The Black Key by Amy Ewing

Series: The Lone City (bk. 3) final book

Genera(s): Dystopian Fantasy/Sci-fi/Romance

Subjects: royalty, classes, pregnancy, surrogates, slavery, abilities, love

Setting: The Lone City, and the middle sector of the city, The Jewel

POV/Tense: 1st person POV, present tense: Violet Lasting

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 295 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “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.”

My Review:  The Black Key is the epic finale to the Lone City trilogy. What started in The Jewel and continued in the White Rose now comes to a close. If you have not read The Jewel, I recommend the series to people who like YA Dystopias and Fantasy. Fans of The Selection by Kiera Cass, Crewel by Gennifer Albin, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Bumped by Megan McCafferty, The Red Queen by Victoria Avyard, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski, A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess, Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige, Pawn by Aimee Carter, Defiance by C.J. Redwine and Incarnate by Jodi Meadows.

When Violet finds out that the Duchess of the Lake kidnapped her sister Hazel to replace her as surrogate, Violet comes up with a plan to disguise herself as a lady-in-waiting to help rescue her sister. The rebel group known as the Black Key has a greater plan in store and the big day in the next Auction Day and Violet keeps on eye on her sister and what’s going on in the palace while she plays the new lady-in-waiting for Coral, Garnet’s new wife. Garnet is part of the plan and “hires” Violet for Coral, even thought his mother has denied any lady-in-waiting that Coral selected.

Meanwhile Ash Lockwood, Violet’s love-interest in the story and former companion (like a male escort) of Carnelian (Garnet’s cousin), is gathering other companions to help with the cause of the Back Key. Lucien, a male lady-in-waiting for the Electress, also plays a huge role in all this since he’s the basically the brains of the whole operation.

I really enjoyed this finale. My only complaint is there isn’t enough romance in it, but the awesome elemental magic abilities make for it. I really enjoy dystopian and fantasy stories that have a character in disguise for some sort of revolution. This happens in Pawn by Aimee Carter, The Red Queen by Victoria Avyard and Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige. It’s not exactly royal-espionage, but in this one it felt like it.

I loved elemental powers. It reminds me of the show W.I.T.C.H. with the guardians, and a book I recently read, A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess. Violet went from a poor surrogate to a bad-A Paladin! She used the Auguries to change her hair from black to blond and eye from violet to green, which was painful for her, but she did it for her sister. She was like Katniss fighting the Royals instead of the Capital.

I really adored the world building of this series. The Lone city has five circles, kind of like a Caste system in the Selection series, from highest to lowest: The Jewel, The Bank, The Smoke, The Farm, and the Marsh. There’s certain naming conventions I noticed for people from each place. The Jewel’s Royals are named after gemstones and mineral, The Bank seemed to be luxurious items, The Smoke were named after periodic table elements and industrial materials, The Farm people were named after plants and animal, and the Marsh people were named after color, for attributes like hair, eyes and skin. The Marsh names was something that took a while to figure out.

An overall great finale. I will miss the series and I hope to read what Amy Ewings writes next: The Cerulean (a space fantasy book?).

Cover Art Review: Lovely cover. Looks like shattered glass around the girl in the dress.

The White Rose by Amy Ewing

Series: The Lone City (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Dystopian Fantasy/Sci-fi/Romance

Subjects: royalty, classes, pregnancy, surrogates, slavery, abilities, love

Setting: The Lone City, and the middle sector of the city, The Jewel

POV/Tense: 1st person POV, present tense: Violet Lasting

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 308 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “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 White Rose is a raw, captivating sequel to The Jewel that fans won’t be able to put down until the final shocking moments.”

My Review:  The White Rose is the amazing sequel to The Jewel. Lucien helps Violet escape. Violet was supposed to take a serum to make her appear dead, but she gave that serum to Raven. Violet find Raven in the morgue. Lucien is mad that Violet didn’t stick to his plan and that she also brought Ash along, who the Duchess is claiming raped Violet. Ash and Violet are in love, but since he’s a companion and she’s a surrogate, it’s completely forbidden. Violet, Ash and Raven make it to the bank with the help of Garnet, the Duchesses son, and Lucien, the male lady-in-waiting. Their final destination is the farm, the second largest circle of the Lone City.

I enjoy this series. The different circles are like the districts in the Hunger Games, but the book is pretty unique. It’s not a dystopian book set in our world in the future, but set in a fantasy world, on an island. The abilities that the surrogates have are known as auguries and they include color, shape and growth. We find out that there is more to the surrogates’ powers. They are suppressed by the royalty and forced to bear children for them and die doing so. It’s an awful life. Ash’s life as a companion is horrible to since he is forced to have sex for the pleasure of royal women. Also I liked how the people in the Jewel have gemstone names. I collect gems so I know what most of those names mentioned are.

I don’t want spoil the story, but I really liked what was happening once Violet and her friends get to the White Rose house in the farm. Violet finds out a lot of stuff and she work on her abilities. They make plans for how to start a revolution. There’s romance with Ash. We find out about Lucien’s past. Lots of stuff happens.

I recommend to people who like YA Dystopias and Fantasy. Fans of The Selection by Kiera Cass, Crewel by Gennifer Albin, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Bumped by Megan McCafferty, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski, Pawn by Aimee Carter, Defiance by C.J. Redwine and Incarnate will love this new Dystopian-Fantasy series.

Cover Art Review: I love this cover so much. The white dress and the rose put together are so beautiful. It’s like the cover of The One.

The Jewel by Amy Ewing

Publication Date: September 2^nd, 2014

Series: The Lone City (bk. 1)

Genera(s): Dystopian Fantasy/Sci-fi/Romance

Subjects: royalty, classes, pregnancy, surrogates, slavery, abilities, love

Setting: The Lone City, and the middle sector of the city, The Jewel

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: Violet Lasting

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 358 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “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.”

My Review: I really enjoyed the uniqueness of The Jewel. It’s set on an island know as The Lone City, made up of 5 circles, the outermost being The Marsh, where Violet is from, the The Farm, The Smoke, The Bank and in the center lies The Jewel, where the royals live. I get sick of reading dystopian books that are about a bad government or natural disaster (but I loved a lot of those book too). I love that this dystopian world is also a fantasy one. We never find out if this is supposed to be set 100s of year in the future, so even with the technology is feel like a fantasy.

Violet has special abilities called auguries, and this makes her a surrogate. Violet’s an interesting main character. She plays the cello and has purple eyes. She’s stubborn and smart and sometimes overly emotional or dramatic. She is auctioned off to the royals because they cannot have their own children. Know now as Lot 197, Violet await her fate. Violet was prepped before the auction by a guy who’s a Lady-In-Waiting (servant) named Lucien. The Duchess of The Lake wins Violet and has high hopes for the child Violet’s abilities could help create.

Violet gets her own Lady-In-Waiting, Annabelle, who’s mute and younger than Violet. Violet’s best friend Raven was bought by another house and Violet worries about her. Violet meets a guy named Ash Lockwood, who’s a companion for the Duchess’s niece, but romance blooms between him and Violet. Without spoiling the plot of the book, that I all I can tell you.

I love how every one in the Jewel is named after a mineral or gemstone. I collect rocks and minerals, so I was familiar with what the name were. Everyone knows what Pearls, Garnet and Sapphires are. 

Garnet, in case you are unfamiliar. There's many types including Almandine (below), Grossular, Pyrope, and Spessartine.

Carnelian is a red, translucent quartz, similar to Jasper. 

Amentrine is a mix of Amethyst and Citrine. 

Alexandrite is a dual colored Chrysoberyl (pink & teal usually, and really pricy). 

Larimar is a sky blue mineral and expensive, but currently popular (I have a specimen). 

Iolite is an indigo mineral that looks gray from another direction. It's often mistaken for Tanzanite.

I give this book five stars because I enjoyed it so much, and I recommend to people who like YA Dystopias and Fantasy. Fans of The Selection by Kiera Cass, Crewel by Gennifer Albin, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Bumped by Megan McCafferty, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski, Defiance by C.J. Redwine and Incarnate will love this new Dystopian-Fantasy series.

Cover Art Review: I love this cover. The photo is probably by the same person who did the cover for The Selection series. That dress is so beautiful. The mirror effect makes a crystal and I love that. The typography suggest that they were trying to gear this toward fans of The Selection. Same designer, likely.

Extra! Read a Deleted Scene from The Jewel on the EpicReads blog!!! Click to Read!