Learning Your Own Strength

“'You do anything for the person you love'” she said finally. 

'And then when you don’t think you can give any more of yourself,

 you do.

 You keep going. 

Because it would kill you not to.'”

--Anna Carey, Once 

Genre: YA Dystopia

Publisher: Harper Collins, 368 pages

Publication Date: July 3rd, 2012

Source: Bought

Previous Reviews in this Series: Eve

Goodreads

Goodreads Description

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.

My Thoughts

Holy roller coaster. Seriously. I knew I was a bit harsh on Eve only because knowing how Eve grows in this installment of the series that I was frustrated she couldn't be the person she becomes in Once. Anyways. Once is sooo good!! This book is definitely more intense and emotionally driven than Eve. It is darker. We get an inside look into the King and what his real intentions are. We are introduced to a few new characters. And we get more of Eve and Caleb...rawr. Definitely the best part. Not gonna lie. 

So let's talk about the story first. The plot line in Once is, again, way fast paced. Re-reading it, it is incredible how much happens in 350ish short pages. For realz. We get so much action. So much intensity. So many emotions! We get so much more of Caleb and Eve and I just adore Caleb. I'm not gonna say he's a top 10 book boyfriend but he is a good one to have on your side. And Eve?! I am not gonna lie, people this is why you have to get though Eve the book in order to discover Eve in Once. She is so much more sure of herself. She actually turns out to be quite the little spitfire. I obviously love this. This girl is a totally different person than we meet in the first book. She is brave. She is cunning. She actually shows some of that intelligence she talks so much about. LOVED this.

Like I said before, the relationship between Eve and Caleb gets way better. You really feel the emotional attachment they have to each other. Their quiet moments are to die for. They are so tender and you can really connect with the desperation these two feel to be together. And it is heartbreaking at times to try and understand how hard it must be to be apart and what a difficult situation they are in. I just *sigh* love their story together in all of this.  

The drama behind the quiet rebellion is steady. We see development there and get a feel for some of the major players involved. There was still a little lack of direction with the rebellion that I was feeling. I think it suffered a little from Book 2 syndrome in that I didn't really have a feel for what the rebellion is trying to accomplish. Well, obviously  they are trying to overthrow the government but it didn't really delve too much into how they were accomplishing this. I'm excited to see how Rise wraps this all up because I feel like a lot has to be covered. But I'm excited for it! 

Overall, I really liked Once. It has a lot more going for it than Eve and I am so glad I stuck by and read Once. Way intense. Way emotional. And way looking forward to seeing where our story ends in Rise...*tear*...