Kate Cowan

Tension and action drive this tale forward with a strong character to root for the entire way through.

I picked this one up hoping for a fast-paced tale and rich fantasy world, and it does a good job with both of these. The story begins with Aerona as the only female in a monk society, known for their fearless and amazing fighting strength. She rescued a young man, who's lost his memory, but with care and time, he gets it back, and when he does, the world flip-flops. Aerona's people don't even see the danger coming, leaving her as the last known survivor. Now, she has to stop an evil force and live up to her upbringing.

This is a rich read with many unexpected plot twists, tons of intrigue, quite a few fight scenes, and a heroine, who will not stop until she achieves her goals. Not only is she strong, but she has enough weaknesses and softness to make her likeable. It was easy to root for her and hope she makes it through. There is a hint of romance, but I was happy to see that this is very slow burn. Instead, it's the challenges Aerona and the others face, which weaves the tale.

The world building is done well enough to allow the story to flow and the scenes to come to life. Most of the characters carry enough depth to make them interesting, although a few were a bit light. The first page did distract thanks to the heavy use of italics. Luckily, this changed, and the tale immediately pulled in after that. The story does hold the reader in the pages and offers plenty of layers and richness. There was a scene (a major one) in the beginning, which I, unfortunately, just couldn't find peace with (nothing major but it hit me wrong), and then, the ending came with a rush. So, I'm not sure I'll be heading on to the next book, although I did enjoy this read and do recommend it.… (meer)

This book began as another typical dystopian tale but ended as a fictional whirlwind. There is a certain point in the book where I feel like I fell down the rabbit hole. It began having a really unexpected set of new characters with some very interesting plot twists. There is nothing predictable about this novel and I wasn’t sure at all where the book was going to end. A lot of questions were left unanswered but it sets up to a be a great series. However, the moment the story ends up on the Island I couldn’t stop reading. I really enjoyed where the story finishes and definitely look forward to reading the next books in the series.

I really enjoyed Eden as a character and I loved how much she was willing to fight for the greater good. She is not whiney of her situation even though it clearly sucks. She definitely develops throughout the rest of the book and I am sure this will continue throughout the next few books. Of course there is a love triangle but I think I am already on Will’s side. There are so many unanswered questions and these questions even involve Eden’s love interest.

I would recommend this book to any YA fiction lovers and anyone willing to try a new series, I promise you will not be disappointed.

Original Review posted here: http://thepassionatebookworms.com/garden-of-eden-by-kate-cowan-blog-tour/… (meer)