Författare: Amy Ewing

Utgivningsår: 2014

Mitt betyg: 6/10

 

Handling: 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.

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My thoughts: I enjoyed this book. I liked the concept of it, and the carachters, but I didn't really connect to them as much as I would have hoped. 
Also, I didn't really get a picture of the world that the book was set in. I would have liked a little bit more of an explanation as to where in the world it was set, and during what time. Obviously, I understood that it was dystopian set on a sort of island. I just would have liked a more specific and detailed explanation for everything, I guess. 
As I said, I really enjoyed the premice of this book. It felt, in a way, new and quite interesting with the whole surrogacy and the Auggories. Felt a little bit like a mix between The Selection and The Hunger Games. Of course there weren't any games, or fights to the death, but I kinda got a feel of it anyway. 
The romance was nice, and I really liked that Violets musical interest played quite a big part in the story. I also liked that the book was more focused on the female royalty, rather than the male. It felt as if the cruel and vicious women were the ones who had the real power in the book. And I quite liked that. 

Recommend it too those who liked the Selection and the Hunger Games, and too those who are interested in books about court politics set in dystopian worlds.

 

/Hennie