Save The Pearls Part Two: Adapting Eden

Save the Pearls #2

by Victoria Foyt

Would you risk your life and give up your human identity to be with the one you love even if it meant facing an immortal future alone? In the sequel to the award-winning, dystopian novel, Revealing Eden , Eden Newman must adapt into a hybrid human beast if she hopes to become Ronson Bramford s mate and survive the overheated environment of Earth. She has no choice but to undergo her father s adaptation experiment under risky conditions at his makeshift laboratory in the last patch of rainforest. But when the past rears its ugly head, Eden and Bramford must abandon camp along with their family and friends. Luckily, an ancient Aztec tribe that has survived due to a miraculous healing plant that provides them with sanctuary or do they have a deeper motive? Too late, Eden realizes that she is at the center of an epic spiritual battle between love and war, which will determine the fate of the world. To survive and save the ones she loves, she must face her deepest fears or lose everything, including Bramford. Acclaimed writer VICTORIA FOYT brings to this compelling sequel the same page-turning suspense, wild adventure and romantic intrigue that captivated readers of Save The Pearls Part One.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Dystopia

300 pages, Hardcover

First published January 25, 2013

About the author

Victoria Foyt's debut novel, The Virtual Life of Lexie Diamond, a young adult fantasy
mystery thriller (HarperCollins) was Recommended by The Center for Children's Books, and received a five-star, must read rating from Teens Read Too: “Foyt has created a compelling character and an electrifying story that will hold readers until the last page.”

Victoria co-wrote and starred in several acclaimed feature films, including "Going Shopping" with Rob Morrow, "Déjà Vu" with Vanessa Redgrave, "Last Summer in the Hamptons" with Melissa Leo, and "Babyfever" with Eric Roberts.

Victoria has appeared on news outlets such as Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, E! Entertainment, HBO, CNN-TV, Showbiz Today, ABC Radio, Turner TV Entertainment Report, TNT Rough Cuts, and Westwood One Radio, and has received extensive coverage on Siskel & Ebert.

She also has been featured in Vogue Magazine, O at Home, Elle Magazine, Movieline, Venice Magazine, Avenue Magazine, Night Magazine, Moviemaker Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, La Opinion, Miami New Times, Dramalogue, and Backstage West, among others.

Born and raised in Coral Gables, Florida, Victoria attended the University of Miami, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in French and Spanish and German. She currently resides in Santa Monica, California. She loves reading--at least two or three books a month--movies, tennis, swimming, hiking, and lots of dark chocolate.

Reviews

[Martina]

"the award winning novel"
what the actual fuck

[Keru Faye]

"award-winning novel"

[image error]

But more than that:

"Eden Newman must adapt into a hybrid human beast if she hopes to become Ronson Bramford’s mate. She has no choice but to undergo her father’s adaptation experiment at his makeshift laboratory in the last patch of rainforest."

Oh yes. Change yourself for a man. What a good lesson to teach teenage girls.

[Elaine]

Award-winning???? Seriously?

[James Tullos · Rating 1 out of 5]

This series got less racist as time went on. Unfortunately, it didn't replace it with anything else. There's no plot for the first 200 pages here, then the last act introduced a terrorist group (which Eden wanted to join when she was younger?????) and a bunch of new villains who are just evil for the sake of it.

And don't even get me started on all the animal sex.

Stay far, far away.

[Despair Speaking]

There's a sequel? There's an addition to stupidity? There's another book that will bring pain and despair to the world?

I am in a loss for words.

[Lisbeth Avery {Domus Libri}]

#hatedrevealingedenbeforeitwascool

[Animée · Rating 1 out of 5]

should white people have rights?
let's discuss some more.

[Sam]

Revealing Eden won an award? Who in their right minds gave this an award!

Edit 3/11/12

You know, I'm actually wondering what she's going to do in this book. After all the backlash her previous book received. Maybe she'll try to prove she's not racist? That her book's not racist? Mmmmm

[Haiku Reviews · Rating 1 out of 5]

So I must admit
I picked this up on a whim
I read one and two

Really? Save the pearls?
I want to know what award
This book somehow won

But back to the plot
There are aztecs and flowers
Oh and surgery

Who will sacrifice
and who will be sacrificed
you know what? Who cares

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really not enjoying this. Will push on and post a proper review soon, but at the moment, I'm not even sure what to think. :/
UPDATE:
I read book one at the start of 2012 and actually enjoyed it, In fact, looking back I gave it a high review rating. I didn't have a problem with it and found myself getting into the world.
I then didn't hear anything about the series for ages so kind of forgot about it, then a couple of weeks ago I got an email asking if I would like to read book 2, I said yes. I recieved the book in the post and put it on my to be read list. I wasn't as fond of the synopsis for this one, I wasn't sure what to expect but I started reading anyway.
For some reason everywhere online says this is 110 pages - it's not, it's actually 300. Although the font is fairly big.
I started to read and found myself back in the 'Jungle' with Eden and Bramford. Now I have to confess I could never really picture what Bramford is supposed to look like in his 'transformed' state. The 'Jaguar Man' who can run on all fours, and has 'muscles' but yet walks and talks like a human too, I can't picture how it is combined, so I kind of ignored that in the first book and just pictured him as a muscle bound guy.
This book is mostly about Eden wanting to 'Adapt' so she can become a 'she-cat' with the sole purpose of being Bramford's mate. And after another book I still couldn't picture how they were supposed to look *confused*. As for Eden, I actually found her quite irritating, she spent her time moaning about Bramfords lack of trust in her then she would do something that would jeopardize them, then the next minute she would be fawning all over him, it was like her very existance depended on him being with her. Stop whining girl, you shouldn't have to change who and what you are to be accepted by a guy - what a message to send! Even if it is in a 'prophecy' made years ago by Aztecs. That's no excuse.
I also didn't really get what was going on a lot of the time, there seemed to be a lot of fighting, arguing and Eden talking about her 'wedding night'. I'm quite innocent when it comes to that sort of thing and I definitely don't read anything with graphic scenes in. I was surprised this book was aimed at teens, it seemed like something following the current trend of 50 shades in places and I would skim/jump over the pages, it still didn't make sense, at one point she made friends with a young girl and ended up naked in a steam bath hut, where they would 'hold each other' *blush* (I skimmed over these pages as it just made me uncomfortable.) That's not how normal 'friends' act! One minute she was pining for her man then spending time with a girl. Just weird, and he didn't have a problem with it. Just odd.
What was there was written well, it was just that it didn't work for me as a plot. I didn't get it. You could have the best penned and constructed writing in the world but if the content is off it won't come across.
Then her father spent 90% of the book high on some 'healing' plant, completely crazed and then there was some pretty violent battles, I think she ripped the throat out of a leopard at one point, including blood splatters. And they cut the heart out of a girl, which was written in lots of detail. *gross*
I just did not get it. I only looked the book up yesterday to mark it on Goodreads as 'Currently Reading' ( I was already over halfway through) when I saw all the negativity around it, I was surprised by just how many negative comments there were, but I can sort of see why. (This review is my opinion only, and I was not influenced by any online comments) As I said I didn't really have a problem with book 1. For me it set the world up OK and made a promising start, but this one seemed to go way off the tracks.
I hate doing negative reviews as I know how hard authors work on their books, but I just couldn't understand where she was going with this one. Just one big bundle of sex, drugs and violence. I nearly gave up a few times but as it was short I pushed on. I found myself losing focus on the characters and didn't really like any of them, they all had their own agenda and didn't care about anyone else, so I found I didn't really care either.
Missed the mark for me!

[Rose]

Goodness help me for actually having the gumption to read this, but I figure if I read the first, I'd read the second as a matter of academic discourse. And I'd like to think that I could give an eye to it to see where it goes and how it comes across, being a woman of color. Let's do this.

[Niels · Rating 1 out of 5]

holy fucking shit^2

[Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads) · Rating 1 out of 5]

http://readingandwritingurbanfantasy....

At A Glance
I really, really disliked almost everything about Adapting Eden.

The Good
All I can say is that some of the story was interesting.

The Bad
Let me start off by saying that this series has a notorious reputation because many view it a racist. When I read the first book when I first started blogging, I didn't see it that way. Now, I do recognize some uncomfortable topics that do seem racist, however, I won't be discussing any of that in this review. You either feel these books are racist or not, that's something you have to determine for yourself.

I should mention that I did enjoy the first book of the series, but it was my first ARC I ever received when I first started blogging, and I think I sensationalized it more than I should have.

Where to start? I think it comes down to this story just being...bad. The plot is slow and confusing. Really, it's about Eden sitting around whining, upset Bramford doesn't trust her while she does everything in her power for him NOT to trust her. Then Bramford does everything in his power for Eden to not trust him too. He keeps secrets for no reason, he keeps her in the dark. He makes her live with an Aztec tribe who obviously have nefarious motives. The tribe are pretty much keeping Eden and Bramford prisoner, but the couple doesn't really do anything about it. They let their friends get hurt and killed, and they get mad, but STILL do nothing to stop it.

I was so bored in the beginning and then I just got progressively irritated then mad as hell. There is not one character you can root for, the story is about bad people getting away with bad things with no repercussions, and a couple that will NEVER trust each other, and for good reason.

I actually felt physically ill when I finished this book. I don't know what else to say but that I really hated this book, and I don't use the word hate lightly. I could say so much more about Adapting Eden, but it seems like a waste of time. I think you guys get the gist with my summary. Going into more detail would just be kicking a dead horse.

The Snuggly
Bramford obviously feels close to nothing for Eden and Eden still chases after him. Bramford straight up believes and chooses someone else over Eden, and she still chases after him like a lost puppy. Their relationship is sickening.

There is sex and sexual tension, but not a lot of detail so it is appropriate for a YA audience...I think. I was kind of surprised how focused Eden was with sex. It seemed so odd and inappropriate for the situation.

Final Thoughts
Don't read this book. What else can I say? There is no point to it and all the characters are just horrible. I feel tainted somehow knowing I read it. NOT RECOMMNDED.

Quotes
It seems wrong to quote from a book I disliked so much. Sorry, I just can't do it.

*Free book from publisher for honest review*

[Annabel Lee]

"award-winning, dystopian novel" <- ????????

[Melanie]

With the amount of hate the book before this got, I'd expect to not see a sequel. BAD DECISIONS... Tsktsk

[CrowCaller · Rating 1 out of 5]

As With last book, I have a full comprehensive review on the two over on my book blog.

Or a two hour video on my youtube.

What even are these books? I feel like I’ve said enough that a conclusion is pointless. We’ve been through it all together. Hot, sexy furries worshipped by indigenous people as they forget racism exists in the pristine Amazon rainforest, in a world where the sun gives instant skin cancer to people hundreds of feet underground.

Save The Pearls is self-published, and we shouldn’t know about it. It obviously wasn’t looked at by someone who wasn’t paid or a family member. That’s how we got this far, and that’s what went wrong in the end. It’s horrible and ridiculous and there’s so much and so little to say. I have a bunch of spare notes and I don’t know what including them would add. How much can it help if I talk about Kevon, the mixed race teen who joins both terrorist groups and becomes Eden’s adopted brother despite vague romantic vibes? Should I mention again that Bramford abandoned his son to live in a shack in the Amazon his entire life, and that said son only speaks a handful of times across two books? Did you know how wildly wrong every aspect of the Aztec religion and culture was in this book, or did you just guess correctly?

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

There’s so much more to this book than the obvious racism, and yet there is not a single thing that unifies it and lets me end all this.

[Ares Crowley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't find the exact line but naming a Native girl "YOLO" only to have her be a virgin sacrifice (lesbian sex does not count go figure) just so you can have the protagonist say "she taught us... you do only live once". I'm losing it.

[Jenn]

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Save your brain cells 🤣🤣🤣🤣 #DNF after 10 pages in.

[Rebecca McKinnon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

It's taken a lot of thought to decide where to start with this review. So let me say, I somewhat enjoyed the first book -- there were aspects that were fairly interesting, although they were slightly hidden.

This second installment was very hard for me to get through, and I'm not sure if it was the book itself or the fact that I was trying to read it while I was ill. So I put the book on hold, and finished it once I was feeling better. And I had to make myself get to the last page.

Ms. Foyt takes a lot of things to the extreme here. The fanatical racism (even if it IS reversed). The whiny, selfish teenager. The endless quotes from "Aunt Emily" Dickinson. The weirdness of a girl who is looking forward to her wedding getting naked with a girl she just met, and enjoying all the snuggling and fondling that follows. Eden's anger that her fiance doesn't trust her, and her hypocrisy when she does everything to blow his trust in her.

Not that everything was bad. The Aztec culture was interesting, and if the book had focused on different things, I think it could have been good. But it also would have been a different book. Overall, the good didn't come close to out-weighing the cons.

My final thoughts: I thought the first book had potential. The second book kinda ruined it.

[Eunoia]

My silence is not a good thing, Ms. Foyt. It means your level of stupidity has rendered me speechless.

[Strix · Rating 1 out of 5]

WHAT IS THIS?
-A not-lesbian-in-name-onlt dynamic between Yolo and Eden.
-more poorly done metaphors
-a love triangle with LI's "dead" ex. Of course she's a b-ch!
-still no female characters (besides Yolo) who aren’t evil.
-still no indigenous characters who aren’t either exotic or die to motivate MC.
-still no male characters described as beasts/giants/whatever
-less fetishization of Black LI for being her "Dark Prince" (vomit), more stuff that makes the author's kinks obvious
-insufferable POV
-nothing really happens (you can summarize it in a paragraph: Eden wants to get catified. Her friend is sacrificed. She is catified and is now a supposed goddess of love. Her boyfriend's ex shows up. Other gods are evil. End.)

[Kah Cherub · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was not as good as the first one, which I did enjoy, regardless of its issues. It took me a while to get into the story again. Eden's mind seemed so different! She became a whining, lovestruck girl, way too gullible. She was in a position of power, as an almost goddess, a hybrid superior to humans, but still she asked permission for everything, accepted whatever was said, without investigating or demanding explanations. All she worried about was Brandford LOVING her, marrying her. She denied all her problems with a little brainwashing of "be happy", a mantra she repeated to herself every two pages. BTW, he was a total jerk in this book. Two dimensional and a total macho, who didn't seem to care much for her. I did not like him. The book only started to get interesting from mid to ending, when things started to happen almost too quickly. Too many mysteries, and the female character seemed to almost devolve from the first book, but I'm curious to see where this is all going. I'll probably look for the next one.

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one even less than the first one. I just don't know. At least it was easy to get through.

[zyaff · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worse than the first one. Was forced to read this for a book club.