The White Rose - Amy Ewing

Began reading: 4.4.2016
Completed reading: 14.4.2016
Overall rating: 4 stars

On the run in the Lone City.
Enlisted by the Society of the Black Key.
Powerless to protect the people she loves.

Violet, Ash and Raven have escaped the Jewel, but nowhere will be safe until the royalty is destroyed.

If she can reach the White Rose, Violet may be able to rescue more surrogates. But for one surrogate it is already too late: Raven is pregnant, and that is a death sentence.

The White Rose by Amy Ewing is a young adult fiction novel with a combination of genres, such as dystopia, fantasy, romance and adventure. I purchased this book as I was reaching the end of The Jewel because I HAD to know why Garnet was on the other end of the arcana. I had high expectations from this book, as the first one was so good that I gave it 4.6 stars out of a possible 5. However, while I thoroughly enjoyed it, it wasn’t as great.

The novel was well-written and well-structured. I have to admit that while there were some great quotes, I was so focused on the plot that I only wrote down a few. They include:

‘She’ll pay for this,’ I say. ‘Raven, I promise.’

‘How, Violet? How are we supposed to do that? Look at me.’ She gestures weakly to herself. ‘I am broken now. And I’ll never be the same. I am damaged beyond repair.’

I sit up on my knees and look her straight in the eye. ‘Listen to me,’ I say. ‘You were there for me in Southgate when I was scared and when I was weak. You gave me courage. If you think I’m not going to do the exact same for you, then you’d better think again. You were with me every single day I was in that palace. You were my strength. Now let me be yours.’ I put my hand on her shoulder. ‘I’m going to help you get better. I’m going to protect you’ (p. 99).

I wish I could unzip my skin and show him the place inside me where Ash lives, tangled up in blood and bone and muscle, impossible to separate or remove. I want him to see that we are the same (p. 117).

‘Violet?’ Raven whispers.

‘Yes?’

‘Do you think that this place we’re going to in the Farm… do you think there’s someone who can fix me?’

The outline of her face is soft, almost blurred. I want to tell her she’s not broken. I want to tell her there must be a way to undo what the Countess did. But I can’t lie to her.

Her mouth pulls into a sad smile. ‘That’s what I thought’ (p. 130).

More quotes from the book can be found here.

Just like the previous novel, this book contained some emotional parts that had me tearing up. *WARNING: SPOILERS* For example, the book began with the death of Annabelle, which made me want to cry. Why did she have to die?! Similarly, when Raven was telling Violet about how broken she was and if someone could undo what the Countess did, it broke my heart.

There were also some suspenseful moments that had me holding my breath. I was waiting for someone to be captured, or for one of the main characters to be caught. It was scary when Raven had her miscarriage, as I thought she was going to die. I’m just glad she didn’t. Another suspenseful moment was the cliff-hanger at the end. Ewing sure does love her cliff-hangers! I can’t wait to get my hands on The Black Key!

                                                     

The secondary characters from the first novel made a bigger appearance in this book, which I’m grateful for. For example, the lioness enters the plot and we learn that her name is Sienna; Garnet plays a bigger role in the beginning of this book but later leaves, while Ochre also makes an appearance. I was able to gain a deeper understanding of these characters, in comparison to the previous book. I’m looking forward to reading more about the secondary characters in the next novel!

Everything was described in great detail, especially Violet’s surroundings. My favourite description was of The White Rose house — interior and exterior — as I was able to imagine it all in my head. I love when someone is described well enough to be pictured in my mind.

I also loved the plot, as it was interesting. There’s something about introducing new characters in a dystopian book that adds depth to the plot. I especially enjoyed the idea that each surrogate had their own particular power, the different coloured flowers that blossomed when they discovered their power, and had a different reaction when they found out.

I had two issues with this book, which made it less enjoyable compared to the previous book. Firstly, the book had no real complication. I was expecting something big to happen that would temporarily prevent Violet from attacking the royalty, but nothing happened. Secondly, the plot was slow-paced. After realising that nothing big was going to happen, I assumed that this book would be like a connection between the first and third books. I feel that it was just something to bridge the two books together, which disappoints me.

                        

My favourite character is still Violet, as she was determined, courageous, compassionate, sweet, charming and talented. She still put Raven before herself, proving that she’s still loyal to her best friend. Raven is my second favourite, and I’m glad that she’s starting to improve at The White Rose. I can’t wait to see her battle it out with the others in the next book!

I have to admit that I really ship Raven and Garnet together. I was hoping that these two would get together ever since they met! They would be SO PERFECT! I think my heart broke for her when he got married, though. I need to know if he and Raven will end up together. I really hope Ewing makes this happen! IT HAS TO HAPPEN!

                                                           

My favourite parts of the book include Ash’s visit to see Cinder and the recruitment of new surrogates. The visit to see Cinder was so emotional, and it was an insight into how close Ash and Cinder really were before they were separated. I liked the recruitment of the new surrogates because they had different reactions to being kidnapped, and we knew they each had a unique power, which made it all the more exciting.

Recommendation time! If you like The Handmaiden’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead, and The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes the Luxe series by Anna Godberson, Everlife series by Gena Showalter, and Ruined by Amy Tintera.

My review for The Jewel can be found by clicking on the title.

I will be reviewing the final book of the Lone City trilogy, The Black Key, when it becomes available. Keep an eye out for that!

Happy reading!

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The Jewel - Amy Ewing

Began reading: 30.3. 2016
Completed reading: 3.4.2016
Overall rating: 4.6 stars

Auctioned as a surrogate.

Imprisoned in the palace of the Duchess of the Lake.

Destined to carry the child of a woman she despises.

Violet is trapped in a living death, her name and body no longer her own. She fights to hold on to her identity and sanity, uncertain of the fate of her friends, isolated and at the mercy of the Duchess.

Then she meets another captive - Ash, the handsome royal companion. Drawn together, Violet and Ash are puppets in the deadly game of court politics, each the other's jeopardy - and salvation.

The Jewel by Amy Ewing is a young adult fiction novel with a combination of genres, such as dystopia, fantasy and romance. I have been waiting to read this book for so long. I spent a while eyeing it in the shops, and finally got my hands on it last Christmas. I have to say, it was definitely worth the wait. I really, really, really loved this book!

Firstly, I have to share some awesome quotes that I found while reading:

I love sunrises, even more than sunsets. There’s something so exciting about the world coming to life in a thousand colours. It’s hopeful (p. 8).

I am so glad I get this tiny slice of time. No matter what happens after, no matter what result the auction brings, I am grateful that at least I get this one last moment with my sister (p. 32).

‘Hope is a precious thing, isn’t it,’ she says. ‘And yes, we don’t really appreciate it until it’s gone’ (p. 254).

‘It’s hard to remember who you were when you’re constantly pretending to be someone you’re not’ (p. 266).

Ash: ‘I don’t know if I can trust you anymore’.

Violet: ‘What, because I was trying to be responsible? Because I made a mistake? Well, guess what — I’m human. I’m not perfect. I was trying to do the right thing, but you know what? I don’t care anymore. I don’t want to be right, I don’t want to be good. I wasn’t supposed to have you any more than you were supposed to have me. And if you can’t forgive me for having a moment of weakness or a moment of uncertainty, then maybe you’re right, maybe I don’t know you at all. But don’t think that I don’t want you, because I do and maybe I’m just not good at saying it out loud. I want you forever, Ash, but that’s not going to happen and I get that. But I’ll take you for as much time as I can have, and I won’t waste a single second of it’ (pp. 305-306).

More quotes from the book can be found here.

I found the book to be very well structured, with everything clearly defined. The novel was extremely detailed, which is another great thing. It was easy for me to imagine what the characters were experiencing. Ewing also did a great job of including literary techniques to detail everything. I loved that!

The plot contained some emotional sections that almost brought me to tears. For example, when Violet talked about losing her sister then growing a single lemon for her to remember her by. Another example was when Violet grew things and sent them to Raven — I really LOVED their friendship.

                       

As well as emotional moments, there were also a few suspenseful ones. I held my breath numerous times, especially with the Duchess and the royalty. I have to admit, Ewing definitely knows how to leave her readers hanging. The ending was a cliff-hanger and a BIG one too. I was so glad to have recently purchased the sequel, so I instantly picked it up and continued the story!

There were so many great plot twists, some were expected and some were unexpected. But I loved each and every one of them. Not that I was losing interest, but these twists kept me turning the page.

                     

I absolutely fell for the plot — it was unique and interesting! I LOVE DYSTOPIAN NOVELS and this one didn’t disappoint. It was great to read about the surrogate’s experiences from their perspectives. The whole surrogacy concept, combined with servitude and class differences creates an incredibly attractive plot for lovers of dystopian novels.

The primary and secondary characters varied in personality and appearance too, which was awesome. I loved how each character had their own voice, rather than sounding like each other. Furthermore, each character had their own role to play in the novel, which was cool. Each character made their own contribution to the plot, and I hope this continues in the following books.

I really liked the amount of romance in the novel. Despite it being a romance novel, the main focus was more on Violet’s life in the Jewel. As you probably already know, I’m not much of a fan when it comes to mushy, fluffy books. I was kind of expecting it to be more romantic, especially as the blurb suggests that Violet’s experiences and Ash’s are meant to be entwined. I was pleasantly surprised!

In relation to romance, I found the relationship between Violet and Ash to be a bit too sudden. One moment, they’re having a nice chat about famous cellists, and the next, they’re confessing their love for each other. This was the only negative that I could find in this book. If it took them a little longer before falling for each other, I believe that the book would have been perfect.

My favourite character was Violet, as she was determined, courageous, compassionate, sweet, charming and talented (is it obvious that I have a slight girl crush?). She was so loyal to her best friend! No matter what she was being subjected to by the Duchess, she always worried about Raven instead.

I hope that she successfully rescues Raven and escapes the Jewel. Also, I really hope that Violet gets her revenge on the Duchess and Carnelian. They were both so cruel to her! The Duchess was the character that I loved to hate, and when Violet gets her revenge, it will be GLORIOUS!

               

My favourite parts were the garden scenes and when Violet was with Ash. The garden scenes, as I mentioned previously, demonstrated how much Violet loved Raven. They were so close, even when they were apart. Violet sending things to Raven and vice versa tugged on the heartstrings. Violet and Ash make an adorable couple. I loved how they met, and how he had no idea who she was. They got along so well! They doubted each other at times, but they belong together, and I’m glad they fell for each other!

Recommendation time! If you like The Handmaiden’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead, and The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes the Luxe series by Anna Godberson, Everlife series by Gena Showalter, and Ruined by Amy Tintera.

I will be reviewing the rest of the Lone City trilogy: The White Rose (2), and The Black Key (3). Keep an eye out for those!

Happy reading!

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Fake - Beck Nicholas

Began reading: 26.3.2016
Completed reading: 30.3.2016
Overall rating: 3.6 stars

Is Kath about to make the biggest mistake of her life?

Seventeen-year-old Kath McKenny has a date to the end-of-term party with her since-forever crush. He publicly messaged her to confirm, but there's been a recent status update: he's taking the new girl - giggly, pretty, well-developed Lana Elliot - instead.

After being thoroughly humiliated in front of half the school, best friend Chay talks Kath into revenge: a scheme to create the perfect - and very fake - online guy for Lana. Once she falls for him, they'll show her what it's like to get brutally dumped.

Everything is going to plan until Kath starts spending more-than-just-friends time with the other new kid in town - Lana's dreamy older brother, Sebastian. Kath finds herself getting in deep - in love and drowning in guilt, she tries to put an end to her prank, but it's taken on an unstoppable momentum of its own, with very real consequences.

As her plotting begins to unravel, so do the people Kath thought she knew:

Her mother has a secret online life.

Her father has a whole new family.

Her best friend is barely recognisable.

Her boyfriend has a disturbing hidden past.

And her enemy is more familiar than she knew.

Fake by Beck Nicholas is a contemporary young adult novel that incorporates romance to create a suspenseful plot that teaches readers that every action has a consequence. I was pulled in by the blurb, as it was dramatic and centred around Facebook. Sadly, the book didn’t live up to my expectations, and I’ll explain why.

Firstly, the structure of the book was average. The introduction, complication, resolution and conclusion were clearly defined, but it took a while for everything to happen — it was slow-paced. However, I was impressed by some of the quotes in the book, including:

Chances are the whole plan will fizzle out, but if it doesn’t Lana will discover what it’s like to be me: to be not good enough for someone you like. May be then she’ll hesitate before screwing someone else over (p. 56).

I lie on my back and stare up at the old light fitting I bought one Choose-Day. I liked it because among all the hanging beads of clear glass there’s one that is ice blue. Almost the same but different.

Like me (p. 81).

I don’t know whether to run screaming or throw myself at his mercy and beg him not to break my heart (p. 224).

*WARNING: SPOILER* I guess when you’ve slept with someone and had a baby, a few kisses don’t mean much. But for me, kissing Sebastian was everything (p. 264).

I thought that the plot was extremely interesting and relatable. We are all surrounded by social media, such as Facebook and Instagram, and creating a fake Facebook account for revenge seems like something that would happen in the real world. Unfortunately, as I mentioned previously, the plot wasn’t exactly what was mentioned in the blurb. *WARNING: SPOILER* I assumed that Kath’s crush was going to be the outgoing, popular jock, but he turned out to be a shy guy. I thought Lana was a shy and innocent girl (which would’ve made the plot more interesting), but she was the popular queen bee. Her mother doesn’t have a “secret online life” — she just met a guy. Her boyfriend doesn’t have “a disturbing hidden past” — so what if he has a kid?! Her enemy is not “more familiar than she knew”. I was expecting Lana to end up being a long-lost sister or something, but no. I fail to see how she was more familiar than Kath knew.

The plot was predictable, but still contained some unexpected twists. I knew that Kath’s revenge plot was going to backfire, I guessed correctly about Sebastian’s past, and I suspected that Chay would do what she did. What I didn’t see coming was Joel’s dad becoming redundant, Kath continuing to tutor Bobby, Kath’s mum’s connection to the lime tree, as well as Kath’s reaction to her father’s family and Sebastian’s past. I think that these little surprises were needed to add a little more trepidation to the plot.

It was very repetitive, especially about how Kath doesn’t like her plans for revenge. If you didn’t like the plan, why would you let Chay convince you? Take the account down — it’s not that hard! Also, her difficulty with making decisions was brought up more than enough times. I GET IT, NOW SHUT UP!

                     

The plot tended to focus more of Kath’s relationship with Sebastian, so it was very ‘romantic’. By ‘romantic’, I mean mushy and cringe-worthy. I was hoping that there would be minimal romance in this book, but I was wrong. Some of the things that Kath said and thought made me want to throw up. For example:

Is that interest in his eyes? Something more than the prospect of his hoodie being returned? Like maybe that he’ll have to see me again (p. 44).

My favourite character was Sebastian, for SO MANY reasons. He was perfect boyfriend material, loyal, responsible, a great listener, didn’t take any of Kath’s sh*t (or anyone else’s, for that matter), and he sounds like a cutie. I thought that he was a little too forgiving and a slightly hypocritical, but otherwise, he sounds like the perfect high school boyfriend.

I was expecting Kath to be my favourite character, as she appeared to be the most relatable — we’ve all been heartbroken and wanted to get revenge, am I right? But she was so childish:

Lana’s pretty much been to my house.

I need to find out what Mum’s been saying to her, but she won’t be home for hours and hours. Maybe I could call. She said she’d have her phone for emergencies and I’m pretty sure this classifies (p. 75).

No, honey. An emergency refers to a serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situation requiring immediate action. I had no idea that needing to know what your mum said to a girl during a hairdressing visit was considered dangerous or life-threatening.

I also thought that Kath was stupid. I mean, she met Sebastian a day ago or something like that, and she’s wondering why he doesn’t want to spill his life secrets to her:

Who is he to be so off-limits? I can’t think straight because of all the questions I need answered (p. 70).

                   

The other secondary characters were just as awful! Chay was this backstabbing best friend whom Kath forgave almost instantly. What the hell? Kath’s mum was irresponsible, selfish and a hypocrite. Lana was obviously the bitchy queen bee, so no wonder I didn’t like her.

My favourite part would have been the end-of-term party, mainly because it was a bit of fun and had a bit of drama. I would have loved to have dressed as a vampire, and met my computer nerd date at the dance, and had some fun. *Sigh* I could just imagine seeing Sebastian dressed like Q from Skyfall… Yes, he’s my nerd crush. Isn't he gorgeous?

Recommendation time! If you like Anything to Have You by Paige Harbison, Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern, Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy and The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes Raising Hope, JUNO, Endless Love, Catfish, The Social Network, LOL and Men, Women and Children.

Happy reading!

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