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Bones of Eden #1
First Fall
In a world that's part paradise and part hell, two opposing tribes are divided by the most dangerous impulse of desire
For years, the Varekai and Elikai tribes have each struggled in their own ways to survive against the elements, hunger and the deadly creatures of Eden.
For just as many years, they have adhered to one never make contact.
The resourceful Varekai are called female.
And the Elikai? A mysterious, animal breed called male.
When an adventurous Elikai brother is caught stealing from the enemy, a beautiful, inquisitive Varekai healer, the rules keeping the two tribes apart begin to matter less and less. Stranded together in a perilous land, a curious instinct draws Varekai and Elikai closer together than their world has ever dared.
And nothing will ever be the same.
The Bones of Eden series continues with Second Heart
First Fall contains explicit content, including dubious consent.
This book is approximately 64,000 words
For years, the Varekai and Elikai tribes have each struggled in their own ways to survive against the elements, hunger and the deadly creatures of Eden.
For just as many years, they have adhered to one never make contact.
The resourceful Varekai are called female.
And the Elikai? A mysterious, animal breed called male.
When an adventurous Elikai brother is caught stealing from the enemy, a beautiful, inquisitive Varekai healer, the rules keeping the two tribes apart begin to matter less and less. Stranded together in a perilous land, a curious instinct draws Varekai and Elikai closer together than their world has ever dared.
And nothing will ever be the same.
The Bones of Eden series continues with Second Heart
First Fall contains explicit content, including dubious consent.
This book is approximately 64,000 words
199 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 10, 2017
14 people want to read
About the author
Zaide Bishop
6 books8 followersZaide Bishop is a queer & transgender author living in Australia. He loves animals, sustainably living, reading and pro-equality rallies. Zaide believes everyone should be able to find positive, affirmative representation in stories where they feel like the hero, and is endeavouring to write as many books like this as he can. He also love to read them, so if you have any reading suggestions, email him at zaidebishop at gmail.com. For updates on new releases, sign up to his newsletter.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 8, 2017
I received a copy of this title to read and review for Wicked Reads
5 stars
Zaide Bishop is a new-to-me author.
There truly isn't a way to describe First Fall, so I'll do my best. Set in a futuristic, dystopian world, the Bones of Eden trilogy is a mix of the sexual innocence of Blue Lagoon, the divided brutality of Lord of the Flies, and the dystopian feel of The Maze Runner series and its ilk.
Told in 3rd person, from multiple points-of-view, First Fall features two tribes, divided by gender. Neither understands gender, thinking the other tribe another species entirely. The world-building leaves a lot of room for growth, but tells just enough to keep the reader riveted to the pages. As children, they were raised in separate parts of Eden, by 'teachers', who were overthrown when bad things happen. Toss in Jurassic Park creatures/experimentations to fill the landscape, and it adds another thrilling level to the storytelling.
As the reader, I have no idea how old the cast of characters are, but it didn't matter. Their naivete, lack of understanding of gender and breeding, is told in a way that the reader is also educated right alongside the characters.
The storytelling had an addictive quality, and I found it more sensual/sexual/non-consensual than I expected it to be. I'd suggest against readers who are triggered by the aforementioned. But, as a lover of dark and twisty books, The Bones of Eden trilogy was exactly what I was looking for. At the end, I wished I had the next immediately and can't wait to sink my teeth into the next installment.
5 stars
Zaide Bishop is a new-to-me author.
There truly isn't a way to describe First Fall, so I'll do my best. Set in a futuristic, dystopian world, the Bones of Eden trilogy is a mix of the sexual innocence of Blue Lagoon, the divided brutality of Lord of the Flies, and the dystopian feel of The Maze Runner series and its ilk.
Told in 3rd person, from multiple points-of-view, First Fall features two tribes, divided by gender. Neither understands gender, thinking the other tribe another species entirely. The world-building leaves a lot of room for growth, but tells just enough to keep the reader riveted to the pages. As children, they were raised in separate parts of Eden, by 'teachers', who were overthrown when bad things happen. Toss in Jurassic Park creatures/experimentations to fill the landscape, and it adds another thrilling level to the storytelling.
As the reader, I have no idea how old the cast of characters are, but it didn't matter. Their naivete, lack of understanding of gender and breeding, is told in a way that the reader is also educated right alongside the characters.
The storytelling had an addictive quality, and I found it more sensual/sexual/non-consensual than I expected it to be. I'd suggest against readers who are triggered by the aforementioned. But, as a lover of dark and twisty books, The Bones of Eden trilogy was exactly what I was looking for. At the end, I wished I had the next immediately and can't wait to sink my teeth into the next installment.
March 29, 2019
3.5 stars
The writing quality is 5 stars. The story is completely unique, full credit to the author.
However, I spent a great deal of this story confused as per the characters. The mixing of genders, referring to the same person as him one minute and her the next took a long time to get used to.
Names like Sugar (leading male) Romeo, Love, Whiskey, Goodyear, and Toyota, didn't help with my inability to keep up with who was who.
The violence and so called dubious scene didn't bother me. They seemed part and par of the setting, as random as that sounds.
I'm pleased I took a chance on this story, but I don't intend to continue with the series.
The writing quality is 5 stars. The story is completely unique, full credit to the author.
However, I spent a great deal of this story confused as per the characters. The mixing of genders, referring to the same person as him one minute and her the next took a long time to get used to.
Names like Sugar (leading male) Romeo, Love, Whiskey, Goodyear, and Toyota, didn't help with my inability to keep up with who was who.
The violence and so called dubious scene didn't bother me. They seemed part and par of the setting, as random as that sounds.
I'm pleased I took a chance on this story, but I don't intend to continue with the series.
October 15, 2017
5 wildly original and engrossing stars for FIRST FALL!
After Eden fell, two tribes were formed from the carnage. The female Varekai are bloodthirsty and inventive, while the male Elikai are strong and resourceful. After an Elikai steals a Varekai canoe, he sets off a chain of events that will have long-lasting and serious repercussions in their world.
Wow wow wow. I don't want to give away too much, since this book is too good to not let you enjoy it fully, but FIRST FALL was sheer brilliant insanity! It's hard to tell in the beginning whether the first book in the Bones of Eden series is a post-apocalyptic or prehistoric type setting, but the plot of separate tribes made up of men and women who have no clue how the others' bodies and minds work was surreal. When their background was revealed…DAAAMN! There's no really telling how old the characters are either, but their mental naïveté was slightly uncomfortable at times, and the gender pronoun usage was tough to get used to, making the overall immersion experience of this book even stronger. I'm ready to take the week off and hole up in my reading nook and let myself get carried away by the next two books in this series! Pick this one up, STAT!
Bottom Line: No monogamy between any of the characters, but no ménage situations (FF, MM, MF); no condom use; no BDSM/kink; sexual assault; violence/murder. This book isn't a contemporary story so none of the typical rules really apply.
After Eden fell, two tribes were formed from the carnage. The female Varekai are bloodthirsty and inventive, while the male Elikai are strong and resourceful. After an Elikai steals a Varekai canoe, he sets off a chain of events that will have long-lasting and serious repercussions in their world.
Wow wow wow. I don't want to give away too much, since this book is too good to not let you enjoy it fully, but FIRST FALL was sheer brilliant insanity! It's hard to tell in the beginning whether the first book in the Bones of Eden series is a post-apocalyptic or prehistoric type setting, but the plot of separate tribes made up of men and women who have no clue how the others' bodies and minds work was surreal. When their background was revealed…DAAAMN! There's no really telling how old the characters are either, but their mental naïveté was slightly uncomfortable at times, and the gender pronoun usage was tough to get used to, making the overall immersion experience of this book even stronger. I'm ready to take the week off and hole up in my reading nook and let myself get carried away by the next two books in this series! Pick this one up, STAT!
Bottom Line: No monogamy between any of the characters, but no ménage situations (FF, MM, MF); no condom use; no BDSM/kink; sexual assault; violence/murder. This book isn't a contemporary story so none of the typical rules really apply.
July 28, 2017
First Fall was a fun romantic sci-fi story in a dystopian/post-apocalyptic setting full of mystery. In this story, there are two tribes: the Varekai, females, and Elikai, males. Once, they were kept in Eden. They were all children then and taken care of by teachers. The two groups were kept separate though, supposedly because something bad would happened if they were allowed to mingle. One day though, the Varekai revolted against the teachers and killed all of them. After that, they were forced to leave Eden and now live on a neighboring archipelago. For a while, the two groups were at war, but now they are in an uneasy peace. Their peace threatens to fall apart when Tare, one of the Elikai, steals two canoes from the Varekai. After the other Elikai get mad at him, he goes to return them, but is captured by India and the other Varekai. Tare's capture changes the relationship between the two tribes. Suddenly, the two of them are getting closer, and they start to ask questions about themselves and the place they came from.
I really enjoyed the worldbuilding in this story. This takes place a couple centuries from now, and the world has gone through some cataclysmic events. We don't know everything, but we do know that life as we know it is gone, but before modern technology dies, humans do manage to revive some prehistoric creatures. Our characters though are stuck in a prehistoric society. They do know about technology, but they have no access to it any longer. They also don't know what Eden actually was, or why they were in it, and I can't wait to find out more about what was really going down at Eden. I also really liked the split by sex society. The Varekai and Elikai are afraid of one another and view the other as a savage enemy. After Tare is taken, the two begin to learn more about the other and begin to realize that they might actually need one another to survive.
This story wasn't as romantic as I was expecting it to be. I expected more straight romances from Carina, but while there was a strong romantic element to this story, it was equally a sci-fi story about two people learning to survive in a strange world. There are actually a couple of different couples that get introduced in this book. India and Tare are an established couple by the middle of the book, the two leaders, Charlie and Sugar, have a flirtation going on, and there's the thing between Whiskey and Fox as well as some hints for other upcoming couples. All of them are being developed alongside each other rather than one book being devoted to each couple, but I really liked that, and the comparisons between the forming relationships.
I wasn't totally sure that I could buy the reason for why Eden fell.
Just as a heads up, there are some scenes of sexual assault in this book.
This was definitely an original story, and I can't wait for the next two books. I'm very glad that they'll be out soon, and I don't have to wait long to finish this!
I really enjoyed the worldbuilding in this story. This takes place a couple centuries from now, and the world has gone through some cataclysmic events. We don't know everything, but we do know that life as we know it is gone, but before modern technology dies, humans do manage to revive some prehistoric creatures. Our characters though are stuck in a prehistoric society. They do know about technology, but they have no access to it any longer. They also don't know what Eden actually was, or why they were in it, and I can't wait to find out more about what was really going down at Eden. I also really liked the split by sex society. The Varekai and Elikai are afraid of one another and view the other as a savage enemy. After Tare is taken, the two begin to learn more about the other and begin to realize that they might actually need one another to survive.
This story wasn't as romantic as I was expecting it to be. I expected more straight romances from Carina, but while there was a strong romantic element to this story, it was equally a sci-fi story about two people learning to survive in a strange world. There are actually a couple of different couples that get introduced in this book. India and Tare are an established couple by the middle of the book, the two leaders, Charlie and Sugar, have a flirtation going on, and there's the thing between Whiskey and Fox as well as some hints for other upcoming couples. All of them are being developed alongside each other rather than one book being devoted to each couple, but I really liked that, and the comparisons between the forming relationships.
I wasn't totally sure that I could buy the reason for why Eden fell.
Just as a heads up, there are some scenes of sexual assault in this book.
This was definitely an original story, and I can't wait for the next two books. I'm very glad that they'll be out soon, and I don't have to wait long to finish this!
May 8, 2017
2.5 stars
***ARC received in exchange of an honest opinion***
First Fall is a very unique and somewhat interesting story. It's set in a "world" where females and males don't mix and seeing them discover each other was interesting.
My rating through is based on how it made me feel, and unfortunately it didn't make me feel much while reading it, this wasn't book that moved me. It sometimes made me feel uncomfortable, not for the subject matter, but because it was hard for me to relate to the story and the characters.
It was hard to connect with the characters. And it was sometimes confusing because sometimes it felt like they were part of a remote civilization and then they went back to being part of a world where technology exists.
Would I want to know more about Eden and what happened to these people so they were divided in tribes? Yes, will I read the next book? Most probably no.
Even though I found the plot interesting in some ways and I'm curious about some things, it is not enough for me to want to read the other books, even though this ended in what most would call a cliffhanger.
I could change my mind though. So if I do end up,reading the second book, hopefully it'll appeal more to me than First Fall did.
***ARC received in exchange of an honest opinion***
First Fall is a very unique and somewhat interesting story. It's set in a "world" where females and males don't mix and seeing them discover each other was interesting.
My rating through is based on how it made me feel, and unfortunately it didn't make me feel much while reading it, this wasn't book that moved me. It sometimes made me feel uncomfortable, not for the subject matter, but because it was hard for me to relate to the story and the characters.
It was hard to connect with the characters. And it was sometimes confusing because sometimes it felt like they were part of a remote civilization and then they went back to being part of a world where technology exists.
Would I want to know more about Eden and what happened to these people so they were divided in tribes? Yes, will I read the next book? Most probably no.
Even though I found the plot interesting in some ways and I'm curious about some things, it is not enough for me to want to read the other books, even though this ended in what most would call a cliffhanger.
I could change my mind though. So if I do end up,reading the second book, hopefully it'll appeal more to me than First Fall did.
May 31, 2021
I loved this story. The world building. The character development as told through multiple points of view. The origin story laced through it all will pay off if you commit to the whole series. It was sexy in a way that cut through all our cultural norms and went straight for humanities primal nature. I couldn't put it down.
August 6, 2017
My husband & I both loved this book. You have to pay attention to the different POV's, but it's an easy read & highly addictive
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews