Honestly the reason I chose this book was because of the cover It reminded me of The Selection series. The Jewel was a super interesting book that was very well written. Overall the novel was disappointing and could have been written better. I find that as one of the good things about the novel, connecting the real and fantastical world. It does however connect some things to the real world, like the Auction for example. This book stereotypes women as selfish, status crazy people.

Violet also appears to have stayed in the palace longer then she actually has, which makes it very difficult to tell how much time has passed. It's like the author is writing two different characters instead of one. Then there's Violet's mistress who switches between kind and evil. The overall romance is way too rushed and I would have perfered if it was just cut instead. They don't seem to click at all and most of the time Violet is just attracted to him rather then actully finding a reason to love him. The forbidden story between Violet and Ash is rushed and leaves readers wondering how they happened to fall in love in the first place. Violet's personality was also stereotyped but it was confusing when she kept switching between vengeful and submissive. For starters, the main character, Violet, was a rather stereotypical heroine, being brave and smart at some points, but stupid and fearful at others. The overall story arc was good and creative, but the overall craft and such was rather disappointing.

The lone city book series