3/5
Dividing Eden is a fantasy novel telling the story of twins Carys and Andreus, and what will happen to their kingdom of Eden after the king and crown prince wind up dead. Neither Carys nor Andreus ever expected to have to take the crown, and now they must compete with each other, each the other's closest friend, for a throne neither had ever considered before.
The novel starts off slow. Charbonneau takes her time setting up, and the competition between the twins isn't introduced until about forty percent of the way in. She also writes almost exclusively in simple sentences, and dialogue from nearly all the characters sounds the same. The slow pace and boring writing almost had me giving up, but I'm glad I kept reading. Once the competition is introduced, the set-up Charbonneau spent so many words on comes into play. The speed picks up, the stakes rise, and the action is much more intense.
Dividing Eden would appeal to fans of Winner's Curse or Throne of Glass because it has the same elements of dreamy fantasy, tense political themes, and high-stakes competition. But Dividing Eden doesn't make it into the same league as these series because it doesn't possess the same originality, execution, or charisma. Though it can't compete at the same level, Dividing Eden can satisfy the withdrawal symptoms if you've recently finished one of these series.
No comments:
Post a Comment