I’m Not Your Eve!

Tracy Brusa
AuthorHouse (2010)
ISBN 9781452018874
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (5/11)

When fourteen-year-old Rose Stevens ventures out for a walk to let off some steam, her life is forever altered.  A creature with red eyes, claws and human-like features finds Rose and takes a liking to her.  This beast has been around since the beginning of time and is lonely. He has to live off of the body fluids of others. He uses his claws as straws to quench his thirst. On the day that he finds Rose, he leaves behind the desiccated bodies of two of her classmates.  Rose decides to refer to him as “Quench.”   In spite of how he has to live, Rose feels some attraction for him, yet she is wise enough to know that she cannot have someone like him in her life.

Deciding to make Rose his life mate, as Eve was to Adam, Quench takes control of Rose’s life.  He also uses her to draw his victims to him. Living in fear of the pain that he inflicts upon her and threats towards her family, Rose does his bidding, and feels horribly guilty about it.  Turning to her brother for help, she desperately tries to find a way to destroy Quench and free herself from his clutches.  Together they discover that trying to solve this problem is going to be painful for the both of them.
           
I totally enjoyed reading “I’m Not Your Eve!” I was pleased to discover that it is Book One in The Domen Series, which means that there are sure to be more books to follow.  In this tale, the author does an excellent job of writing a story in which teenagers will be totally able to relate. It is obvious she has some experience in dealing with teens in her personal life.  Brusa’s in-depth development of her characters also makes the story appealing to adults.  Her characters are much more than one dimensional.  Even the “evil” Quench has some redeeming aspects to his personality.  An example of this would be that he has no choice about doing what he does, because it is the only way that he can survive. 
           
The author of “I’m Not Your Eve!” also weaves a very important message to teens, about avoiding abusive relationships, into her story.  I really appreciate that she does this because as a college counselor, I see this as a common problem.  She does this by allowing Rose to recognize that she does have an attraction to Quench, however, she processes through how this attraction would be damaging to herself.  She sees that his treatment of her is similar to that of girls who are in relationships with guys that abuse them. She knows she doesn’t want this for herself.  Of course, her situation is a bit more complicated. I look forward to reading future books in this series to see how the author resolves Rose’s predicament.

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