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I really liked this book. It was an easy read. The writing wasn't great but the story line was cute.
What the heck was that?! I don't know what to feel!
Okay. Let me start off by saying this book had a lot of potential. It was twice as oppressive and potentially exciting as The Selection. This dystopian society has supernatural baby-makers and high-end gigalows! Why? Because people outside of the Marsh are unable to bear healthy babies and must rely on the lower-class women to carry their children for them.
I thought this would be an exciting book but then Instalove happened! The protagonist became a weak-willed woman limited by her feelings for a boy she was forbidden to love. Oh oh oh! And there were a lot of more important things to worry about that she chose to ignore in favor of her live life. I want to know what the deal was with Lucien, the Electress and the Duchess. I did not care for Violet's first love.
Ash Lockwood seemed okay at first but then I found him quite tiresome and predictably boring. I am much more interested in Garnet. I wished he was Violet's love interest instead, but I think he's into Annabelle.
I also want to know more about Raven and the world of the surrogates. They have amazing powers which they can harness if they chose to. Violet could have attacked the guards if she wanted by making their internal organs grow until they burst.
Ugh!!! Cliffhanger!!! I will read the next installment and I suggest people read this book for research purposes.
Thank you to the publishing company for allowing me to read this!
Okay. Let me start off by saying this book had a lot of potential. It was twice as oppressive and potentially exciting as The Selection. This dystopian society has supernatural baby-makers and high-end gigalows! Why? Because people outside of the Marsh are unable to bear healthy babies and must rely on the lower-class women to carry their children for them.
I thought this would be an exciting book but then Instalove happened! The protagonist became a weak-willed woman limited by her feelings for a boy she was forbidden to love. Oh oh oh! And there were a lot of more important things to worry about that she chose to ignore in favor of her live life. I want to know what the deal was with Lucien, the Electress and the Duchess. I did not care for Violet's first love.
Ash Lockwood seemed okay at first but then I found him quite tiresome and predictably boring. I am much more interested in Garnet. I wished he was Violet's love interest instead, but I think he's into Annabelle.
I also want to know more about Raven and the world of the surrogates. They have amazing powers which they can harness if they chose to. Violet could have attacked the guards if she wanted by making their internal organs grow until they burst.
Ugh!!! Cliffhanger!!! I will read the next installment and I suggest people read this book for research purposes.
Thank you to the publishing company for allowing me to read this!
A fantastic read! At first I thought this would be unoriginal, because it reminded me so much as a knockoff of The Handmaid's Tale. But the more I read, the more I realized this had its own spins and developments and societal rules. I liked the characters and the details and the small amounts of magic, and I wanted to know what was happening with the main character's best friend. I can't wait to read the next book! Hooked! This is so much better than The Hunger Games, I'm surprised it wasn't better marketed and sold.
This book was good, not my favorite, but it was good. I felt like a lot of questions went unanswered and that the relationship between V and A didn't really get a build up, it was just suddenly this super intense relationship, so I feel like I didn't get a chance to like them as a couple. Their relationship just felt like a hindrance, another thing that could go wrong, an annoyance.
Though I feel that way about the relationships, I do have every intention of reading the next book when it comes out :)
Though I feel that way about the relationships, I do have every intention of reading the next book when it comes out :)
If you liked The Selection this book is like that but with houses and roality hooked into it. Alright read will probably read the second & third book just from the First books cliffhanger alone.
This is a different perspective on dystopian novels with the role of fertility and choice taking a central role. I really liked this book. It’s a quick and easy read. Perfect for quarantine!
2.5 Stars
Spoiler Free TLDR:
The story revolves around a MC in a world where girls are recruited to become surrogates for the rich (who cannot healthily produce children). Good plot, writing, and world building with disappointing characters.
Recommended for ages 16+, and for fans of 'Eve' and 'The Chemical Garden' series.
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Christian/Conservative Content Advisory;
Minor Spoilers:
-1 use of "w***e"
-6 kiss scenes
-MC recalls an execution (beheading) she had witnessed
-Ladies talk about the power of changing their husband's minds through intimacy
-Side character poisons another side character's surrogate
-MC and side character are intimate
---
Thoughts and Spoilers Below:
Plot: 3/5
-The Royal line has become too inbred, so girls from the poorest cities with magic potential are rounded up, trained, and then sold to the highest bidder.
-MC is a 16 year old surrogate who is bought by one of the most powerful families, and then, when offered a chance for escape, makes every single conceivable wrong move she can make to screw it all up.
------
Writing: 3/5
Decent enough that I didn't get bored or annoyed. Not the best I've ever read.
------
World Building: 3/5
I wish we could've learned more, but the bit that was presented was decently good.
Girls, who contain magic, are recruited from the poorest cities, and then trained in their powers to help them become good surrogates for the rich (who cannot properly or produce healthy babies). Once they are auctioned off, they carry their buyer's baby. When the baby is born, a surrogate is (unknowingly) then killed.
------
Characters' Rating: 1.5/5
Our MC, Violet, is decent enough to read, but makes every single wrong choice you could imagine.
Side characters were dull.
------
Overall Enjoyment: 2.5/5
Decent enough read that I kept reading. The book seems to abruptly end, however, with a cliff hanger.
Nitpicks:
-MC leaving Duchess's picture green, even though she knows she'll be caught and that the Duchess can be MC
-MC disobeying orders to follow all the rules for a short period of time in exchange for her freedom
-MC not realizing that the boy she has a crush on, a companion for another character, is kissing that said other character
-Does the MC not think that her secret of being intimate could be revealed through her weekly doctor examinations or possible pregnancy?
-MC giving the serum to her friend who is nearly dead and brain is fried.
-The romance. Love interest was a bit too physical (shoving, grabbing), and MC had instalove going on.
Spoiler Free TLDR:
The story revolves around a MC in a world where girls are recruited to become surrogates for the rich (who cannot healthily produce children). Good plot, writing, and world building with disappointing characters.
Recommended for ages 16+, and for fans of 'Eve' and 'The Chemical Garden' series.
---
Christian/Conservative Content Advisory;
Minor Spoilers:
-1 use of "w***e"
-6 kiss scenes
-MC recalls an execution (beheading) she had witnessed
-Ladies talk about the power of changing their husband's minds through intimacy
-Side character poisons another side character's surrogate
-MC and side character are intimate
---
Thoughts and Spoilers Below:
Plot: 3/5
-The Royal line has become too inbred, so girls from the poorest cities with magic potential are rounded up, trained, and then sold to the highest bidder.
-MC is a 16 year old surrogate who is bought by one of the most powerful families, and then, when offered a chance for escape, makes every single conceivable wrong move she can make to screw it all up.
------
Writing: 3/5
Decent enough that I didn't get bored or annoyed. Not the best I've ever read.
------
World Building: 3/5
I wish we could've learned more, but the bit that was presented was decently good.
Girls, who contain magic, are recruited from the poorest cities, and then trained in their powers to help them become good surrogates for the rich (who cannot properly or produce healthy babies). Once they are auctioned off, they carry their buyer's baby. When the baby is born, a surrogate is (unknowingly) then killed.
------
Characters' Rating: 1.5/5
Our MC, Violet, is decent enough to read, but makes every single wrong choice you could imagine.
Side characters were dull.
------
Overall Enjoyment: 2.5/5
Decent enough read that I kept reading. The book seems to abruptly end, however, with a cliff hanger.
Nitpicks:
-MC leaving Duchess's picture green, even though she knows she'll be caught and that the Duchess can be MC
-MC disobeying orders to follow all the rules for a short period of time in exchange for her freedom
-MC not realizing that the boy she has a crush on, a companion for another character, is kissing that said other character
-Does the MC not think that her secret of being intimate could be revealed through her weekly doctor examinations or possible pregnancy?
-MC giving the serum to her friend who is nearly dead and brain is fried.
-The romance. Love interest was a bit too physical (shoving, grabbing), and MC had instalove going on.
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated