5 Star Harper Teen ARC Review: The White Rose (Amy Ewing)

Hardcover, 320 pages
Expected publication: October 6th 2015 by HarperTeen

Violet is on the run. After the Duchess of the Lake catches Violet with Ash, the hired companion at the Palace of the Lake, Violet has no choice but to escape the Jewel or face certain death. So along with Ash and her best friend, Raven, Violet runs away from her unbearable life of servitude.
But no one said leaving the Jewel would be easy. As they make their way through the circles of the Lone City, Regimentals track their every move, and the trio barely manages to make it out unscathed and into the safe haven they were promised—a mysterious house in the Farm.
But there’s a rebellion brewing, and Violet has found herself in the middle of it. Alongside a new ally, Violet discovers her Auguries are much more powerful than she ever imagined. But is she strong enough to rise up against the Jewel and everything she has ever known?
The White Rose is a raw, captivating sequel to The Jewel that fans won’t be able to put down until the final shocking moments. 

Pre-Order Links:  

Amazon * B & N * Indigo

Amy Ewing is the young adult author of The Jewel, the first in a trilogy from HarperTeen, coming out September 2014.
She grew up in a small town outside Boston, where her librarian mother instilled a deep love of reading at a young age. Amy moved to New York City in 2000 to study theater at New York University. Unfortunately, her acting career didn’t quite pan out. She worked in restaurants, as an administrative assistant, a nanny, and a sales representative for a wine distributor before the lack of creativity in her life drove her to begin writing.
Amy received her MFA in Creative Writing for Children from The New School, where she was lucky enough to meet a fabulous community of YA writers who keep her sane on a daily basis. She lives in Harlem, where she spends her days writing, eating cheese, and occasionally binge watching The Vampire Diaries.

Amy's Website

So first of all....THAT COVER...I mean seriously?? What an gorgeous cover..I absolutely loved the cover of the first book in this series, The Jewel, and didn't think they would be able to top it..but they did. 

I loved The Jewel so much and when I finished it and it left such a cliffhanger....I thought I would die until I got my hands on the sequel...So when I opened my mail and saw The White Rose...I literally screamed! and let me tell you....I was not disappointed..it was worth the wait!!!

The White Rose picks up exactly where The Jewel ends and we begin to follow Ash, Violet, and Raven as they begin their adventure to find the safe refuge called The White Rose. There are so many secrets revealed in this sequel that it is hard to not give something away...So I am going to try and keep this brief because the reader really needs to experience this book for themselves!!

I love how Amy uses this sequel to develop her characters and to explain their back stories which helps the readers to see why some chose the paths they did. I also love how some of the characters such as Garnet and Raven begin to develop closer relationships. 

"I was wrong about you," Raven says. I didn't realize she'd been listening. She looks at Garnet with a single-minded ferocity "You aren't a coward." Her eyes become glassy. Double-focused, as I suppose I've come to think of it. "You've never had real friends. You just needed something to fight for."

One of my favorite aspects of this book is the fact that instead of placing a "love triangle" into this book...Amy deepens the relationship between Violet and Ash....FINALLY a young adult book that focuses on the relationship of one couple without all the drama of a third person. 

There are so many intense scenes in The White Rose and I literally could not put his book down. The White Rose is full of romance, mystery, and intrigue and fans of Young Adult books will devour this in one sitting!!! I cannot wait to get my hands on the conclusion of this series and see where all these phenomenal characters end up.....

**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**

**I want to say Thank You to Harper Teen for the opportunity to review this book!!**

5 Star Review: The Jewel (Amy Ewing)

Hardcover, 304 pages
Expected publication: September 2nd 2014 by HarperTeen
ARC Provided by Publisher for 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. 

PRE-ORDER LINKS 

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Indigo

Amy Ewing earned her MFA at The New School and her BA at New York University. She is a regular contributor on www.teenwritersbloc.com. She lives in New York City.

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"The Power To Choose Comes With A Price..."

This book had me the minute I laid eyes on it. I mean..what a cover! Seriously!! The cover of this book is breath-taking, beautiful, and absolutely mesmerizing. I am a complete pushover for a great cover! 

So of course the cover is amazing..but then I read the synopsis and KNEW I had to read this book.  "The Selection meets The Handmaid's Tale in this darkly riveting YA Debut, where all that glitters may not be gold...." Ummmm...YEAH!!!! and it did not disappoint. I LOVED this book. 

In this dystopian world young girls are tested and if they pass the "genetic test" they are brought into an surrogacy auction and sold to the highest bidder in order to bear children for royalty. Over the years Dr's have perfected the method of surrogacy in order to ensure that the children born are perfect in every way to keep the royal bloodline's pure. 

The Jewel is the center of the Royal's world and where only the richest Royal's live. Surrogates who are brought into The Jewel are treated with riches beyond their imagination. They eat the best foods, have the best clothes, and live rich lives.....as long as they conceive a child for their "master."

Violet is a young girl who has been brought into the world of a surrogate and is sold at the auction to the Duchess Of The Lake, who has been known to be mean and cruel. Violet has no idea what to expect when she enters the House of The Lake. At first she thinks she has walked into heaven. She has closets and closets full of clothes, a huge bedroom, and even a lady-in-waiting that is there to serve only her. But this is only the beginning...Violet soon discovers that the Duchess is evil and vindictive and cares about nothing except her line of succession.

"Why did she hit me?" I ask. My voice breaks and a tear spills down my cheek. 

"This isn't the Marsh, child. I didn't make the rules. But there are rules. You're her property now." Cora's lips press together. "She's not a bad mistress, really. There are worse, I promise you. But you're strong. I can see that. You'll be all right..." 

Violet faces so many disturbing and horrific experiences through out her time at The House Of The Lake. The only thing that keeps her going is Ash...Ash, a handsome young boy, is a "companion" that has been brought into the house to keep the Duchess's niece occupied. Violet falls madly in love with Ash and is determined to find a way for them to be together.

Ash stops at the door. "It would be easier to forget you," he says to me, "and these past few weeks we've had together. It would be easier if I could hate you. But the sad truth is, I will more than likely love you for the rest of my life."

This phenomenal debut YA novel has it all...Suspense, mystery, drama, and a breath-taking romance. I literally could not put this book down. I found myself flipping pages late into the night just to see what happened next. The world of The Jewel is so cruel and yet so fascinating.....I cannot wait for readers to experience all that The Jewel has to offer.....

Amy Ewing has entered the YA genre with a bang....and I for one will DEFINITELY be reading anything that she writes and am DYING to get my hands on the sequel to The Jewel......NOW.....

**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**