The Lone City 1: The Jewel (The Lone City Trilogy, #1)

by Amy Ewing

A shocking and compelling new YA series from debut author, Amy Ewing; The Handmaid's Tale meets The Other Boleyn Girl in a world where beauty and brutality collide.

Violet Lasting is no longer a human being. Tomorrow she becomes Lot 197, auctioned to the highest royal bidder in the Jewel of the Lone City. Tomorrow she becomes the Surrogate of the House of the Lake, her sole purpose to produce a healthy heir for the Duchess. Imprisoned in the opulent cage of the palace, Violet learns the brutal ways of the Jewel, where the royal women compete to secure their bloodline and the surrogates are treated as disposable commodities. Destined to carry the child of a woman she despises, Violet enters a living death of captivity – until she sets eyes on Ash Lockwood, the royal Companion. Compelled towards each other by a reckless, clandestine passion, Violet and Ash dance like puppets in a deadly game of court politics, until they become each other’s jeopardy – and salvation.

• ISBN10: 1406347493
• ISBN13: 9781406347494
• Publish Date: 4 September 2014 (first published 21 August 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 9 February 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Walker Books Ltd
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Chelsea]

What I Loved

I don’t know if there was all that much I liked about this book. It wasn’t bad exactly but it had no wow factors for me. The beginning was interesting but as soon as our main character left her prison and moved to the city, it went downhill pretty quickly.

What I Didn't Love

First of all, I really can’t enjoy books about teen pregnancy. I just can’t. Plus add to that that these girls don’t have a choice but to get pregnant for someone else? That’s just not a fun thing to read about AT ALL.

“The Selection meets The Handmaid’s Tale”? More like The Hunger Games meets The Hunger Games. Seriously, the similarities were too much. I know it’s hard to be original these days because there’s so many ideas out there but this one wasn’t original at all and it made it hard to read.

I found the plot to just be really boring and predictable. I can’t tell if I’m being too harsh or if it just really wasn’t all that great. I don’t think this will be a series that I finish reading. It’s just not worth the time.

I also found that the “villain” in this book to be really strange. Some times I thought she was ok and then other times she was just too crazy. It was like nothing she did or said made any sense. It was the same with our love interest. He was just kind of there and didn’t really do much at all. All the characters were underdeveloped and just didn’t feel very realistic.

Who I'd Recommend To

I think a lot of people who liked The Selection series would probably like this book. They aren’t really that similar plot-wise but they have the same feel and the same lack of a little something extra.

[Katie King]

With the cover similarities between this and The Selection series, I'm not sure what I expected. They both are roughly based on the same dystopian premise.

It was quite intriguing actually, and I wish I could've seen more of the world or gotten a better understanding on the background. Instead the reader is spoon-fed information to the point of annoyance. I don't know if it just isn't fleshed out or if the author is waiting for a better time to reveal all. I wait patiently.

[stefu1]

It was ok, a little slow and long, lots of confusion. But it was good enough that I will read the sequel so.. Meh.

[tweetybugshouse]

This is the book for me of 2014 it the last one i will finish for the year and i am glad i choose it for my last read it wonderful, intriguing, you want to scream and rage right along with the characters at the things that are happening. You get a shocking ending you did not see coming, and questions burning questions as to what exactly will go down in the next book. October is long ways away but it going to be worth the wait. Great story a must read.

[wyvernfriend]

Has a mountain to climb because of the Handmaid's Tale and it doesn't deal with enough of the questions, the why of this world, the how it came about and why people put up with it. It's not a bad read but it has a problem with the comparisons to works that came before.

Violet is going to be a surrogate, trained and taken from her family to become an anonymous lot, to become pregnant for some women who can't. The Upper class in this world are unable to conceive and this is their solution. Add in some psionics and you have a complicated situation.

Now how come the surrogates didn't realise, ever, that if you can mess with life you can kill... or you can manipulate those trying to manipulate you. They also should teach them more about self-control. Then again this book made me think more about writing and about what I would do with the story than about the story itself.

[sarahjay]

I had some problems with it but overall I enjoyed it. And the ending was just. Yeah. That bumped it up an entire star for me. I'm definitely going to pick up the sequel whenever that comes out.

[whisperingchapters]

I received the UK paperback copy in exchange for an honest review.

The royals can't have children and this is why they bring in the surrogates, seeing as these specific girls are able to bear healthy children. Every year, an auction takes place so the royals can buy their own surrogate. Violet is one of the surrogates, and even though this wasn't a live she wanted, the Duchess of the House of the Lake, is kind to her but things are not always as they seem and there are secrets Violet still needs to uncover.

The Jewel is very brutal and dark, at times. It is not easy to read, though. I would flinch and cringe at various scenes. I would bite my nails a few times because this was intense to read. When I went into this story, I thought it was a Contemporary book, but I was so wrong. It is a mixture between Fantasy and Dystopian and readers will devour this story in a heartbeat.

The ending had my heart racing faster than throughout the book and so hard it might have popped out of my chest. I loved my journey with this story. It is so different from anything I have read and so intriguing. I recommend this book to readers that are looking for something new, something daring, something brutal and engaging.

[Kelly]

3½ Stars.
If The selection and The Hunger Games had a book baby, this would be it.
Review to come.

[shannonmiz]

I adored this book. When I finished it, I just about lost my mind realizing that since it wasn't even released yet, I had a long, long way to go for the second book.

I will admit that when I started reading this book (not for long, but in the very beginning), I was terribly afraid that this was going to reek of dystopian stereotypes. Well, I was incredibly incorrect. I mean, there is buying and selling of girls for the purpose of impregnation. That is messed up! This whole society is messed up, and I felt like Amy Ewing did an amazing job of showing the reader how messed up it really was. The world building worked for me, it was thorough, and I definitely could picture it. I was left with exactly the right amount of questioning: Not so much that the world didn't make sense, but exactly enough that I can't wait to find out more in the next book.

Violet has been tested for the potential to be a surrogate, "passed" (if you can call being an unwilling womb passing), and had had to live the past few years of her life in the surrogate holding/training facility. So things aren't great. She gets to see her family before the auction, which is nice because it really gives a sense that Violet does have something waiting for her on the outside. The auction comes, and the Duchess of the Lake buys Violet and her uterus. The one thing that I did have a bit of trouble with was keeping all the various royalty straight. I knew Violet's Duchess of course, but a few of the others I had confused a time or two. I think the fact that Violet goes along with the whole auction process and The Duchess's wishes is really quite realistic: She is terrified. I think a lot of people can say that they'd fight, they'd never allow themselves to be sold that way, but if it is all you knew, wouldn't you probably just try to preserve your life as well? Violet is certainly aware of what a mess she is in, but she is so afraid to act on it. To me, it made perfect sense, and I really was able to relate to Violet and feel sympathetic toward her plight.

The supporting characters were great as well. The Duchess was one of those villains that I just love to hate. On one hand, she's positively despicable. But then she'll do something that shows a glimmer of humanity, and there is some hope of reform still to be had. The Duchess's family is such a mess. It is ironic and fun to watch her struggle with an unruly son and miserable niece while trying to wrangle Violet into submission.

And now for the negative: Insta-love. A bad case of insta-love. I guess in a sense, it isn't surprising that a sheltered Violet would "fall in love" with the first guy who showed some interest. She is lonely, and naive, and is desperately seeking someone to really love. But what is his deal? We never really too much insight on why they are in love, just that they are in love. I hope there is more development on that end in the next book, because that is the one part that just wasn't working for me. And honestly, the fact that I loved the book in spite of hating the love plotline speaks volumes, because it is hard for me sometimes to stay invested if I am not feeling the romance, but I enjoyed the rest so much it became secondary.

The plot moved along nicely, I was always eager to turn to the page, and definitely didn't want to put the book down. Not only was I concerned about Violet, but about the other girls in the other houses as well. There were so many scandalous events taking place during the course of the book, I was constantly wondering what was coming next. And then... there was a cliffhanger. A huge cliffhanger.

Bottom Line: I just could not get enough of this book. I know there will be plenty of readers who simply can't get over the insta-love, are burned out on dystopian, or don't like the harsh subject matter. But if you read the synopsis and think it might be your thing, I don't think you'll be disappointed! The Jewel is definitely a new favorite for me, and I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel!

Rating: 4.5*
*I received an ARC from HarperTeen for review.

[Ashley]

Nose Graze — Book reviews & blogging tips

The Jewel was an awesome book! ...until the romance. But more on that later. ;)

I really loved the plot in The Jewel. I think it's definitely similar in vibe to The Selection (which it's being compared to). However, my feelings about it are the total opposite. In The Selection, I adored the romance but didn't care much about the rest of the plot. In The Jewel, I adore the plot but hate the romance. The Jewel has a lot of political/royal scandal.. and it's fascinating! Everyone is basically frenemies. The royals invite each other over for tea parties and dinners, but they actually hate each other and plot against each other.

Also, the whole idea of surrogates was HORRIBLE! ..but in a good way. Like obviously it was sad and disgusting, but that's what made the book so interesting. I mean, the girls are bid on at auction, purchased, given collars, walked around on leashes, compared as if they're trophies or trading cards (bragging about "stats" or talents their surrogates have), etc. That whole part of the book was really disgusting, but fascinating. I was outraged and felt so sorry for Violet! I love that the book got me so riled up.

My only gripe with the plot side of things was I didn't fully understand why the surrogates existed. It was only briefly explained why the royals couldn't have their own children. The author explained how their children died early or were sickly, etc., but I didn't fully understand WHY.

But then somewhere around page 250, the romance kicked in.. and it sucked. Violet meets this guy Ash, they exchange about two glances, then his lips are on hers, then they're making out, then they're saying "I love you". They have like three interactions, zero conversations, and they're already in love? Waaaa??? I was really disappointed because there could have been a lot of potential with this romance, but it was easily the weakest part of the book. I didn't connect with it at all. I went from being addicted to The Jewel to kind of making a "wtf" face at it while reading.

I was pretty devastated to have my love for this book plummet so hard, because up until that point, I was ADDICTED. I read the whole thing in less than 24 hours. I loved it so much, then the romance just sucked! WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?!?!

But the book is still worth reading, even if just for the cool plot and crazy political scandals. The different houses of royalty are constantly plotting against each other and it's pretty crazy what lengths they go to!