Let's be honest... I borrowed this book from Netgalley before I actually started reviewing books. (Think 2013 at 18 years old.) I'm now 30 and much more serious about my book reviews so I apologize for never formally reviewing this book.

I really wanted to like this one, I did. I was already a fan of the author from another book she's written, and I love the Terminator movies, the Sarah Conner Chronicles, etc., so I was really looking forward to this. Ms. Taylor did a great job in creating this post-apocalyptic cybernetic new world and I had an easy time picturing what the Bane looked like and how the infection hungered to spread to the rest of the human race. Unfortunately, my love for this novel died there.

THE WRITING. It was so mechanical and robotic, filled with nothing but short, simple sentences. I know, I know, the MC is half cybernetic. <I>Half</I> people, so she should be able to relate to us on some level. It all felt so disjointed the way she would abruptly think on one thing for two sentences, then something new the next without transitions. To be honest, I actually overlooked all this for the majority of the novel just because of the mechanics running through her.

Which leads me to my next issue: SHOW NOT TELL. I was told everything in this novel. Forget emotions, Eve wasn't even able to absorb the land or people around her in a way that made me feel like I was right there with her. I was a spectator the whole way through and a poor one at that. Half way through <I>The Bane</I>, Eve began fighting against the chip in her head and the ability to feel emotions trickled through. And when the scientist adjusted her settings to allow her to feel again, I was still told how she felt instead of allowing me to see it through her eyes or feel what was going on inside her. Scratch that, there was a minute amount of bodily reactions going on when she kissed near the end, but that was about the extent of it.
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I'm sorry, I could've forgiven all of this robotic behavior if the writing had changed by the end of the novel to show Eve transitioning into something more human, so long as her narration adjusted along with it, but it didn't.

THE LOVE TRIANGLE. Eve has never felt love the way normal people do. I hate to say it, but this love triangle only seemed to exist because two guys were suddenly kissing her and making a play, who she doesn't even feel anything for in the beginning. If a third had come along and done the same, would we automatically have a love square? Because that's how this came off to me. You kiss her, suddenly she thinks she's interested, even though she can't explain why. Honestly, it doesn't even come across as much of a triangle because Eve never really seemed interested enough to bother. On a more personal note, I didn't like who she chose at the end of the story. If she needs to end up with someone, I truly think the other is more compatible. She spoke of love and imagined herself getting married to him one day but I just didn't get it. But once again, I was told all this instead of shown, so I almost rolled my eyes when she went off on how she realized she loved him and everything was suddenly all about him. How easily she forgot the other when the poor guy was fighting to keep his life! Ugh! So cold! And this with the ability to feel again!

THE INFECTED. I had a few issues with the humans infected with TorBane. If they were adapting to become better hunters and could actually fly helicopters, use weapons, and strategize to lure humans away from their compound, then how on earth did a small group of survivors make it in the wild with hunters searching the grounds around them. Sure they moved every once and a while, but they still traveled to the same garden to work everyday. I don't think they would've survived for years that way, especially since all the Bane had to do was touch them to infect them. Furthermore, the sleepers (ie. the ones that just stand there and stare at you instead of attacking). Say what? If the TorBane could evolve and take over and destroy the world as quickly as it did, why did a lot of the humans it infected need years for the cybernetic material to take over them on an individual level?
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And why wouldn't you electrocute their @sses every time you saw one just so it could never come to life and infect someone? At the very least, take an ax to its legs so it can't chase anyone down!

I don't know peeps. This novel just rubbed me the wrong way in a lot of places. Others seem to enjoy it so I'm not going to discourage anyone from trying it. Read it and let me know if it's your cup of tea. Maybe I'm missing something the others are seeing.

ARC provided by author for honest review.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to read this book before it was archived. My tastes have changed and I'm not sure it would be a good fit for me now.

the plot was amazing, the development of the characters (and the trials they were forced to overcome due to their very unfortunate circumstances) was spot on, and the ending was Fan-freaking-tastic. (God I’m turning into one of those people that can’t think of interesting adjectives.)

This book was requested when I was young and requested more books than I could possibly read. Sadly, I no longer have access to this book and my tastes have changed. Thus I will not be able to give feedback on this title.

I'm sorry I was not able to read and review this book before it was archived due to serious health issues.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to read this book before it was archived. But I do think it looks really interesting and unique and I would love to check it out in the future!

Thanks for providing a review copy, I was not able to read this one. So I will not be leaving a review on social media at this time.

So I have mixed feelings about this book.

On the one hand, it was very entertaining in terms of storyline and world-building. On the other hand, I HATE love triangles, and there's a very prominent one in this book almost since the very beginning.

World:
This book was reminiscent of Warm Bodies, The Darkest Minds, and the Argeneau series. Or at least an interesting mix of the two, adding a little bit of Cybermen from Doctor Who. It was such an interesting idea to have what was supposed to be something to help humanity heal, to instead mutate them and turn them into monsters. Then for the entire world to be in decline and humans being scarce.

Writing:
The writing was good and enjoyable. I love how the author didn't bother with a lot of descriptions that took away from the world and premise. Instead, it was focused on simple descriptions and world-building whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Characters:
I like how the author portrayed Eve and the fact that she was emotionally stunted. Though at times it bothered me, I still understood what the author was going for. We didn't get as much from West as I would have liked, but Avian was a pretty cool character.

As a whole, I enjoyed the story but wasn't really fond of the love triangle. It colored my enjoyment of the story unfortunately.

I liked it way more than I thought I would. I went in with not much expectations, but Eve was a strong character who made me root for her throughout.

When a book is driven by romance it can be a hit or a miss for me, and this was the case here.

I did enjoy many aspects of the story, but running in circles made my head spin and i could not enjoy it fully. That's mostly because while the character's mind was on something and I was interested in other aspects of her life.

On the good side, I liked the settling and the overall story was at times entertaining, with a few unique elements. On the bad side, the characters could have been better defines, as their actions seemed random at times.

The human race has nearly been destroyed by a scientific attempt to heal disease and illness through cybernetics. Those who have been able to hide from the Fallen (the infected who've essentially become robots) struggle everyday to survive.

Eve is among the remaining humans. "While fighting to keep Eden alive, Eve will discover that being human is about what you will do for those you love, not what your insides may be made of."

A very creative story with enjoyable characters. I had no idea who Eve would chose until she made her decision.

Self publishing seems to lend to more typos and grammatical errors than novels traditionally published, but Keary has made lots of improvement in both areas.

This book was a DNF (did-not-finish) for me. The synopsis was intriguing and the storyline seemed to be well thought out, but I think the author over hyped the teenage angst and love/drama and it took away from the heart of the story. I couldn't get past it.

While I was unable to get into the book, my sister was so engaged in it that she had me go and buy the next two books in the series immediately. She found it fast-paced, gripping and was hooked on the romance.

Since receiving this book, my interests have changed therefore I will not be reading or reviewing this title. Thank you.