Review: The Jewel by Amy Ewing

Title: The Jewel
Author: Amy Ewing
Published: September 2nd 2014
Series: The Lone City #1
Source: ebook
Pages: 368

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Summary: The Selection meets The Handmaid's Tale in this darkly riveting debut filled with twists and turns, where all that glitters may not be gold. The Jewel means wealth, the Jewel means beauty—but for Violet, the Jewel means servitude. Born and raised in the Marsh, Violet finds herself living in the Jewel as a servant at the estate of the Duchess of the Lake. Addressed only by her number—#197—Violet is quickly thrown into the royal way of life. But behind its opulent and glittering facade, the Jewel hides its cruel and brutal truth, filled with violence, manipulation, and death. 

Violet must accept the ugly realities of her life . . . all while trying to stay alive. But before she can accept her fate, Violet meets a handsome boy who is also under the Duchess's control, and a forbidden love erupts. But their illicit affair has consequences, which will cost them both more than they bargained for. And toeing the line between being calculating and rebellious, Violet must decide what, and who, she is willing to risk for her own freedom.

*Mild Spoilers*

Things I liked:

1)  I was really addicted for about 60% of the book then it got boring, it feels like they are dragging out the storyline just because it is a series.

2) The political scandals were super entertaining and very gossipy! Loved it~

3) I enjoyed the overall pace of the book although there were boring bits towards the end.

Things I did not like:

1) Romance was pretty crappy but kind of expected from YAs these days (I am referring to those that I've read recently, not YA in general) :/ It was very rushed and immature and I personally feel that it could have been done A LOT better. The dude (can't even remember his name) was so one dimensional and passive. What a boring guy.

2) This was slightly better than The Selection. The Handmaid's Tale is amazing and its brilliance is not even comparable. (I think it is stupid when the synopsis of a book compares itself with other books, its just a disaster waiting to happen. Also, why are you re-writing/borrowing so heavily from books that are already available? Unless it is a retelling of course.)

3) What is with the weird names!? Everyone is named after colours??? And all the Capt. Obvious/boring names for the different circles (eg. The Farm)

4) World building was so weak, there could have been more details about the other circles and the world in general.

5) Hinted at so many things about the actual baby production but it never happened. Is Ewing just going to repeat everything in the second book? Assuming that this surrogate is actually going to do surrogate-related activities besides wearing pretty dresses.

6) And the largest issue I had: THE JEWEL ENDS IN THE MIDDLE OF EVERYTHING, WHUT? That is one lousy cliffhanger.

Conclusion:

1) Despite the long list of things I did not like, this was still an entertaining read.

2) Read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood if you haven't, she does a much much better job with a similar premise. It may seem scary as its a classic and is studied in schools but I did not have any trouble reading it (AND LOVING IT). Also, for the record I am not an English/Literature student so yes, do not be intimidated and GO GET YOUR HANDS ON IT! :)

3) TBH this would probably get a 1 star if I compared it to The Handmaid's Tale but this is YA and it would be kind of unfair to compare them. I kind of get all the negative reviews because well, The Jewel is basically a shitty rip-off of The Handmaid's Tale. But if you have not read the Handmaid's Tale then you would probably think that this book is decent! 

4) I will check out the next book and I am hoping that at least half of the things I expected to happen in the first book would actually happen and not drag its way out to book 3...

My rating:
Recommended for anyone that enjoyed The Selection. Don't bother reading if you loved The Handmaid's Tale.