Bitterness Conquered

Eden Conquered by Joelle Charbonneau

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you, HarperCollins, for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After everything he had done, and everything they had learned, she was still acting as his shield.

Eden Conquered is probably the most fast-paced book I’ve read this year. I was in a mild reading slump, but this book was still a pleasure to read. I loved Dividing Eden, so I was super excited to know the conclusion to Carys and Andreus compelling story.

Initially, I absolutely hated Andreus. After all, he fell for the wicked Imogen and “killed” his own sister, whom he had loved so much. I didn’t want nor expect him to have a happy ending. However, I still enjoyed his POV because it somehow made me understand his motivations and sympathize with his shortcomings. Apparently, he betrayed Carys in the first book since he was “sick of needing her.” In other words, he believed all of Imogen’s lies about Carys because of his stupid pride as a man. Getting to know such a flawed yet realistic character was an interesting experience.

On the other hand, I was a consistent fan of Carys, who had such a strong and big heart. I liked that after all the betrayal, she mustered the courage to trust others (Errik in particular). I was also fascinated by her wind powers, which could be detrimental whenever Carys gave in to negative emotions, like fear and anger. In this regard, Carys reminded me of Frozen‘s Elsa. Cary’s most inspiring virtue was her capacity to forgive. She was overwhelmed by bitterness toward Andreus, but she got over it for the sake of reconciliation. If my brothers tried to kill me for some reason, I honestly wouldn’t know what to do. Like many things in this world, forgiving others is easier said than done.

Eden Conquered had a lot of plot twists, and while I was delighted, it occurred to me that maybe the author was trying too hard to impress her readers. Ironically, this made the plot twists “predictable.” I kept on expecting them to happen, and when they did, I felt a little meh. Hahaha. In retrospect, all these twists and turns made the plot rushed, particularly in the climax and resolution. The reveal about Carys and Andreus real parentage was particularly jarring, and it kinda sucked that it was explained through a long dialogue in the middle of a battle.

Nonetheless, I was pleased enough to give Eden Conquered 4 stars. Since this book ended with another cliffhanger, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a sequel. I don’t care if the blurb says that it’s the electrifying conclusion to the Dividing Eden series. xD