Publisher:
Walker
Release
Date: 21st
August 2014
Edition:
Kindle e-book,
purchased
Violet
Lasting is no longer a human being.
Tomorrow
she becomes Lot 197, auctioned to the highest royal bidder in the Jewel of the
Lone City.
Tomorrow
she becomes the Surrogate of the House of the Lake, her sole purpose to produce
a healthy heir for the Duchess. Imprisoned in the opulent cage of the palace,
Violet learns the brutal ways of the Jewel, where the royal women compete to
secure their bloodline and the surrogates are treated as disposable
commodities.
Destined
to carry the child of a woman she despises, Violet enters a living death of
captivity – until she sets eyes on Ash Lockwood, the royal Companion. Compelled
towards each other by a reckless, clandestine passion, Violet and Ash dance
like puppets in a deadly game of court politics, until they become each other’s
jeopardy – and salvation.
I had heard very little about
Amy Ewing’s debut around the UK blogs but I decided to give it a go anyway. I’m
so glad I did!
The combinations of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Selection, The Jewel has a
fascinating mythology behind its dystopian world. The Lone City is formed of a
tiered society, the inner circle being The Jewel, run by royalty, fanning out
to the Marshes, the poorest section of the city, and the only ones who can save
the royal lines. Some girls from the marshes are born with Augeries, magical
talents that are responsible for colour, shape and growth. These girls are
corralled together and bred to be surrogates for royalty and sold off at an
auction to the highest bidder. I love that the background was explained around the
Augeries and the history of the Auction was revealed to Violet who had never
known the history of her duties.
Everything about Violet’s life
had been controlled and disguised and I really loved how she changed and
stepped up to the fight for her freedom. She’s a strong and clever heroine and I
loved her flashes of rebellion and also that she knew when to play the Duchess’
games. And the Duchess, well, she’s horrible. I also think that the best
villains always have a history, have a reason behind what they’re doing and
show flashes of humanity and feeling every now and again and that was clearly
the case for the Duchess. It was great to have a group of strong powerful women
as the villains in the novel, especially as it was clear that they were the
ones pulling the strings in the Lone City.
The
Jewel ended
with an explosive confrontation and a completely unexpected plot twist that’ll
definitely make the next book more interesting. I don’t want to give anything
away, but it turned out that a character’s allegiance wasn’t on the side they
showed in public and I just want to know how that came about!
I was so shocked about how much
I liked The Jewel. Even with the some
palpable inspirations from other novels, it’s a well-written, thought-provoking
and refreshing take on the genre. I’m really looking forward to the next
instalment.
Sophie
I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this one as well! I am definitely excited to read more in the series!
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