Author:Amy Ewing
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: September 2nd, 2014
Series: The Lone City Trilogy #1
How I Served It: Audiobook
How I Got It:Live-brary
Summary:
"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.
Purchased at the surrogacy auction by the Duchess of the Lake and greeted with a slap to the face, Violet (now known only as #197) quickly learns of the brutal truths that lie beneath the Jewel’s glittering facade: the cruelty, backstabbing, and hidden violence that have become the royal way of life.Violet must accept the ugly realities of her existence... and try to stay alive. But then a forbidden romance erupts between Violet and a handsome gentleman hired as a companion to the Duchess’s petulant niece. Though his presence makes life in the Jewel a bit brighter, the consequences of their illicit relationship will cost them both more than they bargained for." -- Goodreads
Review:
Frankly I am so over trilogies. I know I've been saying that for legitimately years now. I know that I still buy and read trilogies in excess despite my insistence that I'm over them but... seriously. I'm over books that don't need to be trilogies being trilogies because Twilight and the Hunger Games were such successes. This book could've been a standalone book. It could've done what ___ did and make a series out of linked standalone books set in the same world. It did not need to take a girl who is not especially fascinating and turn her into the center of a revolution (because clearly, that's what's going to happen). That said, I'll still probably read the sequels.
Top Things:
1. The idea of surrogacy as a means of survival. This idea was so cool. I don't think Ewing executed it great all of the time, but in general I like the concept. It's a new spin on the class-warfare idea. The auguries are also kind of a nice twist as they give the poor people a bit of leverage. I'm sure in the next book we'll discover how to use them without pain (spoiler guess, it's going to have something to do with love), and Violet will be able to grow a revolution or something.
2. Violet and Ash. So individually they're each on my 'don't like' list, but, I do like their interactions, honestly. I think some of the things he says to her are downright romantic. What I don't like is the pervading sense of instant-love. Sure, it's normal to be attracted to a hot guy. What's not normal is both of them being suddenly willing to risk their lives for each other! Ignoring that though, I like how their romance stems from a shared sense of how no one understands their situation aside from each other.
3. The Side Characters - Mostly I'm talking about Anabelle and Garnet (the duchess's son). I'm like 90% sure they're in cahoots, and am mostly going to read the sequel to see what happens to them. Also Raven. Ewing just does a really solid job of having side characters who I actually care about. Raven has a fascinating arc and serves as a demonstration of how the Jewel is breaking the surrogates. Anabelle must have more of a story than is let on... I get the feeling that no one is just casually born mute in this world, I'm guessing someone silenced her. As for Garnet... I just really liked him. Yes it was pretty easy to guess that he was a part of the resistance from the get go (this isn't a book with big gasp-worthy surprises in it), but I liked his spunk. I always go for the sarcastic ones.
Worst Things:
1. Violet. I feel like the fact that the main character is going onto my worst list kind of sums up my feelings on the book. I liked the plot (in vague). I liked the world (ignoring the plot-holes). What I didn't like was how stupid Violet was. I mean, I know she was a teenager, but she'd grown up in this world. I can't wrap my head around her naivety. Or her choices.
2. Ash. Okay, I like a lot of the things that Ash says and does in regards to Violet, but he's a big enabler of her naivety. Since he knows more about the world they're living in I feel like he should be the one to point out the obvious to her. I guess he does kind of do that at times? But... I mean, how did neither of them realize what was going to happen to her post-baby?
Final Noodle:
I probably could write more about the things I don't like, but that seems like a lot of time to spend on negative emotions. It's really not a bad book, though I don't recommend the audiobook (I think half the reason I didn't like Violet was the way her voice came off). It's just that sometimes it seems to be aspiring to be more than just a pleasure read, but it never quite makes it there.
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