 | Title: The Jewel Author: Amy Ewing Rating: 4/5 Stars Genre: YA Fantasy Publisher: Harper Teen Publication Date: September 2, 2014 Hardcover: 358 Pages Stand Alone or Series: First book the Lone City Series How did I get this book: Library Format: Hardcover Why did I read this book: Honestly I just wanted to catch up on all the series I have missed out on in the last couple of years I had no expectations going into this book! |
The Jewel means wealth. The Jewel means beauty. The Jewel means royalty. But for girls like Violet, the Jewel means servitude. Not just any kind of servitude. Violet, born and raised in the Marsh, has been trained as a surrogate for the royalty—because in the Jewel the only thing more important than opulence is offspring.
“Hope is a precious thing, isn’t it,” she says. “And yet, we don’t really appreciate it until it’s gone.”
Review
From the very first page you are so attached to Violet. The idea of being forced to carry someone else child felt bad for her she is so young and I can only imagine how scared she is. The world building was the perfect amount never too much all at once and laid out at the right moments!
I could not get over the forbidden love! It was rare for YA in that it was a slow burning romance and the two characters connected on such a deep level! I wanted to scream at them for being so stupid sometimes but it made for one hell of an ending!!
The other surrogates were so interesting to read about. They were all treated in different ways depending on their owner. We didn't see them as often and that almost made them that much more compelling, my heartstrings pulled for them too.
There is a magic system in this book that is unique to the surrogates it isn't mentioned in the description and It really threw me off, at first it seemed really out of place but by the end of the books the plot begins to come together and the meaning of the magic system makes more sense. I think it would have blossomed so much better in a high fantasy and the reason behind the magic could have been explained in a few different ways. . . it is a cool magic system to read about it just isn't ideal for this novel. To it's credit I haven't read the whole series yet so more information may come to light that makes it make more sense.
Did I mention the ending!! OMG!! My jaw just dropped!!! The developments are wholly unexpected I loved it! I am so glad that I read this after the second books has come out becuase I cannot cope with waiting to read The White Rose for a whole year!
The un-originality is what really bumped this down to a 4 star book for me. The Jewel and The Lone City seemed too much like Panem and the Capitol from the Hunger Games Series. I am dying to get one Dystopian that is all together original. Maybe a dystopian future of another country . . . something other than the same old same old future of the United States. . . But really that is me just complaining about Dystopians in general and not this specific novel.
Final Thoughts:
Great love story, dynamic characters, shocking twists! A winner if you can get over the cliche dystopian aspects.
I could not get over the forbidden love! It was rare for YA in that it was a slow burning romance and the two characters connected on such a deep level! I wanted to scream at them for being so stupid sometimes but it made for one hell of an ending!!
The other surrogates were so interesting to read about. They were all treated in different ways depending on their owner. We didn't see them as often and that almost made them that much more compelling, my heartstrings pulled for them too.
There is a magic system in this book that is unique to the surrogates it isn't mentioned in the description and It really threw me off, at first it seemed really out of place but by the end of the books the plot begins to come together and the meaning of the magic system makes more sense. I think it would have blossomed so much better in a high fantasy and the reason behind the magic could have been explained in a few different ways. . . it is a cool magic system to read about it just isn't ideal for this novel. To it's credit I haven't read the whole series yet so more information may come to light that makes it make more sense.
Did I mention the ending!! OMG!! My jaw just dropped!!! The developments are wholly unexpected I loved it! I am so glad that I read this after the second books has come out becuase I cannot cope with waiting to read The White Rose for a whole year!
The un-originality is what really bumped this down to a 4 star book for me. The Jewel and The Lone City seemed too much like Panem and the Capitol from the Hunger Games Series. I am dying to get one Dystopian that is all together original. Maybe a dystopian future of another country . . . something other than the same old same old future of the United States. . . But really that is me just complaining about Dystopians in general and not this specific novel.
Final Thoughts:
Great love story, dynamic characters, shocking twists! A winner if you can get over the cliche dystopian aspects.
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