Dividing Eden - Joelle Charbonneau
(My best friend reads this blog and I know she wants to read this book so I'm going to keep this as spoiler free as possible)
Okay, I devoured this book. I started it yesterday, got twenty pages in, and then finished it tonight. It's literally two in the morning right now (okay, it's 1:45) and I'm writing this because I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK.
Gonna start with the two little problems I had.
1.) I think that the world building could have been a little bit better. She named a lot of kingdoms in this book, but I really like a good map in the beginning to get a scope of where things are. I think there could have been more details. Languages, culture differences, that sort of thing.
Even in a fantasy world it doesn't really make sense that everyone speaks the same language. Even dialects would have been different, of course Carys and Andreus would have been educated in these languages.
But still, I think it would have been an interesting addition. I think it would have brought more depth to the world. Because of the lack of depth I think there are parts where you just have to suspend your disbelief and go with it.
For example, I would have liked to see how they got light (yes, I know, wind turbines, I can read) but like, how they actually discovered it. I would like to have had more history. Maybe like, one chapter of background. Even if it was told in a "folktale" like setting. Kind of like in Traitor to the Throne how there are bits of Amani and Jin's stories told as legends.
Again, it would have just added more depth to the world.
2.) The trials seemed a bit short for me. Like, I understand that in the beginning Carys was working to make sure that Andreus won, but there were a couple of things that could have put more effort in so she didn't seem totally helpless.
Oh, and one more thing: I HAVE TO WAIT TEN MONTHS FOR THE SEQUEL WTH????
This book is full of political drama, which I love. It has two boys, whom I immediately fell in love with: Andreus and Errik. The main character is a kick ass yet feminine, hardened by circumstances, awesomely powerful woman.
And the character breakdowns and flaws are like, realistic??? Like I feel like everything that happens makes sense in the context of the book and the plot?
The only thing that kills me is my poor, sweet Andreus. His plot makes my heart bleed. But it's still well executed, and it fits the plot really well? Like when I was reading it and you understand the context of what's happening and his descent, it just works?
I'm so excited to read the next installment. I'm excited to see what Carys' plot has in store, and I'm excited to see what mayhem Andreus is going to get up to now that his lady-love is dead. Oh, yeah, Imogen was the worst.
And I'm really interested to see if their mother was drugged and that's why she went mad, or if she actually just went mad with grief. Either would make sense with the way the people in that city were against their family.
But I really, really liked it, and I can't wait until the next installment! Half the time I have these questions and then they're answered in the next book!
My Rating:
