Book Review: The Human - Keary Taylor

Title: The Human (The Eden Trilogy #2)

Author: Keary Taylor

Release Date: June 5th 2013

Publisher: Self-published

Source: eARC from author

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The city of New Eden is cleared, but it won’t stay that way forever. The Bane continue to advance in horrific ways that will wipe humanity from the face of the Earth. A storm is coming, one none of them could have dared imagine.

When a group of outsiders come to the city, everyone is on edge. They have too many questions and not enough answers about where they are from or what they want. Just because they are human doesn’t mean they can be trusted.

Eve made a choice–one that could have deadly repercussions. Desperate hearts bring about desperate actions. Now she must make another decision as her world continues to crumble: come to terms with who she really is, or risk her sanity. She thought she had unlocked all the secrets from her past, but there are truths still buried that leave her questioning what is real and what is not.

I admit, I opened this book with caution as I didn't enjoy The Bane as much as I'd wanted to, and then there's the issue of Second Book Syndrome. Well, now I say this: I don't think a sequel has outdone its predecessor as much as The Human did. It was more action-packed and fast-paced; I just tore through this book and finished it in less than a day.

Even though I read the first book back in April, I didn't have a hard time getting swooped back into this world, which we saw more of as Eve was made an unwilling "tourist". We learn of what's happening on a grander scale, upping the stakes and the excitement.

Also, Eve improved drastically compared to how she had been in The Bane—or at least, I liked her better. She sounded less mechanical—explaining further would be spoiler-y, I think—so it wasn't anymore hard to connect with her. Don't worry, that little bump in emotions didn't compromise her kickass-ery.

This game was tiring me very quickly and I was having a very bad week. The distrust and anger inside of me quickly flooded my veins.

I crossed the room and nestled the barrel of my rifle between her ribs. "Where are you from?" I said.

The other two sides of the love triangle in this series had also changed. Avian did so for the better; like Eve, he showed more emotion, and although they were often followed by irrational actions, I think that just made him more real. West, on the other hand, totally turned me off—I rooted for him in the first book, you know. His bitterness was understandable, but that doesn't mean I appreciated it. It was also utterly selfish of him to force himself onto Eve (not in the sexual-harassment kind of way) when he knew damn well that being near him endangered her.

Aside from the adrenaline-pumping action, The Human was also full of twists that I'd never seen coming. The ending was insanely good and goosebump-inducing, and the wait for the third book will surely be torture. I'm desperate to know how the explosive revelations will reverberate!

MY FAVORITE PART was Eve waking up in a tree and discovering her new "talent".

RATING:

Book Review: The Bane - Keary Taylor

Title: The Bane (The Eden Trilogy #1)

Author: Keary Taylor

Release Date: March 5th 2013

Publisher: Self-published

Source: NetGalley

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Before the Evolution there was TorBane: technology that infused human DNA with cybernetic matter. It had the ability to grow new organs and limbs, to heal the world. Until it evolved out of control and spread like the common cold. The machine took over, the soul vanished, and the Bane were born. The Bane won't stop until every last person has been infected. With less than two percent of the human population left, mankind is on the brink of extinction.

Eve knows the stories of the Evolution, the time before she wandered into the colony of Eden, unable to recall anything but her name. But she doesn't need memories to know this world is her reality. This is a world that is quickly losing its humanity, one Bane at a time.

Fighting to keep one of the last remaining human colonies alive, Eve finds herself torn between her dedication to the colony, and the discovery of love. There is Avian and West – one a soldier, one a keeper of secrets. And in the end, Eve will make a choice that will change the future of mankind.

The Bane is The Terminator meets The Walking Dead with a heart-twisting romance.

I really wanted to love this book, if only because I loved What I Didn't Say by the same author. Sadly, like most of the sci-fi/dystopian/post-apocalyptic books that I've read before, I had a hard time getting into The Bane and in the end, I was underwhelmed.

I love kickass female characters so it wasn't a surprise for me to like Eve from the start, what with her strength, ferocity, and determination, but even though the book was written in first-person from her perspective, I just couldn't connect with her because she was so... mechanical. An explanation was given for that, though, so I just ignored it and focused on the other parts of the story.

As half of the book dealt with Eve's inner turmoil with her past and her real identity, a quarter was spent on outrunning the Bane: creatures who came about by mankind's attempt at playing God. They were like zombies, but instead of preying on humans as a food source, they were wired to turn the few remaining "organics" into Bane with something as simple as a touch. The presence of the Bane was the main conflict in the story as Eve, with her unusual talents at survival, tried to protect her small family of other refugees in Eden. But the Bane were getting smarter and more aggressive, pushing her and everyone else to their limits.

Unfortunately for Eve, her problems didn't end there. With the arrival of West, her long-time dormant heart started feeling, awakened by the thrill that he ignited within her. She didn't like this one bit, but even more so when Avian, her savior and one of the people closest to her, began revealing the feelings he'd hidden. This love triangle was very unexpected for me; it had me on my guard the whole time because Eve's condition made it even more unpredictable. That said, I felt like it was forced and lacked emotion and passion and just didn't mix in well with the rest of the plot.

Although the mystery surrounding Eve kept things interesting, I didn't find it enough to make this unputdownable. Halfway through, the stakes brought by the need to survive from the Bane was downplayed to make way for the romance, which disappointed me. The climax wasn't too thrilling because it focused on Eve's feelings as she finally shed off her indecision, but it led to a fairly satisfying ending that has me curious for the sequel.

MY FAVORITE PART was Eve's suicide mission.

RATING:

(cover and blurb from Goodreads.com)