YA Review: Once by Anna Carey

Title: Once
Series: Eve #2
Author: Anna Carey
Author Info: Website / Twitter / Goodreads / Facebook
Pub Date: July 3, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Format: Paperback (ARC)
Pages: 368
Purchase: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Summary:

When you're being hunted, who can you trust?

For the first time since she escaped from her school many months ago, Eve can sleep soundly. She's living in Califia, a haven for women, protected from the terrifying fate that awaits orphaned girls in The New America.

But her safety came at a price: She was forced to abandon Caleb, the boy she loves, wounded and alone at the city gates. When Eve gets word that Caleb is in trouble, she sets out into the wild again to rescue him, only to be captured and brought to the City of Sand, the capital of The New America.

Trapped inside the City walls, Eve uncovers a shocking secret about her past--and is forced to confront the harsh reality of her future. When she discovers Caleb is alive, Eve attempts to flee her prison so they can be together--but the consequences could be deadly. She must make a desperate choice to save the ones she loves . . . or risk losing Caleb forever.


Review:


I think I actually enjoyed this book more than I did the first one, not that I didn’t like the first one but for some reason I connected more with this one. It could be that it was set in the City of Sand and I’ve been to the city that the City of Sand is the renovated version of a million times. So I was hooked as soon as we got there. Some wonderful world building, I wanted to know more about how they restored each area and descriptions of what things looked like. I had that, I want to go there feeling by the images created in my mind.
I also really loved the way the romance played out in this book as well. Maybe it’s that distance makes the heart grow fonder but there was sweetness to it that made me smile. Every time Eve and

Caleb came together it just felt magical. I really felt like I was rooting for them.
We finally meet the King in this book and I have to say there are moments when you are not so sure if you should hate him or not.  It was a well-played villain; I could see how Eve might have her moments of doubt.

We also meet Moss, the leader of the resistance, which has some interesting twists to it I didn’t see. Curious? Not all things are as they seem, especially in a world that has been ripped apart.

I really enjoyed Charles character. At first I thought he was one type of guy and then he turned out to be someone I didn’t expect. I liked that he was that character that was really just a part of something because that’s the only life he has known. He didn’t want me to jump off the Caleb ship or anything but I did really like him.
The plot flow was good and I felt like I was interested the entire time. I liked some of the things that were left hanging and how you could make assumptions but then you realize….hmm no one really confirmed this. It was a great twist and great cliff hanger at the end.

I think if you are a fan of Eve you won’t be disappointed in this book.