Mundie Moms

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Book Review: Rise (Eve #3) by Anna Carey


By: Anna Carey
Published by: Harper Teen
Released on: April 2nd, 2013
Series: Eve #3
Source: arc from publisher to review
4 Stars: I Enjoyed It
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Add it to Goodreads

How far will you go when you have nothing left to lose?

When she lost her soul mate, Caleb, Eve felt like her world had ended. Trapped in the palace, forced to play the part of the happy, patriotic princess of The New America—and the blushing bride of her father's top adviser—Eve's whole life is a lie. The only thing that keeps her going is Caleb's memory, and the revolution he started.

Now, Eve is taking over where Caleb left off. With the help of Moss, an undercover subversive in the King's court, she plots to take down The New America, beginning with the capital, the City of Sand. Will Eve be able to bring about a new, free world when she's called upon to perform the ultimate act of rebellion—killing her father?

In Rise, Eve must choose who to leave behind, who to save, and who to fight as Anna Carey's epic tale of romance and sacrifice in the chilling dystopia of The New America comes to a stunning conclusion

When Eve first came out, I wasn't a huge Dystopian fan, but by the time I finished Eve, I wanted more. Than Once came out, and I couldn't read that book fast enough. I loved it. Now with Rise's release I tried with all my might to read this book slowly, but I just couldn't. I devoured this book in a matter of a few hours. I had to find out what was going to happen to Eve, and Caleb. I needed answers, and boy did I get them. Let's just say that not all the answers I got were ones I wanted or excepted, but they were perfectly fitting given all that happens with Eve in Rise. Oh yes, there is a few shocking surprises. 

I'm going to cut right to the chase and say how much I missed Caleb in this book, though he's very much apart of the story. I know that won't make total sense, but you'll know what I'm saying when you read the book. Much of this book is focused on Eve, and what she's going to do after she finds out some devastating news. This girl is a rock! I really admire the strength Eve has. Honestly, she's like a tank that just won't stop. I admire her for, her standing up and doing what she firmly believes in, without letting the fear of being outnumbered or the fear of the impossible hold her back. Eve's always been a tough girl, but I feel like she grew up a lot in this book. She had to. She lose, and heartache, and her wanting to do what's right are her biggest motivates, and what drive her to do what she does. 

There is a lot of unrest with this storyline that only fuels the action, adds to the shock of the betrayal and hypes up the twists that this story has. One of the things that surprised me the most, was the reveal of a few key characters and their roles with all that was going down. I have to admit, there were also a couple characters I ended liking more in this book, then I had previously. I love that when an author can still surprise me like that. I also love it when a series literally picks up right where the previous book left off. Yes, I even did a quick re-read of the end of Once so I didn't miss anything or confuse anything, but that wasn't needed, because Rise literally leaves off right where Once did. There's no rehashing of what happened in the previous book, or Eve recounting anything, which when read back to back like this, is fabulous. I love jumping right back into the story. 

While I really have enjoyed this Dystopian series, the very end of this book left me feeling satisfied, but also, very much wanting so much more with the ending. I didn't want that to be the final ending. I wanted more. Instead of feeling like everything wrapped up perfectly, I'm left feeling like there needs to be a little more. It's not an open ended ending by any means, but instead it's one that felt a little rushed or a bit incomplete. I needed one to two more pages. But, I also liked that the ending allows me to carry on the story within my mind. I guess the best way to put the ending is to say that it's a great ending for a 3rd book if there was going to be a 4th one.

Maybe I'm just hoping this series really isn't over. I swear this is the year that a lot of series I've really enjoyed and fallen in love with are ending. I'm not quite ready for these series to end. The Eve series is one that's grown on me with each book. It's one of the few series that made me start to love Dystopians. Though I'm sad to see this series end, I'm looking forward to reading more of Anna's future books. If you're a fan of this series, I would recommend picking this book up. There is a lot of that happens in this book that you don't want to miss.

You can check out my reviews for Eve and Once. Don't miss my interview with Anna here.

Interview with Rise Author Anna Carey


I'm thrilled to have RISE author, Anna Carey on Mundie Moms today! Anna's latest book RISE was released last week. If you haven't yet picked up this series, I highly recommend it. You can read my review RISE here. 


How far will you go when you have nothing left to lose?

When she lost her soul mate, Caleb, Eve felt like her world had ended. Trapped in the palace, forced to play the part of the happy, patriotic princess of The New America—and the blushing bride of her father's top adviser—Eve's whole life is a lie. The only thing that keeps her going is Caleb's memory, and the revolution he started.

Now, Eve is taking over where Caleb left off. With the help of Moss, an undercover subversive in the King's court, she plots to take down The New America, beginning with the capital, the City of Sand. Will Eve be able to bring about a new, free world when she's called upon to perform the ultimate act of rebellion—killing her father?

In Rise, Eve must choose who to leave behind, who to save, and who to fight as Anna Carey's epic tale of romance and sacrifice in the chilling dystopia of The New America comes to a stunning conclusion

Purchase RISE from  Amazon | Barnes & Noble and add it to Goodreads


Hi Anna! Welcome back to Mundie Moms. I'm so thrilled to have you on the blog today. Congrats to Rise's release. How would you sum up the ending of your series in 5 words or less?

More graduation than funeral.


I'm always surprised with characters in a series, because there are ones who I normally wouldn't except to change, often change the most by the time the series wraps up, or they take on bigger roles in the storyline than I first thought they would. Which of your characters surprised you in terms of how they changed or do you have a character that took on a bigger role than you first thought they would?

I was determined to dislike Clara and Charles when they first appeared in Once. Here were these two characters who’ve had it easier in most ways than Arden, Eve, or Caleb. How could they possibly understand the evils of The New America? But writing a character is similar to becoming friends with someone. Once you know why they are the way they are, forgiveness is easier.

Which character did you enjoy getting to know? Why?

Writing the King was it’s own history lesson. To make him believable I had to understand why dictators think and act the way they do, and how governments and countries devolve under their rule. I love when I learn something from the characters and worlds that I write.

Do you have a favorite book in your series? If so, which one?

Once seems to be a favorite among readers, which I was intially surprised by. Not because I don’t love that book, but because it was such a challenge to write. Up to a few weeks before the release I was concerned about it being published. So much changed in the last drafts—big chunks were deleted and rewritten—and I was worried about lines here or there and paragraph transitions. That book reminds me how lost you can get in the writing, and how difficult it is to predict how s story will be received.  

What is one thing that has surprised you about Eve's character from her growth in Eve to the end of Rise?

There’s a pretty big twist in Rise that I didn’t originally see coming. When I realized that’s where the book needed to go, it felt so organic to the overarching plot. Now I look back on the first chapter of Eve and think: of course. Part of me always knew this is where the story was headed.

Could you please share with us one of our favorite lines?

There’s a line in the first book that goes: “Did he know he worked his way into my dreams, where I missed him, even in sleep?”

When you’re falling in love it feels like you’re carrying a secret, this delicate thing that could so easily mess things up (the egg on the spoon metaphor always comes to mind here). I think there’s real magic in this, the moment before things are spoken and revealed. Eve feels that here and is swept away by it.

Could you tell us a little bit about what you're working on now?

I’m currently writing the first book of Blackbird, a two-part series coming in Fall 2014. A girl wakes up on the subway tracks in modern day Los Angeles and can’t remember her life before. It’s hard to say anything else without revealing something, but the story is fast-paced, scary, and intense.


Thank you Anna for stopping by Mundie Moms today!


About the author:
Anna Carey is the author of EVE, which is now available wherever books are sold. The sequel, ONCE, hits shelves July 3rd, 2012. She grew up on Long Island, the daughter of a special education teacher and an astronomer.  Early on she talked of being a painter, district attorney, flutist, physical therapist, or graphic designer, but eventually pursued writing—the one thing that allowed her to be all of the above. She studied Literature and Creative Writing at NYU, and took part in her fair share of snowball fights in Washington Square Park. After college, she worked as an editor in children’s publishing before getting a Masters in Fiction from Brooklyn College. She now lives in Los Angeles, where the apartments are bigger and the weather is sunnier, but she still misses New York.

Visit Anna via her: Blog | Website | Twitter | Facebook


TEXAS fans, if you're going to be at TLA in a couple weekends, be sure to join myself, Anna Carey, Veronica Rossi, Tahereh Mafi and Cynthia Hand on SATURDAY April 27th at 3 pm for an exciting signing! I'm thrilled to be the live blogger at this event. I'll be bringing you author interviews, live tweets during the signing and more. See you there!

Waiting On Wednesday: SCORCHED by Mari Mancusi


Published by: Source Books
To Be Released on: 9/3/13
You can pre-order it from Amazon here
Add it to Goodreads
To find out more about SCORCHED, go HERE

Sixteen-year-old Trinity Brown is used to her grandfather's crazy stories, so she never believed the latest treasure he brought home was a real dragon's egg. Not until their home is invaded by soldiers trying to steal it and a strange boy who tells her the world as she knows it will be wiped out in a fiery dragon war—unless they work together to stop it. Meantime, there's a different voice whispering to Trinity, calling to her, telling her what to do...the dragon inside her egg is not ready to give up without a fight

One word, DRAGONS! I know I revealed the cover for this yesterday on the blog, but ever since I was invited to do so, I have been excited about this book! I mean, check out this cover. Mari will be at TLA! Keeping my fingers crossed I can pick up a copy of SCORCHED there. I don't think I can wait till September to read this one. What book are you waiting to picking up?

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