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.
I LOVED this story! It was one that started out eh, okay, but then quickly trapped me in its little world leaving me with my mouth wide open by the very end.
THE JEWEL was my MUST-READ for 2014. The minute I saw the cover and read the blurb I had to have it! When I found out it was going to be at Book Expo of America I immediately emailed all my friends to please grab me a copy in case I missed it. It was the only book I HAD TO HAVE!
I actually got to meet the author and she was pretty awesome! We even did a mini video interview with her, which I wasn’t able to share because of the lighting and sound.
When I first started reading THE JEWEL I was a little worried. The first couple of chapters weren’t bad, but I just couldn’t really get a grip on the main character. She seemed a little too robotic for my taste. I continued reading because I really liked the whole idea of the story, and by the middle I was hooked. The main character completely changed, and the story got really intense. I think Amy Ewing’s idea behind THE JEWEL is super unique, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
My only complaint was the romance. I just did not buy it at all, and it took forever for it to happen. It also felt rushed. They meet, couple of pages later they hook up, fall in love, etc. However, I cannot wait to see what happens in book two. Violet has put herself in a pretty bad situation.
And the ending…. UM… what???? Even though I sort of knew that a certain somebody had to be hiding a secret, it was still an O-M-G, and AH moment. Plus, it was at the end. So it was a bit frustrating, but exciting all at once.
I think everyone should pre-order a copy today ;) This book rocked!
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I posted my review of The Jewel today, too! I also loved the book. I agree about the romance. I'm kind of shipping Violet and Garnet, though I doubt that will happen, haha. Great review!
ReplyDeleteAmber @ Fall Into Books
Omg! Me too!!! The one time I would love a triangle!!! Lol
DeleteI was hoping that too ..Great review and yes OMG that ending
DeleteSounds wonderful! The cover had me interested and the premise sounds great. I'll just remember to ignore the romance and I should be good! I'm actually so excited now ;)
ReplyDelete-P.E. @ The Sirenic Codex
It's not that it was a bad romance, it just wasn't believable to me. It happened a little too fast. Had it been introduced from the very beginning maybe it would have been different. It felt almost like she just decided last minute to throw in a romance. LOL!
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