The White Rose

Title: The White Rose (The Lone City #2) 
Author: Amy Ewing
Genre: YA Fantasy/Dystopia
Pages: 308
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In this continuation of the Jewel by Amy Ewing, Violet Lasting is running from the Jewel with her two closest friends.  Ash Lockwood, former companion, is a wanted fugitive. Violet, escaped surrogate, is said to be the victim of rape. Raven Stirling, pregnant surrogate, is half-crazy.  Despite the attention the three are receiving, they manage to evade the royals and get to safety with other people who want to overthrow the royalty. Unfortunately for Violet, she has a very, very special role in this rebellion.  But will she be strong enough to prove that she is more than just a surrogate, or will she fall to the limits the royalty have set? 

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If you read my review for the Jewel, you know that I did not enjoy it.  I only read this one because I already owned it. I was hoping that this one would get better, and I'm sorry to report that it did not fulfill these hopes.  

I mean, it wasn't bad, really.  But it just wasn't good.  And I still don't like the romance between Ash and Violet. 

The main reason I didn't like this novel was the plot.  It moved really fast.  Whenever a complication came up, the characters would get out of the problem without having to do anything. Does that make sense? Probably not... What I'm trying to say is everything was too easy.  They got out of problematic situations too easily.  

And the writing didn't get much better.  I mentioned a problem with antecedents and their pronouns in my Jewel review, and Ewing hasn't improved.  There is still confusion about which "she" is being referred to, or which persons are being included in the "they". 

Also, I felt the Raven's character was very inconsistent.  Her mind is supposed to be messed up, yet how aware she is changes so much that it's hard to keep track of when she's talking nonsense and when she's serious.  Violet, our narrator, doesn't mention if Raven is acting any differently. 

However, I must applaud Amy Ewing's ending.  It left off at a cliff hanger, and now I have to know what happens next. Siiiiiiigh. 

So yeah, I probably will be reading the third installment because- darn cliffhangers!! That being said, I'm still giving this three out of five stars, as it wasn't all that great.  

The Jewel

Title: The Jewel (The Lone City #1)
Author: Amy Ewing
Genre: YA Fantasy/Dystopia
Pages: 358
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Violet Lasting is special.  She's special in a way that makes her, a lowly girl at the bottom of society, very desirable by royalty.  Royal women are not able to have their own children, and because of this, they hunt down all of the special young women in the poorest part of the country and force them into the role of "surrogate".  In other terms, they must birth the royal womens' children.  Violet Lasting has the qualities that deem her a surrogate, and after four years of training and preparation, she is being sent off to the auction, where she is to be sold off and forever stripped of her own freedom.  

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This book had a very captivating start.  I was very intrigued by the unanswered questions it introduced and the new and different plot. However, as the story unfolded, it began to get a little uncomfortably weird. 

As you can see from the synopsis, it has a very interesting storyline.  Basically, this girl is forced into this life where she has no choices, no decisions, no freedom, and she has to give birth to this duchesses daughter.  At the beginning, I was hooked!  It went at a pretty fast pace, I wanted to know more about this girl's situation, and I thought it was very suspenseful.  But, as the story continued, things slowed down.  Like I mention, things start to get a little uncomfortable.  For example, Violet (who technically has no name outside of the number 197) has to wear a collar and a leash.  Er.... yeah.  Like, weird much? She is also required to refer to the duchess who purchased her as "mistress" and "my lady" every time she addresses the duchess.  

So things get a little weird, and the whole relationship between Violet and the Duchess is sort of abusive when you look at it.  

My other problem with this book was the romance.  I thought the idea Ewing had could have been a really cool storyline! However, a lot of the books "suspense" was built upon this forbidden romance. Personally, I feel like I would have enjoyed the book more if it didn't lean so heavily on the romance, and built Violet's forbidden friendship up more. 

My last complaint was that Ewing's antecedents didn't always agree with the pronoun.  For instance, she would use a few female names in a paragraph, and then use the pronoun "she" but it wasn't always clear which "she" Ewing was referring to.  This happened quite often, so I thought I'd mention it. 

On a happier note, the book picks up suspense at the end, and draws the reader back into the story.  I will be reading and reviewing the next book as well, mostly because I already own it.  

I could really go either way with my recommendation here.  If you're okay with some uncomfortable scenes, it's a pretty interesting and fast paced read. I give it a 3/5.