Eden, I Hardly Knew Ya.....

Expected Publication: January 10th, 2012
Revealing Eden (Save the Pearls #1)
By: Victoria Foyt
Sand Dollar Press, Inc.
ISBN-13: 9780983650324


Eden Newman must mate before her 18th birthday in six months or she'll be left outside to die in a burning world. But who will pick up her mate-option when she's cursed with white skin and a tragically low mate-rate of 15%? In a post-apocalyptic, totalitarian, underground world where class and beauty are defined by resistance to an overheated environment, Eden's coloring brands her as a member of the lowest class, a weak and ugly Pearl. If only she can mate with a dark-skinned Coal from the ruling class, she'll be safe. Just maybe one Coal sees the Real Eden and will be her salvation her co-worker Jamal has begun secretly dating her. But when Eden unwittingly compromises her father's secret biological experiment, she finds herself in the eye of a storm and thrown into the last area of rainforest, a strange and dangerous land. Eden must fight to save her father, who may be humanity's last hope, while standing up to a powerful beast-man she believes is her enemy, despite her overwhelming attraction. Eden must change to survive but only if she can redefine her ideas of beauty and of love, along with a little help from her "adopted aunt" Emily Dickinson.

Review

   Eden is only a few months away from her 18th birthday, which means certain death if she isn't mated.  Unless you contribute to society, it expels you from its bounds.  This is the harsh reality of her overheated evironment, which after a big meltdown only allows easy survival for those with skin that's heavily pigmented (a.k.a. dark).  Everyone has moved underground, and the Coals are in charge; to be a white-skinned Pearl is to be worse than garbage on the social ladder.  Eden and all of the other pearls wear dark coating on their skin to protect from the dangerous rays of light and to fit in better.  Eden's Mother died of the heat and she was left to take care of her oblivious, scientist Father who calls her 'Daught' rather than by her name.  When Eden compromises her Father's top-secret experiments by trusting the wrong person, they must go on the run.  The only one who goes with them is Ronson Bramford, their boss and a man who has been irrevocably altered by the experiments of Eden's Father.  Bramford has ended up becoming more jaguar than man in appearance, with only reason allowing him to stay human.  They escape into the desert and make camp within an indigenous community (they speak Spanish which is pretty awesome) who revere Bramford as a God, their awaited savior.  Can Eden find a way to trust a beast like him?  Will Bramford prove to be even more than a friend in the end and will they be forced to return by enemies who will not desist?  It was a unique story and I did like the way the plot progressed.  However, that said, I had issues with Eden who acted like an idiotic, spoiled brat for almost the entire book.  It was only once she'd come to terms with herself that I could stand her at all.  Bramford was extremely interesting and I loved the shocking revelations that come to light about his character and his past.  I did enjoy the end of the book and will read the next one most likely.  My only complaint is Eden't angsty, torturously slow character development.

VERDICT:  3.5/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money was exchanged for this review. The expected publication date of this book is January 10th, 2012.*