Revealing Eden by Victoria Foyt

** spoiler alert ** I just finished Revealing Eden, and as much as it kills me to say this, I didn't care for it one bit. I know it's a trilogy/series, but it's one I will not be continuing with.

Revealing Eden is set in a dystopian future where most of the world has been destroyed/ravaged by the sun. Most Caucasians are now dead, and the ones who aren't are known as Pearls, lowly human beings that are considered disgusting because of their skin color. Anyone with dark skin, known as Coals, are now revered and in charge. Other races still exist, as well, but they're not that important to the story.

Eden is a 17 year old blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl who must mate before her 18th birthday, otherwise, she will be sent above ground to die. Her mate rate is a pathetic 15% because she is a lowly Pearl. She and her father, however, are tolerated because her father is a scientist working on a special project that might change everything.

While living in the underground compound, Eden begins to fall for a boy named Jamal, who she believes will become her mate, even though he is a Coal. She also has to deal with her father's boss, an imposing man named Ronson Bramford, who she dislikes.

When things start to get out of control and change in ways she hadn't anticipated, Eden makes a drastic attempt to fix things, only to make them worse. Bramford takes her and her father above ground in a personal jet, where they land in the Amazon rain forest and begin to live among a clan of Huaorani who have manged to survive.

The book's pacing seems terribly fast and I felt there were a lot of plot holes. Things weren't explained very well, and it seemed to me that there should have been more to it. I didn't care for the constant mentioning of the scientific names of animals, either. I felt like I was in science class or biology, not reading a YA novel.

Eventually, Eden becomes attracted to her father's boss(Bramford), and they end up starting in on a relationship. This only bothered me because of the way Eden was written. To me, I couldn't see her as a 17 year old girl. To me, she just seemed like she was a 12 year old whiny brat. I know Bramford isn't meant to be that old, but it still seemed wrong, even in their dystopian world where mating is key to survival.

Also, this seemed Twilight-ish to me in a way, not because it was human/vampire, but because Bramford ends up becoming part animal(beastly) and it's sort of disturbing in a way.

Sadly, I was highly disppointed with this book and the way it was written. I would not recommend it, nor will I continue with the series.