Book Review: Eden by Joanna Nadin

Name: Eden

Author: Joanna Nadin

Published: 2014

Song: Do I Wanna Know by The Arctic Monkeys

“I wait for my heart to slow and then I begin the game of ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys’. What if I could turn back time? Would Eden still stand? Would Bea still be alive?”

After her cousin Bea is killed in a house fire, Evie returns to her childhood home of Eden, full of guilt for what might have been. She is not the only one seeking redemption. Bea’s boyfriend, Penn, arrives in Cornwall, desperate to atone for a terrible mistake. And as Penn and Evie’s feelings for each other intensify, Evie slowly unravels the dark truth behind Bea’s tragic death. 

That blurb is grossly misleading. I was picturing some sort of time travel adventure (which sadly was not the case) but I suppose when a book is half price in a charity shop that’s never a good sign. However, the actual story wasn’t a let down at all. ‘Eden’ was full of clever twists, and whilst the plot dipped in the middle, the end totally made up for it.

I have a few problems with the book though. In the beginning, I was really confused with what ‘Eden’ actually WAS. It turns out it is Evie’s childhood home – but while her house seems nice and everything it’s pretty obnoxious to call your house Eden. Like you’re posh! We get it! My other problem was with the characters themselves. I just didn’t care about Evie and her hopeless obsession with the local heart wrench. And her flirty older cousin Bea just wasn’t realistic; again I really didn’t feel that much of a connection to her.

However, I loved all the different points of view and how you had to connect the dots yourself; not everything was handed to you on a plate. I also thought the swamping between the years was done very well. I still can’t get over the ending – it gave me proper chills and was honestly one of the best mysteries I’ve read in a while. Definitely didn’t see it coming!

My only other problem with the book is that cover.That really isn’t the most flattering picture of I’m assuming Bea? I had a look and the other YA books Joanna Nadin had written follow the same format, complete with the a similar (probably equally misleading) line…

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Sooooo, you should read this book! Character depth aside, the plot is fantastic, the time swapping was excellent and I adore the twist. I’d recommend this for fans of ‘We Were Liars’ by E. Lockhart or ‘Lying About Last Summer’ by Sue Wallman (there was a lot of lying!)

Have you read this book? Got any recommendations? (song recommendations also excitedly accepted) Please like and tell me in the comments section!