Third Wave by Zaide Bishop

A new battle has begun, and the struggle to survive is not only for Eden but for the fate of all life on Earth.

Once divided, the Elikai and Varekai tribes have unified. Now called Kai, they've come to look beyond rebuilding their world to secure a life for the new Children of Eden. For the tribe leaders, there is another way to protect the future: revisit the past.

In unearthing their origins as a people, in learning the truth behind the cataclysm that wiped out most of the world's population, the few survivors will discover the very reason for their existence.

They've never been more united—or more vulnerable to a new enemy. Their once-peaceful archipelago is now under threat from an army of outsiders with their own unfathomable purpose.

The desperate families of Kai must make it back to the mainland. Before their dream of Eden mutates into a nightmare.

Book 3
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Carina Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆
3.5 stars

Third Wave is the conclusion in the Bones of Eden trilogy, and cannot be read as a standalone. I would strongly suggest against reading individual books or out of order.

After rating both the debut and the middle of the trilogy five stars, I feel off rating the conclusion as low as I am. It's not that I didn't enjoy it – it's that it didn't have the same infectious feeling, where I couldn't put it down. It wasn't as tight, falling into the gratuitous sex and shock-value writing category. After charging head-long into the conclusion, the story didn't need that type of filler or shock, when the bones of the story were strong enough without it.

Unlike in the previous installments, where all sexual interaction was either to propel the story or forge a bond, gratuitous scene were tucked in, throwing off the thrilling flow, along with an MM and an MMF scene. I love MM, ménage, and erotica, but after reading books one and two, these scenes in three didn't fit. Yes, in past books, there was quite a bit of sex, most of it either savage, borderline non-consensual, or dark, with an underlying feeling of connection, but it propelled the storyline forward.

Third Wave tried too hard to go out with a bang, making my head spin. The survivors tried to pick up the pieces and rebuild their way of life, in a singular village, and as one people – the Kai. Multiple times over the course of two hundred pages. They'd get half sorted out, only to be hit with another disaster. The only downtime for the reader were sex scenes, as the rest of the time, the characters were being put through their paces, either being torn apart or picking up the pieces. Over and over again. Page after page.

Unlike the previous books, where there was still a feeling of hope as the author plucked the strings of the human condition, this felt as if Bishop was doing all that could be done to test the characters, harm the characters, or outright kill the characters, all to extort specific emotions in the readers. Shock-value writing. I won't go into detail about what instruments were used to result in this, which is why I'm talking around events to remove spoilers, but it had the opposite of the intended effect on me. There was too much, to the point I stopped being emotionally invested in the characters, and no longer felt the pull of needing to know what happened next. I lost my trust in the author...

Oh, I didn't want sunshine and rainbows on the pages, and I applaud Bishop for the authenticity of knee-jerk reactions, and the results of what happened in Second Heart psychologically affecting characters during Third Wave. It was the redundancy of the two issues mentioned above that took the infectious quality away, simply because where they ended up next, I now knew they wouldn't be staying/utilizing what they built. Every step in the journey was just another stopping point in the wait for new tragedy.

The trilogy truly is dark – savage. In my review of the first installment, I dubbed the Bones of Eden trilogy as 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.

I do highly recommend this innovated series to those who are looking for something different, sick of reading the 'same' day after day. Especially recommended to dystopian fans who wish for an injection of heart-stopping dark themes, borderline non-consensual sex, and the unexpected nature of not being able to predict where the author is taking the story next.

Yes, the trilogy ends on a high-note, with some happily ever afters, and I appreciated the last segment to give the ultimate of closures in the future. But, in the end, I'm left feeling as I did with the finale of Lost.

Also Available in the Bones of Eden Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Carina Press

For reviews & more info, check out our First Fall post.

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Carina Press

For reviews & more info, check out our Second Heart post.

Born in 1985, Zaide is an Australian writer who spends an unhealthy amount of time reading and watching horror movies. She also loves cats and aquariums, and lives in a house dominated by both.

When she isn’t writing, Zaide is studying psychology, with a particular interest in the sociological effects of the internet on interpersonal communications, learning and information processing. Zaide’s other interests include cooking, rock climbing, lithops, web design, photography and video gaming.

Connect with Zaide

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Third Wave (Bones of Eden #3) by Zaide Bishop to read and review.

Second Heart by Zaide Bishop

In this second installment of the Bones of Eden series, a new enemy threatens a fragile union.

Peace has come to the Elikai and the Varekai, to man and woman, and to the tribe leaders.

United as one. For now.

Gone is the hope of a world beyond Eden, but gone too is the threat of war that once divided them. The new world brings the promise of family, and happiness they've only dreamed of. But when the force of nature bears down and the safety of the tribes is at risk, alliances shift yet again.

With food running short in the face of a coming monsoon, the Varekai leader must make a decision. One that could shatter their newfound harmony.

For those who do survive, desperation could inflame the embers of an old war.

The Bones of Eden series concludes with Third Wave.

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Carina Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆☆
Second Heart is the second installment in the Bones of Eden trilogy, and cannot be read as a standalone. I would strongly suggest against reading individual books or out of order.

In the continuation, the stormy season is upon the refugees from Eden, and they must learn to work together. With ignorance and past biases, it's with great difficulty, causing many issues as they struggle to survive without enough food to feed them all.

I was intrigued with the world Zaide Bishop created. Most of the time, it feels like I'm picking up book after book of the same, where every book either has a similar theme or leaves me feeling as if I've read the entire storyline before. That is not the case with the Bones of Eden series.

Innovated and fresh, I had no idea what was going to happen next. It's hard to believe but this installment was more savage, more thrilling, as the reader learned the genesis of Eden right along with the characters. There was no endless inner monologue-ing, or info-dumpage, as the necessary information was slowly delivered in a fast-paced read, as the characters discovered who they are, how they began, and how to survive with the knowledge.

I don't wish to ruin the story by giving out spoilers, so I won't highlight a specific thread, as it shocked me, and I respect the author and the readers enough not to spoil it for them. As I said, this installment was a bit more savage, with prehistoric animals, remnants of the world we know today, and the flex of the human condition.

Human nature is what Bones of Eden is most certainly about. How, no matter what conditioning we receive, what knowledge we learn, it's unavoidable how we will react and adapt.

With a handful of narrators, several romantic/erotic threads are played out on the pages as well, written in a fresh way that also removes the feeling of 'I've read that before.'

Also Available in the Bones of Eden Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Carina Press

For reviews & more info, check out our First Fall post.

Born in 1985, Zaide is an Australian writer who spends an unhealthy amount of time reading and watching horror movies. She also loves cats and aquariums, and lives in a house dominated by both.

When she isn’t writing, Zaide is studying psychology, with a particular interest in the sociological effects of the internet on interpersonal communications, learning and information processing. Zaide’s other interests include cooking, rock climbing, lithops, web design, photography and video gaming.

Connect with Zaide

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Second Heart (Bones of Eden #2) by Zaide Bishop to read and review.

First Fall by Zaide Bishop

In a world that's part paradise and part hell, two opposing tribes are divided by the most dangerous impulse of all: 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 rule: 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.

Warning: First Fall contains explicit content, including dubious consent.

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Carina Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆☆
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 third 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 naiveté, 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.

Born in 1985, Zaide is an Australian writer who spends an unhealthy amount of time reading and watching horror movies. She also loves cats and aquariums, and lives in a house dominated by both.

When she isn’t writing, Zaide is studying psychology, with a particular interest in the sociological effects of the internet on interpersonal communications, learning and information processing. Zaide’s other interests include cooking, rock climbing, lithops, web design, photography and video gaming.

Connect with Zaide

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of First Fall (Bones of Eden #1) by Zaide Bishop to read and review.