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A review by z_bookfluencer
Dividing Eden by Joelle Charbonneau
4.0
This review contains significant spoilers, but not all of them.
I almost didn't finish Diving Eden because of the drug/tonic addiction Carys has. When I read about characters who have a substance addiction, I am uncomfortable. From the few books that I have read that have a main character that has a substance addiction, I feel it is often romanticized in some way. While I can appreciate the awareness of writing characters that suffer from a substance addiction, reading about them is unpleasant to me. I decided to continue reading Dividing Eden because I was invested in the overall story due to redeeming qualities I found in Carys.
What I liked about Carys, and why I chose to continue reading, is because despite everything thrown her way, she kept trying to protect others. I felt there was a genuineness in her that hasn't been able to shine. I was rooting for Carys the break free from her oppression, and find health and happiness.
The dynamic of the royal family is quite awful and abusive. The King and Queen have the Carys flogged with a leather belt on bare skin to punish her when she steps out of the social grace of her station. The sister is punished because she takes it upon herself to create dramatic distractions to prevent others from noticing when her twin brother, Andreus, is having a health attack. If this health attack were to come to the attention of the people of the kingdom, then the royal family's claim to the throne would be forfeit. Now while Carys has been created into a pariah to help protect Andreus, Andreus is found chasing and bedding the many willing maidens in the surrounding areas. Thankfully, there are NO explicit scenes. Andreus will comfort Carys after she has received a flogging, until one day Andrues chooses bedding a woman over comforting Carys, who of course received the punishment in order to protect Andrues.
The tonic addiction is started by the Queen giving Carys a tonic under the guise of lessening the pain from the punishment the King and Queen Order from when Carys's dramatic scenes occur. The King and Queen both know that Carys does the things she does, to protect Andreus and her family's claim to the throne. They order the punishments anyway so they can be seen as equally just throughout the kingdom so no one would dare cross them, for they are even willing to punish Princess Carys. Carys is taught at a young age by the King and Queen that she is to always sacrifice herself for the good of the kingdom, and Carys does not question whether this is truly right or truly wrong.
Certain events lead to the twin siblings fighting for the throne. This leads to Andreus's downward spiral into madness, hunger for power, and ultimately, betraying his twin sister Carys, who has done nothing but sacrifice her entire life for him.
I admire the intricacies woven into this story. The characters themselves are well rounded and their relationships with themselves and others are complicated. You do see some of the egotistical and sociopathic tendencies in Andreus in the beginning of Diving Eden, and as the story goes on, Andreus ceases the opportunity to be who he has always wanted and who he could be, turning him into an egotistical psychopath. Carys on the other hand, battles her addiction while trying to firstly protect her brother, then her kingdom and only true friend, and finally, herself.
Overall, Dividing Eden is very well written.
I do want to read book two, Eden Conquered. In book two, I hope to find Carys addiction free and a strong woman who not only fights for what is right, but the importance of finding value in her own life and protecting herself as well.
I almost didn't finish Diving Eden because of the drug/tonic addiction Carys has. When I read about characters who have a substance addiction, I am uncomfortable. From the few books that I have read that have a main character that has a substance addiction, I feel it is often romanticized in some way. While I can appreciate the awareness of writing characters that suffer from a substance addiction, reading about them is unpleasant to me. I decided to continue reading Dividing Eden because I was invested in the overall story due to redeeming qualities I found in Carys.
What I liked about Carys, and why I chose to continue reading, is because despite everything thrown her way, she kept trying to protect others. I felt there was a genuineness in her that hasn't been able to shine. I was rooting for Carys the break free from her oppression, and find health and happiness.
The dynamic of the royal family is quite awful and abusive. The King and Queen have the Carys flogged with a leather belt on bare skin to punish her when she steps out of the social grace of her station. The sister is punished because she takes it upon herself to create dramatic distractions to prevent others from noticing when her twin brother, Andreus, is having a health attack. If this health attack were to come to the attention of the people of the kingdom, then the royal family's claim to the throne would be forfeit. Now while Carys has been created into a pariah to help protect Andreus, Andreus is found chasing and bedding the many willing maidens in the surrounding areas. Thankfully, there are NO explicit scenes. Andreus will comfort Carys after she has received a flogging, until one day Andrues chooses bedding a woman over comforting Carys, who of course received the punishment in order to protect Andrues.
The tonic addiction is started by the Queen giving Carys a tonic under the guise of lessening the pain from the punishment the King and Queen Order from when Carys's dramatic scenes occur. The King and Queen both know that Carys does the things she does, to protect Andreus and her family's claim to the throne. They order the punishments anyway so they can be seen as equally just throughout the kingdom so no one would dare cross them, for they are even willing to punish Princess Carys. Carys is taught at a young age by the King and Queen that she is to always sacrifice herself for the good of the kingdom, and Carys does not question whether this is truly right or truly wrong.
Certain events lead to the twin siblings fighting for the throne. This leads to Andreus's downward spiral into madness, hunger for power, and ultimately, betraying his twin sister Carys, who has done nothing but sacrifice her entire life for him.
I admire the intricacies woven into this story. The characters themselves are well rounded and their relationships with themselves and others are complicated. You do see some of the egotistical and sociopathic tendencies in Andreus in the beginning of Diving Eden, and as the story goes on, Andreus ceases the opportunity to be who he has always wanted and who he could be, turning him into an egotistical psychopath. Carys on the other hand, battles her addiction while trying to firstly protect her brother, then her kingdom and only true friend, and finally, herself.
Overall, Dividing Eden is very well written.
I do want to read book two, Eden Conquered. In book two, I hope to find Carys addiction free and a strong woman who not only fights for what is right, but the importance of finding value in her own life and protecting herself as well.