~ BOOK REVIEW ~ High Seas ~ by Casey L. Bond
Title: High Seas
Author: Casey L. Bond
Genre: YA PNR, Dystopian/SciFi
Editor: Stacy Sanford/ The Girl with the Red Pen
Cover Designer: Melissa Stevens/ The Illustrated Author Design Services
Model: Breanna Ellis
Publication Date: March 15th, 2019
Hosted by: Lady Amber’s PR
Blurb:
They told her jumping would bring her home. Either they lied, or something is very wrong with Eve. She jumped to save her friend. She jumped to prevent Enoch from becoming the monster she knew from the future. But she didn’t land there. She landed in 1717. In the middle of the ocean, no less. And for a girl who couldn’t swim? That was the worst place in the world.
After being saved by a pirate who calls himself Blackbeard, Eve desperately needed to find Enoch, but when she did, she learned that not making it home was the least of her worries.
Victor did the unthinkable and used her to accomplish his cruel attack, and she isn’t sure if Enoch will ever forgive her – or if he should.
Maybe the monster was never him. Maybe it’s been her all along.
My Review:
~5 out of 5 Stars~
Anyone that read the first book has been holding their breath waiting to see what happens from the first sentence of this book, and I was certainly no acception -- nor was I disappointed. Just by the title of the book, it was clear that what Eve thought should have happened certainly did not. Eve was going to be in water somewhere; not at the compound, and likely not in the right time. Dying to find out what happened to Enoch after she left, we don’t have to wait long -- thank goodness!
I’m sure I’ve said it in every review before, but I’ll say it again...there’s just something about how Bond makes you feel when you read about her characters. We feel every emotion, even from the slightest head tilt or facial expression; it’s like we’re right there with them. In the case of this story, I just want to cry every time I “look” at Enoch’s face. Centuries of anguish simply for having a heart. Put that together with having some seriously crazy siblings that he has to keep from killing the entire world, and now his heartbreak is repeated over and over with CLONES everywhere of his lost love that he thought betrayed him. In many stories, this is the point where it would be really easy for authors to get unrealistic -- either holding onto grudges a little too well, or forgiving everyone too quickly. Not in this case. Bond does a great job at making it complicated. It’s situational, and it’s never easy. It’s believable. And it adds to the heartache that much more.
Poor Eve spends most of this book just trying to keep her head on straight. With her body randomly not working still, and a whole lot of signs pointing to what was really happening in the time she came from, she now has to face going back not knowing who she can trust. As she learns more about herself, Titus learns more than he wants to as well, but Bond makes him the absolute perfect comic relief, both with his joking when he gets stressed, and the borderline dangerous yet funny banter between him and Enoch when Enoch misunderstands Titus’ jokes with Eve as being disrespectful (centuries of time difference and all).
Of course, every good story needs a good villain, and the villains in this one made my skin crawl -- and I loved it. Abram being assigned to target Asa was the perfect creepy pairing. Asa is the most unstable of the siblings, and Abram is definitely the most unstable of the assets targeting them. The turn of events in this story added to it beautifully. There is all sorts of crazy going on, and in the next book I can’t even imagine how much worse it’s going to get, and can’t wait to find out.
There are more pieces coming together about what’s really happening in Eve’s time, who’s really good and who’s really evil, but there is still so much guessing as a reader, that it is killing me to wait until the next book to find out! The build up has been FANTASTIC, and Bond’s ability to make you really feel like you’re a part of the story and truly care about the characters has been perfectly heartbreaking, exciting, and everything in between. I am so ready to see how it all comes together!
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Casey Bond lives in West Virginia with her husband and their two beautiful daughters. She likes goats and yoga, but hasn't tried goat yoga because the family goat is so big he might break her back. Seriously, he's the size of a pony. Her favorite books are the ones that contain magical worlds and flawed characters she would want to hang out with. Most days of the week, she writes young adult fantasy and paranormal fiction, letting her imaginary friends spill onto the blank page. And she hopes you love the worlds she creates and all the characters floating around in her head.
Casey is the award-winning author Frenzy series and fairy tale retellings such as Riches to Rags, Savage Beauty, Unlocked and Brutal Curse.
You can find more information about Bond’s books via the following links:
Website: www.authorcaseybond.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorcaseybond
Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorcaseybond
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/caseyb007
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EVE
I plucked at my suit. “Maybe that’s why my blood tastes weird.”
“What do you mean?” He twisted to his side to face me again. “How does your blood taste? Better yet, how do you know it’s unusual?”
“Enoch and I kissed, and his fang nicked my lip a little. He said my blood tasted strange, or something to that effect.”
Titus’s brows were as high as they could go. “Wow, I didn’t realize the two of you had already gotten to first base. I mean, we’ve only been in this time for around thirty-six hours or so…”
“Shut up, Titus.” My face felt hot and I turned my attention to the sea so he wouldn’t notice and make fun of me. “We haven’t kissed in this time. It was… before.”
He grinned.
“Stop it.”
He raised his hands in surrender. “It’s not surprising, I just didn’t know the juicy details. I wonder if mine tastes different, too.”
I shrugged. “There’s only one way to tell, and I’m not sure you want Terah or Enoch to bite you.”
“Wait,” he paused dramatically. “Does this mean I don’t have a chance with you now?”
I laughed. “You never did.”
“You say that, but deep down, do you really mean i—” His voice cut off abruptly, a strangled sound eeking from his throat. Enoch had lifted him with one hand and was dangling him over the ship railing.
I jumped up. “What are you doing?” I shrieked.
Titus stayed still as the waves rose and fell, brushing over the hull of the ship, over his feet, over his knees. He knew better than to struggle. If he wiggled away, he would be at the mercy of the sea.
“I grow tired of the way he speaks to you, and I’ve warned him repeatedly,” Enoch growled.
“That’s just how we talk in our time. It’s a joke! We joke a lot, Enoch. You can’t take everything so seriously or so literally.”
“Still, he could be more courteous,” Enoch argued.
“Enoch, let him go,” I demanded, staring at him.
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