Always on the look out for the next great dystopian read. This was not it. Could not get into it at all. Disappointing.

The premise of this story drew me in and the prologue had me hooked. Humans are facing extinction; the earth is a mess and the only saviour is Eve. The miracle that everyone was waiting for; the only girl born in 50 years. . She lives in a special dorm, created to keep her safe. She’s protected but isolated. Her only real companion is Holly, an AI created so that Eve had a friend to confide in.

Bram has known Eve nearly all her life, and while they have never met, he is one of the ‘pilots’ who operates Holly. He is her best friend. Her favourite Holly.

What I found devastating in this novel, was the story of the boys that have been born during this spell and the number of them that had been abandoned because they weren’t a girl. Bram was taken from his mother by his father so that he could get to know Eve as Holly. My heart truly broke for Bram.

I love love love dystopian fiction and this book had an interesting premise and is told from two perspectives: Eve’s and Bram’s. This allowed me to not only get to know Eve but also Bram.

I was hooked on this story from the prologue and I could not read it fast enough. I am eagerly looking forward to the sequel so I can continue reading about Eve and Bram’s journey.

Really enjoyed this.
Despite a bit of a slow down in the middle part of the book, things really picked up towards the end and I really can't wait to read more!

I am in charge of our Senior School library and am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to young readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me!

Great story that really got you thinking. I enjoyed the characters and how the story evolved. Look forward to reading more from this author.

This is a fantastic concept for a dystopian story. No girls have been born for fifty years, no girls except for Eve. For sixteen years she’s brought up in relative isolation in the Dome, away from contact with anyone other than a carefully selected group of older ladies who act as her mother figures. There's Holly too, a holographic 'girl' who is actually controlled by one of three young males. But Eve can tell who is controlling Holly, and only one she feels she can trust. Now Eve is sixteen she is going to be introduced to the men who have been chosen to be her partner. She’s been compliant up to now. But will she always be so obedient?

This is an enjoyable action packed story with an engaging plot line and great characterisation. I just felt so disappointed in the ending. It felt like it was going to be incredible and for me it just fell flat. It could have been tied up quicker and could have been a 5* story.

An enjoyable read - I did find it a little predictable in places but will read the rest of the series. I would describe it as a PG rated Handmaid's Tale.

This is an amazing idea.
What happens when there are no more female babies.
16 years ago Eve was born, the first girl to be born for nearly half a century.
She has lived isolated ready to bear more children so that the human race can continue. Protected by 'mothers' led by the intimidating Vivien and with a hologram play mate - Holly.

Bram knows Eve well. There are three suitors for Eve but with their introduction it begins to go wrong and the two young people realise that all is not as it seems.

I loved the dystopian theme, the idea and the world created.
But be warned - its a trilogy. I don't mind a series but I do object to the story stopping abruptly and story lines not being properly resolved, this book does this and we are left on a cliff edge. This is why it is 4 stars and not 5.

This book was everything I didn’t know I needed and I am so angry with myself for not reading it earlier!

This book is a dystopian masterpiece written for everyone, young and old, boy or girl. It’s frightening, empowering and utterly perfect and I would compare it to books like „the circle“ without hesitation!
A world where there is only one woman and a zillion man, every single one of them dependent on that little girl being alive. Humankind itself is dependent on her and the only thing she really wants is to be loved! Because that’s what being human is about right? What a book!

This book is super exciting, has the perfect plot and adorable characters. They seem to really be alive, to talk to and through the reader with a simplicity and sensitivity that was really unexpected for me! Gender roles are super old skool here but in others ways genders don’t even play a role (holly) and that’s what made the book extra amazing for me.

Spoiler: how a man can play a woman and still be manly and girly and how perfect that was is something only the fletchers can bring to live and I think we need lots more of that in literature!

This book is an ode to science fiction and will forever hold my heart! I can’t wait for the second installment of this series and I know this will forever live on my favorite list of books ever!

Do yourself a favor and read it ⭐️🌙

I was intrigued by a fantasy book written by two authors but I’m afraid this is one of those cases where too many cooks spoil the broth for me. I felt like the plot was a bit all over the place and nothing about it was grabbing my attention.

The synopsis for this book sounded fascinating. No female babies had been born for fifty years until Eve comes along and she is kept in a Dome where she is kept safe and protected. At the age of sixteen, she is set to meet three suitors with the intention that they repopulate the World. This was a change of genre for me and sadly didn't inspire. The writing was good and I loved the premise but I felt it fell rather flat. I have read a previous book by Giovanna and loved it. and still highly rate her writing skills.

I was very excited to dig into this as the premise sounds so interesting. I got about half way through before realising that I just didn't care what happened next. I think the writing is good and the plot is good but I found myself easily predicting what was coming next and the characters are literally cardboard cut outs of characters I've read so many times before. As a whole what I read was great it just wasn't anything new for me. I think a lot of people will love this, especially those only just getting into YA. So definitely give this a try if that's the case, but if you're into extremely intricate complex fantasy I would give this a pass.

Eve is the woman everyone thinks about. Her body is all that the rest of the human race rely on. The only other females left on the planet aren't of child baring age. Eve is their only hope to continue the human race.
This is a big pressure for Eve and she has gone along with everyone's wishes for most of her life but are things about to change for her.

Although the idea behind this book is great I am not certain it really delivers. I found Eve a bit meh and I would have liked to hear more about what the civilisation is like outwith the tower with no women. Saying that I have every intention of reading the sequel when it comes out as I do want to see how the characters develop.

Eve's the first female born in 50 years and her job is to save the human race. The world-building was spectacular and I was engrossed in the book after reading the prologue. However, I had to skim some of the chapters because it felt too slow. In the second half, my reading picked up its pace and it enjoyed the rest of the novel.

I loved Eve of Man enough that I want to read the second book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC.

First off - I'm a huge fan of both Tom and Gi, together as a family and respectively with all they've done in their professional careers. So of course, when they shared the news of having co-written a YA book, I had to have it. Because how could this go wrong - Tom is an award-winning children's author and Giovanna has written several new adult books. So they met in the middle and created a fantastic YA setting with a great premise.

So I got it.

And here's the deal. The premise is pretty straight forward (and then again it isn't).

No girls have been born for fifty years. 

Mankind is hanging in the balance. 

Then SHE is born - and against all odds, she survives.

The saviour of humanity.

They called her Eve.

So that's basically all I knew going into this story. And I liked not knowing too much.

And holy.

Friggin

Moly.

What a story!

It immediately drew me in with Eve growing up in a giant tower (almost think the tower from The Thousandth Floor). People are living here, with Eve stowed away nice and safe at the very top, with no idea about what is happening out in the real world. Because Eve is growing up in a bubble made up of steel and technology.

Then there's Bram - he's a young pilot, but he doesn't fly airplanes. He is the pilot of the most realistic hologram ever seen, Holly - Eve's best friend. He's grown up with Eve without never having met her, but of course, that's all about to change when shit hits the fan.

And then we slowly get the feeling that not everything is as dandy as we thought it was up in that tower.

Man.

What a great and original story Tom and Gi have created for us. The P.O.V changes between Eve (Gi) and Bram (Tom) and it's brilliant that they have written different perspectives, because it makes the voices of the characters that much more distinctive. You can really tell they are two different people.

So we are dumped into this futuristic, classic dystopian society where things have really taken a turn for the worse and the scientists in the tower is really controlling everything.

Throw in some action, forbidden love, shocking twists and turns and a brewing rebellion and you've got yourself Eve of Man - the first book in a thrilling trilogy written by two brilliant writers.

I loved reading this story and the ending was the perfect set-up for the sequel, which I know I'll hate waiting around for. But alas. That's what you do and the better the book, the worse the wait.

And this wait will be hell.

So do I recommend this book?
YES! YESYESYESYES!

To whom?
To fans of YA dystopian stories that takes you on a rollercoaster ride.

I really enjoyed this book.
Very dystopian style. However, the ending definitely should NOT be left there. I need more! I definitely think it's going to make a fabulous trilogy. The concept is interesting. But It's like watching a TV show, getting to the best part and being whacked with a 'To be continued...' I'll definitely be reading the next book!

In a dystopian future (where lots of my favourite books are set…) humankind has a big problem. For fifty years only male babies have been born: girls are, occasionally, conceived but are never carried to term. Gradually the population becomes skewed and women of childbearing age are fading fast until, at last, one girl-child, Eve, is born. Despite the care given to her by the best medical teams available the mother dies after delivering her baby and Eve and her father are moved into a vast tower block. After a while Eve’s father is sent away – for her safety, we are told – and Eve is raised by a group of older women, called Mothers, overseen by a rather sinister woman called Vivian and her only friend is a hologram called Holly*. Holly herself is guided by a small group of young men and, although Eve is never told about the different pilots used, she has a favourite. This is Bram, the son of the man who developed the technology behind Holly (who is a downright nasty piece of work too…), and when the two meet, during a set of very unusual circumstances since Eve is meant to be totally isolated from all men, they fall in love. These circumstances revolve around the fact that Eve is now sixteen and the time has come for her to begin the attempt to repopulate the planet with girls with one of three carefully chosen male candidates.

I began to book by trying to work out which passages or ideas were the work of which of the two authors but I was quickly too caught up in the story to care. The world surrounding Eve, which she is never allowed to see, is a bleak place where the remaining population have damaged the environment so badly it is hard to see what kind of world it would be to bring any kind of child into. Although she has always been protected Eve is beginning to question her future – she is a lot feistier than the average princess in an ivory tower – and this is just as well since we soon begin to realise that it would not be a pleasant one. I had one or two quibbles – in particular the way that Eve is dressed up, made up and presented as the epitome of young feminine beauty to meet the first of her prospective mates. Why should it matter – it is not as if they have to choose between her and other, less attractive girls? Some might complain about the fact that the story does develop into a romance of sorts but, given that humans will die out completely if repopulation doesn’t happen, that is fairly forgivable. The science side of the story is fairly standard – cryogenics, holograms and lots of meddling with human biology – but is made nicely sinister in contrast to Eve and Bram’s gently growing romance.

All in all this is an interesting addition to the YA dystopian genre. While the prospect of the way that Eve will be trapped into breeding the new generation – treated as nothing more than a brood mare – means that this is probably not suitable for younger teens it will be of interest to those who are interested in gender politics alongside their post-apocalypse. It isn’t quite The Handmaid’s Tale but would lead a reader there quite easily.

I love it when a Dystopian novel manages to be familiar and yet fresh as the dew at dawn.

This book manages to tap into the zeitgeist that is the core of this kind of YA fiction, utilises it's most useful devices but then goes on to creates a story that sweeps you along, more than happy to buy into the idea that no female children have been born for fifty years and the hopes and needs (and machinations and schemes) have been placed squarely on the young shoulders of Eve, the only girl born since the anomaly that left the globe fearing for the survival of Humanity.

She is Plan A and B and C as well, so she has been kept "safe" by a group of older maternal types to protect her (and her fecundity) from taint both physical and emotional in a literal tower.

Her days are filled to the brim, there is learning of every kind, physical pursuits and of course socialisation with Holographic best-friend Holly. Her only young company this fashion plate girl , a confidant designed for gentle emotional manipulation in readiness for the event Humanity has been salivating for, a genetically researched union with one of three chosen young men, picked for their optimal potential to bring Eve to bear more female fruit.

Holly is a construct "piloted" by our Hero, Bram, who like his charge has been a prisoner of sorts from a tender age and that the two fall in love was never to be in dispute. He is part of an elite unit who in pairs become "Holly" the only men on the planet ever in even holographic proximity with Eve.

When Eve and Bram's accidental and wholly forbidden real life interaction starts a chain of events , the story elevates above teen romance and builds to a satisfying implosion of the status quo that provides for much potential for this story of the proverbial star crossed lovers.

Both become more than actors in a story predetermined by ruthless power hungry adults and start rebellions from within, revealing the dark and twisted underbelly of a regime that hides truths from those within and without the Dome, The only home Eve has ever known, it soon becomes a place of ominous oppression and fear that protects the living doll/incubator that Eve finds she has become to all but her most loyal friends.

I was much gratified that there is not a single whiff of a love triangle here, that the Fletchers play on the fears of their readers about the way humanity is destroying the planet, examine gender roles and the concept of fertility as a commodity. the comparisons with The Handmaids Tale with Mothers /Aunts being jailers with velvet gloves, will be unavoidable, but this was not a copy, but more a loving nod to the brilliance of the parts of that seminal story that made it so powerful as a inspiration. This all wrapped up in a rollicking good yarn with enough twists and turns in a solidly crafted potential future BRITAIN to keep even this jaded reader intrigued.

oh and yes you read that correctly it is set in BRITAIN that tips this one over to being my favourite of the genre since the Mockingjay series.

Initially I liked the concept of this book, I was interested to find out what events had created this dystopian world without women. However, once I started reading, the book really did not grab my attention like I thought it would.

The writing style wasn’t very engaging and I didn’t feel like the characters were particularly memorable and I wasn’t really invested in what was going to become of them.

All-in-all, I think this had a good concept but wasn’t really excecuted in the best way it could be.