Boundary - Heather Terrell

Title: Boundary: The Books of Eva
Author: Heather Terrell
Publisher: Soho Teen, 2014 (Hardcover)
Length: 271 pages
Genre: Young Adult; Dystopian Fiction
Started: February 20, 2015
Finished: February 20, 2015

Summary:
From the inside cover:

Eva is the first Maiden in Aerie history to train as an Archon: a sacred leader of the New North. All eyes are watching as she prepares to uncover the Relics of the evil past. Wounds remain, both from the harrowing Testing and the murder of her brother, Eamon, but she has learned to feign grace. And although she is betrothed to Jasper, she still finds herself drawn to Lukas, a Boundary dweller and former servant who may know who killed her twin brother.

Her relationship with Lukas is forbidden. And his conviction that she is the Angakkuq, a mystical figure destined to destroy the Aerie, is even more dangerous. On her very first Archon expedition, she uncovers the Genesis, the legendary ship that brought the Founders to the New North; its contents threaten the fragile balance between the Aerie and the Boundary. Eva's world is shattered, but she may be the only one - as both Archon and Angakkuq - who can prevent a war that will annihilate their entire civilization.

Review:
I read the first book in this series, Relic, last year and it was one of my favourite reads. The story is relatively original for a YA dystopian, and the premise was so interesting I was hooked right from the beginning. Thankfully this second book did not disappoint, though it did seem more rushed than the previous one (which is strange because both books were essentially the same length).

The second book picks up right where Relic left off, with Eva jumping into Archon training as well as planning for her marriage to Jasper. As expected, most of the men are not happy with her appointment as an Archon since she is the only female, and they make their opinions quite obvious. Knowing they will try anything to discredit her, Eva needs to make herself indispensable on the excavation to unearth Relics from the Genesis, the ship that carried the survivors of the Healing floods to the New North. With help from Jasper and Lukas, Eva manages to uncover documents and clues that point to the real reason behind New North's existence, which makes Eva question everything she thought she knew.

This book has many of the things from Relic that I loved: the journey and harrowing conditions, the exploration of how our modern-day devices could be viewed by future generations, Eva's creative writing, and great world-building. And I must say, the love triangle panned out in a way that really surprised me, so I give the author credit for that. The novel felt a little rushed towards the end, but not to the point where it negatively affected my experience.

Recommended:
If you're read Relic, you've probably already read this. If you haven't read the beginning of this amazing series, you need to give it a try.

Thoughts on the cover:
I like the pose shown, but the cover models look slightly awkward for some reason. I'm assuming that is Jasper opposite Eva, since the guy pictured doesn't really fit Lukas' characteristics as described.