Rise (Eve #3)

Author: Anna Carey

Goodreads Rating: 4.31

Pages: 320

Format: ARC from the Publisher

Rebel armies are getting closer and the fate of The New America rests with Eve. Trapped in the City of Sand and married to a man of her fathers choosing, Eve can't forget her love for Caleb-or her passion for the rebel cause. Then tragedy strikes, and Eve must choose who to leave behind, who to save and who to fight in this final battle for freedom.

 I felt pretty let down when I finished Rise since it was the end of the series. There had been so much build up through the entire series and this book for it to have just ended, well, I was disappointed. That’s not to say that this book wasn’t good. I really loved the series and I think that the ending was great in its own way, I just wish that it had been longer and that we had been given slightly more. This book was a super quick read, one that I just devoured because I couldn’t stop turning the pages.

Through this book, I felt bad for Charles, who Eve married after she lost Caleb. I wish that she had given him a chance rather than push him away constantly. He did so many things for him to trust her including constantly covering up for her when her father pushed things with her. He had her back and she really needed an ally like him in this book, but instead of turning to him for help, she waited until it was too late for her to have really used it. Even worse though was that she could have maybe used the time to talk up Clara, but instead, she chose to just fight with him and make everyone’s lives more difficult.

I liked that there was a reemergence of characters that appeared in the first book or the second book that we never thought we would see again like the ladies from Califa and friends from The School. Even though they were short lived reunions, its nice when authors don’t forget the small people in their books. I felt like we could see how Eve had grown up from book 1- book 2, but not really book 2 into book 3. She seemed to become drawn into herself and not the girl she used to be. I totally get that it was because Caleb had died, and I respect her more for it, I just wish she had grown a little more as well aside from plotting to kill her father.

I was disappointed to see her treat that decision so lightly. I wish that she had been more concerned that she was going to try and maybe successfully kill her last living parent. Even though she didn’t really know him, I still feel like that should have resonated more with her. He was the last person alive that knew her mother, even if he was a horrible person, she never tried to get more about her mother from him and I thought that was a cryin shame. I wanted her to at least feel some kind of guilt or remorse, but she showed nothing which felt out of character. She wasn’t a hardened criminal, sure she had been gone for like a year, but she didn’t change that much.

There was a surprise that my mom and I totally pinned from the last book and isn’t hard to see coming from what happened between her and Caleb before he died. I felt bad that she had to go through everything with no mother and no real female to guide her, she does come back together with her former maid Beatrice who was the reason things went to hell at the end of the last book, but she was forgiving to this woman which further supports that her characterization wouldn’t have led her to be a cold killer.

As for the ending of the book, I felt like there should have been more elaboration on what happened. I had about 50 pages left and was yelling at my book “THERE ISN’T ENOUGH TIME FOR THIS SHIT!” Because all of the sudden things were happening and I felt like there wasn’t enough time for there to be enough explained about what was happening. I felt the ending was sort of abrupt, but the way that it ended ended, like the last page? Was sweet and wonderful, and I love that that’s where Carey went with it. I totally saw that coming, but I loved it never the less.

The Courts Decision: