Tag Archives: Amy Ewing

May 1 2019
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Book Review: The Cerulean by Amy Ewing

Title: The Cerulean

Author: Amy Ewing

Series: “Untitled Duology” #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

The Overview: Sera has always felt as if she didn’t belong among her people, the Cerulean. She is curious about everything and can’t stop questioning her three mothers, her best friend, Leela, and even the High Priestess. Sera has longed for the day when the tether that connects her City Above the Sky to the earthly world below finally severs and sends the Cerulean to a new planet. But when Sera is chosen as the sacrifice to break the tether, she doesn’t know what to feel. To save her City, Sera must throw herself from its edge and end her own life. But something goes wrong and she survives the fall, landing in a place called Kaolin. She has heard tales about the humans there, and soon learns that the dangers her mothers warned her of are real. If Sera has any hope to return to her City, she’ll have to find the magic within herself to survive. -Goodreads

The Review:

What I appreciate most about Ewing is her abundance of cool concepts. I loved the society she created in her Lone City trilogy, and the one conceived here was just as interesting (and even more outside the box). Concept was definitely the biggest draw here for me and easily the main reason I kept reading until the end.

Unfortunately, with that cool concept came not a whole lot of substance as far as plot was concerned. Most of the scenes featured extensive explanations about the world (which I didn’t totally mind) and a ton of dialogue. .. but not a whole lot else. There were a few great moments between characters where I felt invested, but for the most part it didn’t give me much to talk about.

One thing I did appreciate – the book is LGBT friendly. And not in that “token” inclusion I’ve seen in YA books historically, but integrated in ways that felt more authentic (to be fair, I’m no sure how well it represented the community, but I still appreciate the diversity). In a book with very few external happenings, it really is all about the characters and how they relate to one another.

Overall, I liked the concept and general character profiles. However I didn’t think there were enough moving parts or overall plot points to warrant such a long book. I personally craved more substance and depth. And maybe a little grit to make me feel something rather than just read about it.

Series status: this is a duology and I’m not sure yet if I’ll pick up the sequel. I have an affection for Ewing’s stories and appreciate her concepts and style of writing, but this book did not give me anything to sink my teeth into.

Recommendations: if you’re looking for a unique YA tale that’s highly character-driven, The Cerulean is a great pick. It was a bit tame for my tastes and needed more external conflicts, but it was still a lovely read that I think will appeal more to readers who prefer YA as their main genre.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Nov 11 2016
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Book Review: The Black Key by Amy Ewing

The Black KeyTitle: The Black Key

Author: Amy Ewing

Series: The Lone City #3

Genre: Teen Dystopian

Rating: 3/5 stars

The Overview: For too long, Violet and the people of the outer circles of the Lone City have lived in service to the royalty of the Jewel. But now the secret society known as the Black Key is preparing to seize power. And while Violet knows she is at the center of this rebellion, she has a more personal stake in it—her sister, Hazel, has been taken by the Duchess of the Lake. Now, after fighting so hard to escape the Jewel, Violet must do everything in her power to return to save not only Hazel, but the future of the Lone City. -Goodreads

The Review:

I’m a fan of this series. Not only did it help alleviate my book hangover from Cass’s Selection series, but it also offered a story that was a smidge more robust. Unfortunately, The Black Key was my least favorite of the trilogy… but I’m still glad I read it.

The first half of The Black Key was every bit as good as the first two books, however, near the end I had some issues. The conclusion of the series is were all of the conflicts are supposed to escalate. They did it to a degree, but I was expecting an epic finish with a lot of moving parts. In reality the big shebang of the series was kind of… underdeveloped. Up until that point, I appreciated Ewing for her world building when it came to the little things, but now believe the overall arc of the story could have used some work.

The best example I can give is the Lone City itself – it’s an island surrounded by a colossal wall within which are several districts separated out by class and industry (the Jewel being the wealthiest at the center). Having finish the series, I know exactly the same amount of information about it that I’d learned at the beginning. I was earnestly looking forward to discovering more about its origins and the world beyond it in The Black Key. I didn’t, hence my disappointment. Add this lack of expansion to the plausibility issues at the end of the series and you can see why I was a smidge disappointed. I did like the overall resolution (but even now find myself questioning its memorability).

Overall, I liked The Black Key, but I didn’t love it.

But is the series still worth reading? Totally! Especially if you loved The Selection series but wanted more world building and grit. Read the first one at the very least and if you’re like me, you’ll fall in love with the beautiful writing and the unique concept. As critical as I’ve been about the third book, I will definitely read anything else Amy Ewing decides to get published because her writing was beautiful, her ideas were interesting, and her story was very engaging.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Mar 23 2016
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Coming Soon: The Black Key by Amy Ewing

The Black KeyTitle: The Black Key

Author: Amy Ewing

Series: The Lone City #3

Genre: Teen Dystopian

Release Date: October 4, 2016

The Overview: For too long, Violet and the people of the outer circles of the Lone City have lived in service to the royalty of the Jewel. But now the secret society known as the Black Key is preparing to seize power. And while Violet knows she is at the center of this rebellion, she has a more personal stake in it—her sister, Hazel, has been taken by the Duchess of the Lake. Now, after fighting so hard to escape the Jewel, Violet must do everything in her power to return to save not only Hazel, but the future of the Lone City.

Waiting on Wednesday
Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Having loved The Jewel and The White Rose, you can see why I am super eager for The Black Key. This series has many of the elements I loved about The Selection series, but has a bit more world building and a more interesting setting. I also really like the writing style of the author even though it’s so smooth I found myself finishing the book a lot faster than I’d intended (it’s one of those that I wanted to savor). Overall, the story seems to be headed in an awesome direction and, between you and me, October can’t come soon enough!

What book are you waiting on?

 by Niki Hawkes

Sep 21 2015
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Book Review: The White Rose by Amy Ewing

October 6, 2015Title: The White Rose

Author: Amy Ewing

Series: The Lone City #2

Genre: Teen Dystopian

Release Date: October 6, 2015

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: Violet is on the run. After the Duchess of the Lake catches Violet with Ash, the hired companion at the Palace of the Lake, Violet has no choice but to escape the Jewel or face certain death. So along with Ash and her best friend, Raven, Violet runs away from her unbearable life of servitude. But no one said leaving the Jewel would be easy. As they make their way through the circles of the Lone City, Regimentals track their every move, and the trio barely manages to make it out unscathed and into the safe haven they were promised—a mysterious house in the Farm. But there’s a rebellion brewing, and Violet has found herself in the middle of it. Alongside a new ally, Violet discovers her Auguries are much more powerful than she ever imagined. But is she strong enough to rise up against the Jewel and everything she has ever known?

The Review:

I admit that, even though I fangirled over The Jewel for several months after finishing it (heck, even before I actually read it – have you seen that cover??), I didn’t think the second book would be nearly as good (jaded reader, party of one). But you know what? The White Rose was awesome and I take back all of the judgy, negative feels I had about it.

It started out with a bang and didn’t really let up until the end. Great pacing aside, I loved the half-dozen amazing things I learned in this book about the characters, the city, the magic… I could go on, but suffice to say it was basically one big revelation after another as many of my questions were answered (and were inevitably replaced by several much more desperate ones). So I’m basically torn between happiness and how much I liked The White Rose and FREAKING OUT that I have to wait another year to find out what happens next (seriously, why does this always happen to me? ::sobs::). Okay, I’m done being a baby (mostly), but it’s worth noting that I think The Lone City series is totally worth the wait.

In my review of The Jewel, I stated several very specific reasons why I liked it (yes, I’m quoting myself):

I found everything about The Jewel a mite unexpected. The love interest was fantastically unconventional, all of the characters showed duality, the subject matter was slightly more serious than a typical YA, and the plot never followed the route I thought it would. All of these elements were delightful twists that made the book stand out that much more.

And the best thing is, all of these things are still true about The White Rose. I still don’t know where the story is going (even though I have several speculations), and in a world of predictable YA storytelling, that’s an exciting thing!

I’m a huge fan of The Selection Trilogy, and the series will definitely put you in a similar kind of mood. While the Lone City (so far) lacks just a little bit of the magic that made The Selection so addicting, it makes up for it with the great writing, more robust world building, fewer plot holes, and loads of memorable moments. My only qualm is that the ending felt too rushed (which I bet I wouldn’t have noticed if the third one were out because I would’ve just kept going #getoveritalready). The moral of the story is, I happily recommend this series along with these:

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Feb 24 2015
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Coming Soon: The White Rose by Amy Ewing

The White RoseTitle: The White Rose

Author: Amy Ewing

Series: The Lone City #2

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Release Date: October 6, 2015

The Overview: Violet is on the run. After the Duchess of the Lake catches Violet with Ash, the hired companion at the Palace of the Lake, Violet has no choice but to escape the Jewel or face certain death. So along with Ash and her best friend, Raven, Violet runs away from her unbearable life of servitude. But no one said leaving the Jewel would be easy. As they make their way through the circles of the Lone City, Regimentals track their every move, and the trio barely manages to make it out unscathed and into the safe haven they were promised—a mysterious house in the Farm. But there’s a rebellion brewing, and Violet has found herself in the middle of it. Alongside a new ally, Violet discovers her Auguries are much more powerful than she ever imagined. But is she strong enough to rise up against the Jewel and everything she has ever known?

Waiting on Wednesday
Hosted by Breaking the Spine

The Jewel was one of my Top Ten Books of 2014, and I’m so freaking excited for the sequel I can hardly stand it. I have a weakness for this type of novel – girls in pretty dresses trying to survive in a semi-dystopic world (granted, this is a very specific type of book, but I’ve loved every one that I’ve read so far). The Jewel had a lot of elements that I loved about The Selection Trilogy, but explored the society and the world building a lot better in my opinion. It also had a unique love-interest, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was most looking forward to seeing where that goes. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I will be off pining for this book until it comes out in October.

Is anybody else fangirling over this one is much as I am?

by Niki Hawkes

Jul 20 2014
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Book Review: The Jewel by Amy Ewing

the jewelTitle: The Jewel

Author: Amy Ewing

Series: The Lone City #1

Genre: Teen Dystopian

Release Date: September 2, 2014

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: The Jewel means wealth. The Jewel means beauty. The Jewel means royalty. But for girls like Violet, the Jewel means servitude. Not just any kind of servitude. Violet, born and raised in the Marsh, has been trained as a surrogate for the royalty—because in the Jewel the only thing more important than opulence is offspring. Purchased at the surrogacy auction by the Duchess of the Lake and greeted with a slap to the face, Violet (now known only as #197) quickly learns of the brutal truths that lie beneath the Jewel’s glittering facade: the cruelty, backstabbing, and hidden violence that have become the royal way of life. Violet must accept the ugly realities of her existence… and try to stay alive. But then a forbidden romance erupts between Violet and a handsome gentleman hired as a companion to the Duchess’s petulant niece. Though his presence makes life in the Jewel a bit brighter, the consequences of their illicit relationship will cost them both more than they bargained for.

the jewel 2

The Review:

As a HUGE fan of the Selection Trilogy (well, the first one, anyway) you can imagine how excited I was when The Jewel popped up on my radar a couple of months ago. Whenever a new book draws my attention, I’m always nervous it won’t live up to my expectations. In this case, however, The Jewel was even better than I expected it to be!

It had most of the same elements as the Selection, but in my opinion took all of them to a higher level. The world-building was robust – maybe not quite on the level of adult genres, but interesting just the same. The conflicts were excellent – driving the story forward and keeping my attention the entire time. Even though the specific conflicts Violet dealt with weren’t totally relatable (as many women probably haven’t been forced to carry someone else’s child), her emotional reactions to them certainly were, making parts of this book downright heart-wrenching.

But great world-building and conflicts wouldn’t mean a thing without the interesting characters within them. Even though I never felt Ewing was withholding information unnecessarily (a huge pet peeve of mine), I still don’t know everything about the characters that I’d like to. They all had such depth and complexity that I feel we’ve only just scratched the surface of their potential in this first book. The desire to learn more about them all is the main reason why I’m chomping at the bit for the sequel (which is over a year away…fml).

I found everything about The Jewel a mite unexpected. The love interest was fantastically unconventional, all of the characters showed duality, the subject matter was slightly more serious than a typical YA, and the plot never followed the route I thought it would. All of these elements were delightful twists that made the book stand out that much more.

As you can tell, I really enjoyed the The Jewel and would strongly recommended to fans of the Selection. Only, I think the novels in this one are only going to get stronger going forward rather than weaker. Add this one to your TBR – you won’t regret it!

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes