Twins Carys and Andreus were never destined to rule Eden. With their older brother next in line to inherit the throne, the future of the kingdom was secure. But appearances—and rivals—can be deceiving. When Eden’s king and crown prince are killed by assassins, Eden desperately needs a monarch, but the line of succession is no longer clear. With a ruling council scheming to gain power, Carys and Andreus are faced with only one option—to take part in a Trial of Succession that will determine which one of them is worthy of ruling the kingdom. As sister and brother, Carys and Andreus have always kept each other safe—from their secrets, from the court, and from the monsters lurking in the mountains beyond the kingdom’s wall. But the Trial of Succession will test the bonds of trust and family. With their country and their hearts divided, Carys and Andreus will discover exactly what each will do to win the crown. How long before suspicion takes hold and the thirst for power leads to the ultimate betrayal?
I have to say that I found Dividing Eden to be a thrilling read and a brilliant start to the series. I didn’t know too much about the book before starting, and I didn’t really see any reviews for the book either. So I did go into this book blindly, but now having finished the book, I have to say that this could be one of my favourite new book series.
Dividing Eden is about Carys and Andreus, who are royal twins and the best of friends. At the start of the book you can see that they both look after each other and acre for one another. But with the sudden death of the King and Prince, their relationship becomes strained. They find out that to keep the throne in their family they have to compete to claim the throne. So instead of depending and relying on each other, they are now instead pitted against one another.
Out of the two main characters, Carys and Andreus, I found that I was invested and interested in Carys more than her twin brother. At the beginning I loved their relationship together and it was nice to see siblings getting a long for once. But once they found out they had to compete against each other for the throne I was definitely on the side of Carys. She was the most interesting twin and the more relatable one. Some of the things Andreus did towards the end were unforgivable and I am glad I chose her side of his. She is a smart, strong, loyal and loving, even though her brother wants her dead, she still loves him and hopes they can reconcile.
The world and its world building was another great positive for this book because when reading I found the world to be really strong. Also another thing I liked about the world was the inclusion of magic. I didn’t expect this book to feature magic, but when it did I thought it fitted in nicely with the story, and definitely gave the plot an extra dimension.
I read this book in only a couple of sittings, which I didn’t think was bad. I did plan on reading this over serval days but I found it very hard to put it aside because every time I thought I would stop reading, the story took another twist and I had to carry on. I wasn’t bored or found the pace to be slow or sluggish because a lot seemed to be happening all the time and it left you wanting to continue reading just to see how things were going to be resolved.
This is the first book I have read by the author and I have to say that I love the way its written. Everything is written with such detail that its very easy to imagine it all playing out in your head while reading. The way that it is written also makes it very easy to read for hours and hours and not get tired or distracted. One reason why I can’t wait to read the sequel, is that I have another chance to read some more of the authors work.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book if you are looking for a new fantasy series, with an amazing world, interesting and well developed characters. Which is all beautifully written and crafted into an amazing story. After reading this, I for one can not wait to read the sequel.
I rate this book 5/5 stars
***I was sent a copy of this book to review. Everything in this review is my own honest opinions.***
Mike Reads 