The Jewel means wealth. The Jewel means beauty. The Jewel means royalty. But for girls like Violet, the Jewel means servitude. Born and raised in the Marsh, Violet is a Surrogate- one of the select few chosen to have the offspring for those in the Jewel, and in the Jewel, nothing is more important than offspring. Purchased at auction and now referred to by her auction number, Violet learns that the facets of the Jewel hide the bitter truth: the cruelty, backstabbing, and violence that run in its core. Trying to stay alive through the delicate dance of politics as well as a forbidden romance may cost Violet more than she ever imagined.
LOVED
I had a real attachment to the storyline of this book. For some reason the royalty can’t have children- yet the lower classes can. The girls in the lower castes who have magic (Affinities) are pulled from their families, trained in their abilities, and then sold at auction to the women of the Jewel in order to bear their children. And Violet is an extremely sympathetic character- you want her to survive and succeed against the hurdles she’s been thrown against.
LIKED
I really liked the twists and turns that Ewing had within the book. Those that you think you know and can depend upon to be a certain way throughout the book end up being completely different, and this is one of my keys for a good twist-turner of a book. I also liked all the deceptions and actions of the ruling class- everyone is against everyone else, and there are factions within factions, and even the higher society must watch where they step. It’s also interesting to see that while the Jewel and its area is supposedly ruled by an Elector, it’s the women who hold the power within the spheres and circles of the realm.
DISLIKED
Some of the writing and the plot. I will admit I am a huge world-building aficionado, and I crave background on the worlds that I read. I never really got a clear view of WHY things were happening the way there were, and I can only hope that these elements come in future books. Violet, on a whole, was a strong character, but there were times where I just wanted to shake her- there were a lot of times where she would just faint or disappear into blackness, and the hopeless romance plot actually seemed to deter from the major storyline for me.
AHHHHH MOMENT
The very end of the book, when you think that everything is completely doomed, and one character completely flips the script, leading the way to the second book.
AGE RANGE
Definitely a teen/ya book. There is forced surrogacy, murder, and violence. I would not hesitate to give it to an older middle schooler that I know, however, I would definitely place it in a teen collection.
END FEELINGS