Today on the blog, I am very excited to be a part of the blog tour for Eve 2.0 by Winter Lawrence. This combines two things I love: books and video games. A winning combination? Let’s take a look . . .

About the Book

Title: Eve 2.0

Author: Winter Lawrence

Genre: YA/Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Science-Fiction

Publisher: Fire & Ice Young Adult Books

Pub. Date: August 27, 2019

Find It: GoodReads, Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords

Blurb: Gwen Nielson is a gamer and she’s damn proud of it. Her mother may be a former beauty queen and her kid sister may participate in every pageant the state of Colorado has to offer, but Gwen is content to stay at home and play on her Xbox. To her, life isn’t about fashion and make-up; it’s about making a difference and keeping a low profile. And while most of the girls at her high school hang out at the local country club vying for the popular boys’ attention, Gwen is cool with having a boyfriend she’s never met. Pete is a fellow online gamer who lives in California. He’s funny and sweet, and his father owns a gaming company, which is an added bonus because Gwen gets to test out new games before they’re released to the public.

When Pete mails a new game for her to beta test, Gwen patiently awaits its arrival, but the package is never delivered. To make matters worse, when she calls to let Pete know, she discovers that he’s at the hospital after succumbing to a mysterious illness. Hours later, an ambulance arrives next door because her neighbor’s youngest son, Ben, suddenly becomes ill too. His parents and doctors aren’t sure why he has slipped into a coma, but when Gwen finds her opened package in Ben’s bedroom, she begins to suspect that the game is responsible for both of the boys’ eerily similar conditions.

Even to Gwen, the idea of a game making people sick sounds absurd, so she decides to test her theory before going to her parents. Unfortunately, her neighbor’s older brother, Ryan, insists on checking out the game with her. That’s when they discover that the disc isn’t a game at all — it’s actually a portal to a high-tech government simulator named Eve 2.0 who’s programmed to trap players until they can complete all the timed objectives.

With her top-notched gaming skills, Gwen is a formidable opponent, but she quickly begins to realize that playing a game versus living it is a lot harder than she ever imagined. And as the objectives become more difficult and the four kids are forced to work as a team, Gwen concedes that she may not be as good as she needs to be, which just might end up costing her not only her own life, but Pete, Ryan, and Ben’s too.

Review: This was a fun read! I thought I knew what to expect, but I really didn’t have a clue. There were lots of twists and turns in this one that kept you guessing.

Once inside the Eve simulator, you can’t just get out. The doctors, the military — they chose to leave the kids inside and see how they did. I think everyone who plays video games has always dreamed about being able to enter the video game world. I play video games a fair amount, and although I can use a sword or a great axe or a crossbow when playing Lord of the Rings Online, I can guarantee you that I couldn’t do it for real! That’s just what Gwen has to adjust to.

It’s not just one game either. The first game they have to try and “play” through is very childlike and silly. Then they go into a first person shooter, more like Call of Duty. Then they’re in a zombie game. There’s no way of knowing where they’re going to wake up next or what obstacles they will have to face. Also, the zombie nuns that scream at you are just plain terrifying.

Gwen is a really spunky character. I love my fellow nerd girls! She is tough, but also very caring. She really wants to help Ben, despite really not liking his brother, Ryan. I didn’t like Ryan at first, probably because Gwen didn’t, but he really grew on me. As for Pete, Gwen needs to stay away from him! He couldn’t admit that he was wrong about anything, when a lot of this was all his fault. I also really liked that we got snippets from Gwen’s dad so that we knew at least a little of what was going on in the outside world while Gwen & Co. were trapped inside the game. Let me tell you, it wasn’t good. The U.S. Government was not happy about this situation at all.

Action-packed, exciting, and just plain fun. Definitely check this book out!

About the Author

Winter lives in the moment and loves nothing more than being surrounded by her family, her fur-babies, and a ton of great reads! When she doesn’t have her nose stuck in a book, she’s usually thinking up far away, fantastical worlds or she’s cooking up a storm in the kitchen!

Because of her love for all things literary, Winter pursued a Master of Arts degree in English Literature and Creative Writing. Professionally, she is a manuscript editor and, in her spare time, she enjoys hosting author spotlights, posting book reviews, and teaching creative writing workshops.

In her private time, she is an avid reader of science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal romances, and one day she hopes to inspire young readers in the same way her favorite authors continue to inspire her today.

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Giveaway Time!

There is a giveaway going on for this tour where you can win either an ebook copy of Eve 2.0 or a signed physical copy. You can enter via this Rafflecopter giveaway link. Good luck!

Categories: Blog Tours, Books I've Read