Review: Relic (Book of Eva #1) by Heather Terrell

Relic (Book of Eva #1) by Heather Terrell
Publisher: SoHo Teen
Release Date: October 29th, 2013

The truth will test you...

For fans of Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games: high fantasy and dystopia meet in this high-stakes tale of a civilization built on lies and the girl who single-handedly brings it down.

When Eva’s twin brother, Eamon, falls to his death just a few months before he is due to participate in The Testing, no one expects Eva to take his place. She’s a Maiden, slated for embroidery classes, curtseys, and soon a prestigious marriage befitting the daughter of an Aerie ruler. But Eva insists on honoring her brother by becoming a Testor. After all, she wouldn’t be the first Maiden to Test, just the first in 150 years.

Eva knows the Testing is no dance class. Gallant Testors train for their entire lives to search icy wastelands for Relics: artifacts of the corrupt civilization that existed before The Healing drowned the world. Out in the Boundary Lands, Eva must rely on every moment of the lightning-quick training she received from Lukas—her servant, a Boundary native, and her closest friend now that Eamon is gone.

But there are threats in The Testing beyond what Lukas could have prepared her for. And no one could have imagined the danger Eva unleashes when she discovers a Relic that shakes the Aerie to its core

My Thoughts:
I'm a little lost for words right now honestly.  This started out so so good and then BOOM the story hit a strange turn and things got just strange and preachy.  I really wish the story would have stayed on its path *sigh*

The story starts off with a murder and then jumps ahead to the events that happened because of the death.  Eva lost her twin brother and no one really knows what happened to him other than he fell from climbing an ice wall. Since Eamon was in training to take the Test is was just assumed it was an unfortunate accident.  Eva has been grieving for her brother and knows one of the only ways for her to move on is to compete in the Testing.  Whoever wins will become the next Archon, which is a position her father still holds and is something that a girl hasn't been in a very long time.  Nobody wants Eva to compete but she knows she has to for her brother so she starts training and before she knows it she is on her dogsled riding out to the Frozen Seas.

In order to win Eva must bring back a relic of some kind that will show her people why the great floods happened and why things are different now.  The North people believe in the Lex and it let me tell you it  has a lot of rules.  Basically it states that everything we use now in our reality (computers, phones, Mastercards) are evil and is the reason why the Gods chose to rid the world of almost everyone.  These Tests that induct a new Archon or president if you will are to remind the people of what once was and what happened when people fell pray to the Apple.  Yes I said Apple.

At first I thought this Apple was the Bible, but I was wrong.  If I read correctly it means a Mac computer....I don't get it.  See this is where the story took a weird turn for me.  I get that this new world wants nothing to do with the technology of the past and basically everything that we hold dear nowadays, but the way this story is told is just weird in my opinion.  I mean at one point we have the characters calling relics the MasterCards minions, I mean WHAT?  It all just felt so weird especially when relics where found and we hear things like Prada and Maybeline being discussed as though they were evil things.  How can a purse be evil?? 

I think if the story would have stayed on its path and dealt more with the actual Testing and conspiracies I would have liked this so much better.  What we get though is some strange story about floods that directly resembles Noah's Ark and yes this is discussed in the book so honestly I feel a little preached to.  I am really curious what the second book will bring and if it will stay on this current path.  Like I said the beginning was great.  A little hard to grasp world wise but really good and interesting.  I got lost among the Apples, Maybelines, Pradas, and fiction unfortunately.

Oh and that synopsis is WAY off!  I love Game of Thrones and Hunger Games and this is not even close to either one of these.  I have no idea why this is categorized this way.

2 snowflakes