Arc Review: The Jewel by Amy Ewing

Title: The Jewel
Author: Amy Ewing
Publication: September 2nd 2014 by HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult ~ Dystopia
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Cover Rating: 4/5
Overall Rating: 3/5

Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review.

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.

Today is my last day as Violet Lasting.

So, I've read quite a few of these dystopian books that resemble each other a bit. This makes it hard for me to be impressed. I did like The Jewel but there were some things that did bother me. 

The writing was pretty good and descriptive. Not the best I've ever seen but compared to some other books I've read recently, the writing was to my liking. This is an important thing for me in books. 

Violet (main character) wasn't a bad heroine either. At first I wasn't too sure about her and I wondered if she would have any type of personality but she actually had a mind of her own. So that was great!

This world was pretty disturbing and kind of shocking but I've read about 'worse' worlds. And I am a fan of these type of books so that was also good. I didn't know what to thin about the Duchess (who bought Violet). One time she seemed so very cruel and the other time she seemed not so bad. Can't say I ever liked her though.

But the thing that put me off was the sudden insta-love between Violet and Ash. One moment Ash totally isn't part of this book, the next he is and Violet is smitten. The next thing I know they're declaring their love for each other. Come on... really? From that point on I found this book be more of a 2-star one but the end saved it from disaster because that was pretty good and unexpecting. Didn't see that coming at all. Also, pretty mean to end a book like that, there! 

All in all, The Jewel by Amy Ewing was a likable read. Not the best, but also not the worst. It's a quick read that I went through in only a day (true story), so the writing flows easy and it's not a hard world to get into. I wasn't a fan of the romance but I'm a tough person to please in that erea. I must say, though, that I'm pretty intrigued as to how things will continue from now on!