Review: The White Rose (The Lone City #2) by Amy Ewing

Book Title: The White Rose

Author: Amy Ewing

Published Date: October 6th, 2015

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: YA Dystopian

Series: Book Two in The Lone City trilogy

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads
Violet is on the run. After the Duchess of the Lake catches Violet with Ash, the hired companion at the Palace of the Lake, Violet has no choice but to escape the Jewel or face certain death. So along with Ash and her best friend, Raven, Violet runs away from her unbearable life of servitude.

But no one said leaving the Jewel would be easy. As they make their way through the circles of the Lone City, Regimentals track their every move, and the trio barely manages to make it out unscathed and into the safe haven they were promised—a mysterious house in the Farm.

But there’s a rebellion brewing, and Violet has found herself in the middle of it. Alongside a new ally, Violet discovers her Auguries are much more powerful than she ever imagined. But is she strong enough to rise up against the Jewel and everything she has ever known?

The White Rose is a raw, captivating sequel to The Jewel that fans won’t be able to put down until the final shocking moments.

 

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from HarperTeen via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

 

Review:

It was so awesome to be back in this world. I didn’t realize how much I had missed it until I started reading this book. I’ve been in a bit of a funk, so I wasn’t expecting to finish this book was quickly as I did. I finished it in about 4 hours total, maybe a bit less. So it was definitely captivating, interesting and so very, very good.

 

I was so excited that we got to see more of Raven. I absolutely love her and I love her friendship with Violet. I was worried things wouldn’t be as strong as it was in book one, but it was every bit as strong, if not stronger than book one. I think Raven was actually my favorite character in this book.

 

Violet and Ash were every bit as ship-worthy as they were in book one. I loved them together. I worried about Ash in the beginning of the book, especially considering how book one ended. I was a bit worried about a possible love triangle, but given certain events in this book, I can confidently say that there is no love triangle and in fact Garnet has his eye on a different girl.

 

The characters were the strength in this book. I loved how much we got to know about these characters, and even new characters that we got to meet. The characters were the reason I adored this book so much.

 

Oh my goodness, the ending of this book stressed me out. I was warned that there was another cliffhanger, but I wasn’t expecting THIS kind of cliffhanger. I was rendered speechless for a good 20 minutes. Every single time I tried to form words, nothing would come out. This ending was crazy-pants.

 

I really enjoyed this book. So addicting, captivating and awesome, and the ending was awesome. I’m giving it 4.5. It’s not a perfect read, but it was insanely good and I highly recommend it.

Review: The Jewel (The Lone City #1)by Amy Ewing

Book Title: The Jewel (The Lone City #1)

Author: Amy Ewing

Publish Date: September 2nd, 2014

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: YA Dystopian

Series: Book 1 in The Lone City trilogy

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from HarperTeen via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

Oh this book made me feel all the things. It stressed me out in a way I never thought it would. It was surprisingly filled with feels pretty early on and I got emotional because of it. I very rarely get emotional early on, so I was surprised when it happened when I was barely 20% into it. 

I loved Violet. Clearly she was in an awful position and she had no say in anything that happened to her. From the moment the test was preformed on her to see if she was a candidate to be a surrogate, any choices she had went out the window. Yet she was strong, friendly and kind.

We first meet her only days before she has to go to the surrogate auction. She hasn’t seen her family in 4 years. She’s been in a holding place where she’s been trained up to be a surrogate. Now I had no idea what training to become a surrogate entailed. It was certainly not something I had ever heard of. Yet, as the book unfolds, we learn what types of training is involved.

She enters the auction being number 197. In this world, the higher the number, the better the surrogate. So at 197, she’s nearly the top pick. Her friend Raven comes into the auction being number 192, so she is also high up on the auction market.

When we get to her mistresses’ place, the atmosphere feels different. More foreboding, more tension filled. Violet doesn’t know half of what goes on there or in the surrounding places. But she’s about to find out that things aren’t always what they seem. Yes The Jewel prides on both opulence and offspring, but beneath that lies a tangled web of lies and deceit.

I actually thought there was a good love interest in this book. I liked Ash. He seemed to see her in ways that no one else seemed to. He saw Violet. He didn’t see her as #197 and the surrogate to the Duchess of the Lake. I think he was who Violet needed. Yes it was a forbidden romance but I think Violet clung to him because it was the first real decision she had been able to make for herself in a very long time.

I got really confused sometimes about all the names in the book. They had titles but then they also had names. It was very confusing for me to remember who was who and whose surrogate was that. I think some sort of chart that the readers could refer to in the beginning of the book would have been very helpful. About halfway through I started to feel like the author was spending more time with the world building and not enough time developing the characters. That feeling eventually changed for me as I neared the end. 

The ending was perfect. I could not even see the twist coming until it was upon me. I mean wow, that ending was absolute perfection and it definitely set the stage for Book 2. It is going to be a very long wait until Book 2. I am giving this book 4 stars. I’m so glad I read this book. It was one of my top fall releases and it definitely delivered.