The Jewel
Author: Amy Ewing
Publication Date: September 4th 2014
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd.
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~
A shocking and compelling new YA series from debut author, Amy Ewing; The Handmaid's Tale meets The Other Boleyn Girl in a world where beauty and brutality collide.
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 don't know what I was expecting with The Jewel, but it
wasn't this. In a good way this time. It was a lot darker and twisted than what
you'd think- especially with the gorgeous cover. In that aspect, I read Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill not that long ago, and The Jewel reminded me a lot
of it- not in character or storyline- but the message behind the book. The way
women (in this case, the Surrogates) are viewed and valued and used and treated
in a world that has less morality than ours right now. It's deep rooted in
power among the rich and Royal bloodlines.
