about it will help support me to make a decision.
So, looking back on the book, I have already mentioned how I very much was persuaded to read this book because I enjoyed the concept. The idea of a world that needed to find a way to survive when all the babies being born were boys. I mean, it’s a great question…what would we do? I also loved the idea of The mother’s that dedicated their lives to look after Eve along with her best friend being hologram driven by three different people, one of them being Bram. so yeah, putting it simply, the world the book was written in was great! Another thing I liked about the book was that the chapters were written from Eve & Bram’s perspective which was helpful when trying to get inside the characters heads and understand what they were thinking. I usually find that I prefer one person’s perspective, but in this instance, I wasn’t too fussed, Both were interesting enough.
Upon reflection, when reading the book I was very much getting a Handmaid’s Tale vibe from the book and how it made me feel, that there was something more to know how this world they lived in & plenty of secrets to discover. Frustrating, I couldn’t quite reach out & discover those secrets.
What didn’t I like about the Book?
On paper this book really should have been 5* for me, it’s an absolute no brainer, however, I’ve had to pause when writing this review to try & talk it through with my husband about why I am struggling so much to put thought to paper in this instance. I think the main issue for me, is that I had high expectations for this book and it just didn’t meet them. (Always tough when that happens)
The love story just wasn’t enough for me to believe how Bram acted in order to save Eve. I get that he was raised to understand the importance of Eve and that he was very much attached to her because of acting like her best friend for a number of years, but it didn’t feel enough motivation or attachment was created for him to act the way he did. I’m a sucker for a good love story or at least having one run in the background of the book, but this one just felt like an afterthought and didn’t really add to the story in my opinion.
That, and to be honest I really didn’t gel with Eve as a character. I felt like throughout the book she could have developed further as a stronger female character, but it just didn’t happen. It almost felt like she was just waiting to be saved & spoon-fed answers. I wanted more of a Katniss Everdeen Character and really ended up with a Damsel in distress… which quite frankly was boring.
Afterthoughts – Who do I picture playing the main characters in a film adaption of this book?
Ever play this game? As I was reading the book I often wondered who I would want playing the main characters in a film adaption. Here are my thoughts:
Eve – Lily Collins
Bram – Lucas Till
Overall, I would rate the book 3 Stars.
Have you read Eve of Man? What did you think? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
Thanks for stopping by
Kim xxx
Purple Sparks Reading Corner 