Oh my God, you guys! This book is SO good! SciFi is really not my usual jam, but hot damn, do I love this book. The characters are dynamic, the action is well written and it is definitely a page turner. Eve is the debut novel by Jenna Moreci (a gem of a human being who also does awesome writing vlogs which you can check out here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS_fcv9kBpDN4WWrfcbCrgw). JennaIt’s a story set in the not too distant future where aliens called Interlopers have come to earth to hunt Chimera, a new version of humanity. Interlopers are extremely difficult to kill and are flying aliens, because an indestructible monster wasn’t scary enough WITHOUT wings! Chimera are pretty bad-ass, though a lot of them never really develop to their full potential since they’re afraid of being lynched. They are typically stronger and faster than other people and have telekinesis.

Mild SPOILER ALERT going forward.

25523025The main character is Evelyn Kingston, a 19 year old who has gotten sick and tired of being treated like garbage by legit everyone and heads to a new city to attend a school where (hopefully) no one knows who she is.  The bubble of hope lasts for all of two weeks before shit hits the fan and it’s discovered that Interlopers have been kidnapping Chimeras. Eve’s experience at Billington, a prestigious university in Southern California, goes from meh to horrendous when her secret is exposed and it’s also revealed that the Interlopers are hunting humans as well.

Eve is the youngest Chimera to have ever developed her powers. Chimeras typically Emerge around age 20, but Eve was only 8, prompted by the trauma of her parent’s deaths. Chimeras are treated much the same awful way society has treated the other. They are bullied, beaten, murdered (attempted, at least), ostracized and denied work simply because they were born differently.

We have five mains total, with Eve being the primary. Also in our cast of awesome protagonists we have Jason, Percy, Sancho and JJ. We have a lot of antagonists, since most of the world is intensely hostile towards the Chimera. Besides the Interlopers, we also have Heather, Madison, Hayden and Professor Richards actively going against Eve with severe malicious intent. They’re semi-typical mean girls, but from extremely wealthy and influential families who actually do have the full means to destroy a person. Every time there was a “Shut up, Hayden!” my brain automatically went to The Heathers Musical. (If you’re curious, check out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-Rl-Hddk6I warning for adult language)

Our love interest is Jason Valentine, the high profile son of a senator that Eve ends up tutoring under orders from the Dean. Jason turns out to be a Chimera as well and develops his powers with Eve’s help. Jason’s emergence also offers us the first look at what the Interlopers are doing to the Chimeras, namely dissecting them. Thankfully the Chimera heal really quickly and are difficult to kill or Jason would have never survived his injuries. Jason is strong, loyal and a really good match for Eve.

Percy is my personal favourite in the book. He’s a spoiled little rich boy used to the best of the best, but really so much more than that. He is one of only two of Jason’s friends that doesn’t give a rat’s arse about him being a Chimera and he’s just as willing as his chimera friends to put his life on the line to protect others. He’s sort of the bank of the whole operation and finances their weaponry to fight the Interlopers, but gets just as down and dirty as the rest.  I LOVE him. He’s really just a witty delight and charming AF.

Sancho is the resident pyro and the other of Jason’s friends who sticks around. He’s intensely intelligent and loves to create things, specifically things that will blow stuff up. He’s a really fun character, a little maniacal when he gets to light stuff on fire, but overall loves to play the hero and is a valuable asset to the team.

JJ is the tech genius of the group, though her and Eve don’t get off to a very good start. She has no qualms with breaking the law to get things done and is practically a technological wizard with the stuff she manages to pull off in the story. She has some rough edges, like Eve and the two butt heads a fair amount over the book. Regardless, she’s extremely useful and while she doesn’t do any of the actual fighting, there’s no way our heroes could have succeeded without JJ forcefully intervening into their plans.

OMG THE REVEAL OF THE BIG BAD! I did not see it coming and I am so impressed with how it went down. The pacing of the story is excellent and even though the book is rather hefty, it doesn’t feel like you’re slogging at any point to get through it. Overall this was an excellent read and an amazing debut for Jenna 🙂

Check out the first three chapters on her website: http://jennamoreci.com/  There are also links for purchase (with the option of signed copies) there as well

Thanks for stopping by!

-Erin

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