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A review by samanthajth
The Jewel by Amy Ewing
3.0
The Jewel is a dystopian combining The Selection type of story with a unique world (time period?). Violet, #197, is from the Marsh where people from there are basically at the bottom of the totem pole. When girls go through puberty they have some kind of testing done to see if they have these certain abilities the royal can use. If they do then they are pretty much slaves to the royal. These abilities allow them to make things grow, change colors of things, and do these different things that can then be used in creating children. They are basically able to create and grow children with certain personalities and other traits, so the royal women use these girls to create the child they "want".
The royal cannot have children for whatever reason (I'm still not exactly sure why...), and so they borrow these girls bodies, and force them to have their children. The girls are simply known as the surrogates with a number attached to them according to how well they are able to use their 'abilities'. The royal only see them as bought and paid for slaves. They force them to wear leashes, force them not to speak, and other dramatic things. This book definitely had a dark and twisted plot. But it was so unique and fascinating! I had a few problems with it, but I still really enjoyed it and flew through it.
There are different houses ruled over by the royals which is inside The Jewel. Around the Jewel you have the Marsh where it is the poverty stricken area, and then you have the Farm where the food is made, the Bank where the shops are. It is kind of like your typical dystopian where the city is separated depending on wealth and what you do in society. And then you have the main area where the rich (royal) rule over everything. And so in that aspect this book is your typical dystopian in the way that the city is laid out. Other than the world building, it is so unique!
When the girls get old enough they get auctioned off, and they are at that point known as a number. The ladies of all these different houses will come in and bid on them depending on how strong their abilities are.
Violet goes and lives with the Duchess - the Lady of the Lake. The Lady of the Lake wants to have a girl that is this perfect human being to marry one of the children of another royal family. It is kind of confusing. So, anyway, we follow Violet as she moves into the royal house, and how she is treated like a slave. She has been bought by one of the more odd royal ladies. On one hand she seems really ruthless, but then on the other hand she does something really mean, but then it is seems she almost feels guilty for it. So you have this back and forth stuff going on between Violet and the Duchess.
When you first go into this book you have to put aside reality, and how the human population works. If you try looking at things in a realistic way then The Jewel will probably suck for you. This book was definitely unique, dark, twisted, and weird. A lot of people are unhappy with the instalove, and so as I was reading I was waiting for it to show itself. And...I have to admit there were several times I had to stop and roll my eyes. It is so cheesy and ridiculous, which is one reason I rated this book 3 stars. If the romance part would have been done differently then I think it would have had a higher rating from me.
The book wasn't anything deep or special just something fun and entertaining (and twisted) to read. The basic idea has been done a million and one times, but some of the ideas were really unique, and so I think that is why I enjoyed it so much.
The royal cannot have children for whatever reason (I'm still not exactly sure why...), and so they borrow these girls bodies, and force them to have their children. The girls are simply known as the surrogates with a number attached to them according to how well they are able to use their 'abilities'. The royal only see them as bought and paid for slaves. They force them to wear leashes, force them not to speak, and other dramatic things. This book definitely had a dark and twisted plot. But it was so unique and fascinating! I had a few problems with it, but I still really enjoyed it and flew through it.
There are different houses ruled over by the royals which is inside The Jewel. Around the Jewel you have the Marsh where it is the poverty stricken area, and then you have the Farm where the food is made, the Bank where the shops are. It is kind of like your typical dystopian where the city is separated depending on wealth and what you do in society. And then you have the main area where the rich (royal) rule over everything. And so in that aspect this book is your typical dystopian in the way that the city is laid out. Other than the world building, it is so unique!
When the girls get old enough they get auctioned off, and they are at that point known as a number. The ladies of all these different houses will come in and bid on them depending on how strong their abilities are.
Violet goes and lives with the Duchess - the Lady of the Lake. The Lady of the Lake wants to have a girl that is this perfect human being to marry one of the children of another royal family. It is kind of confusing. So, anyway, we follow Violet as she moves into the royal house, and how she is treated like a slave. She has been bought by one of the more odd royal ladies. On one hand she seems really ruthless, but then on the other hand she does something really mean, but then it is seems she almost feels guilty for it. So you have this back and forth stuff going on between Violet and the Duchess.
When you first go into this book you have to put aside reality, and how the human population works. If you try looking at things in a realistic way then The Jewel will probably suck for you. This book was definitely unique, dark, twisted, and weird. A lot of people are unhappy with the instalove, and so as I was reading I was waiting for it to show itself. And...I have to admit there were several times I had to stop and roll my eyes. It is so cheesy and ridiculous, which is one reason I rated this book 3 stars. If the romance part would have been done differently then I think it would have had a higher rating from me.
The book wasn't anything deep or special just something fun and entertaining (and twisted) to read. The basic idea has been done a million and one times, but some of the ideas were really unique, and so I think that is why I enjoyed it so much.