ARC Essentials: HarperTeen

Since I started ARC Essentials a few months ago, this has been, by far, the most requested publisher to get an interview with. So, here it is. I had a chance to talk with Stephanie and Booki, two amazing publicists at HarperCollins about ARCs and their work with bloggers.

1. What should I include when asking for a review copy (Page view stats? Follower count? All social media accounts)? First and foremost, we absolutely love hearing why you’re so excited about this particular book! Chances are, we are too and we can geek out about it together. Aside from that, it’s great to see a link to your blog and social media pages at the bottom of the email, as well as your most recent stats if you have them handy. That way, we can get a sense for your personal reading taste and blogging style!

2. How long should I be blogging before I ask for a review copy?

We don’t have an experience requirement for bloggers. If you love the sound of a book, it never hurts to ask us for a copy!

3. Who should I contact about receiving review copies?

We have a digital publicist who serves as the main point of contact for bloggers and will be able to help with any galley requests. We also offer many titles on Edelweiss, so you can request digital review copies there as well.  

4. Should I email an author about obtaining a review copy and have them forward my request onto their publicist? Also, if I want to interview an author or ask them to write a guest post for my blog, is it best to contact the author directly? It’s better to contact our digital publicist directly with any review copy requests. Same goes for interviews and guest posts. Authors get a LOT of emails every day, and we want to make sure you don’t slip through the cracks!

5. Do you expect me to review books I never requested, such as an ARC or finished copy I was sent but never asked for? No! We love seeing coverage for our books, but you should never feel obligated to read something you’re not interested in. Take a quick look and if it’s not for you, don’t worry about it.

6. When is the best time to post a review?

Typically, within 1-2 weeks of the on-sale date. It’s best if reviews are posted as close as possible to the date the book is released so that your readers can get excited and go get ahold of the book right away!

7. Where can I send in review links?

Reviews can be sent to the same digital publicity contact that handles galley requests. If at all possible, we prefer to receive reviews and requests in separate emails. That way, we can easily keep everything organized!

8. Do you want to see all reviews I’ve done—positive and negative? We do! We want to hear all of your thoughts, no matter which way they lean. It’s also very helpful if you include a rating or impression of your review within the email next to your review link.

9. Am I more likely to get approved if I request an eARC of a book instead of a physical copy? Not necessarily, but we do have a limited supply of physical copies, so those always tend to go faster.

10. When is the best time to request a book or be asked to be put on a list to receive a review copy? The best time to request is 4-5 months in advance of the on-sale date. Of course, whether we’ll be able to send you one depends on supply, but we’ll try our absolute best!

11. Do you have a catalog available that lists all your upcoming books?
We don’t have a physical catalogue, but you can find our digital catalogue on Edelweiss here (http://edelweiss.abovethetreeline.com/HomePage.aspx?pubOrgID=HC) where you can see all of our exciting new titles!

12. Anything else you would like to add that you think bloggers should/need to know?
We absolutely love book bloggers! Building a strong reading community with you all is one of the best parts about our job and we really do appreciate the work you put into promoting our books. Your enthusiasm and passion is incredible and we look forward to continuing to work with you!

*Because the digital publicist job changes hands occasionally, they did not include the current email address for their digital publicist. Comment below if you would like her email address*

GIVEAWAY:

Stephanie and Booki are letting me host an EpicReads themed giveaway to go along with this post. Here's the thing ... it's a mystery. They will ship you a package of HarperTeen titles - might be ARCs, might be finished copies, could be a little of both. 

*Winner must be over 13 & have a US/Canada mailing address*

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Blog Tour & Review: The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh O'Brien

Title: Vault of Dreamers

Author: Caragh O’Brien

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Publication Date: 9.16.2014

Pages: 420

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Series: Vault of Dreamers #1

Source: ARC from publisher

Rating: 4 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

From the author of the Birthmarked trilogy comes a fast-paced, psychologically thrilling novel about what happens when your dreams are not your own.
 
The Forge School is the most prestigious arts school in the country. The secret to its success:  every moment of the students' lives is televised as part of the insanely popular Forge Show, and the students' schedule includes twelve hours of induced sleep meant to enhance creativity. But when first year student Rosie Sinclair skips her sleeping pill, she discovers there is something off about Forge. In fact, she suspects that there are sinister things going on deep below the reaches of the cameras in the school. What's worse is, she starts to notice that the edges of her consciousness do not feel quite right. And soon, she unearths the ghastly secret that the Forge School is hiding—and what it truly means to dream there.

Review:

A secret school with seriously gifted teens and an underlying cause/mystery? Um, yes, please. Sign me up to be all over that. Caragh O’Brien had a brilliant mind and I was so excited to start this story. We hit a few rough spots, but for the most part, I enjoyed this.

Rosie is a tough character to nail down. Sometimes I really liked her. Other times she irritated me with her inability to make rational decisions. But I guess that’s O’Brien making her a normal teenager, huh? Her romance with Linus amused and entertained me.

VAULT OF DREAMERS seems to be a very polarizing book – people are loving or hating it. There is no real middle ground. Here’s the thing, yes, I figured out the plot twist early on and there was no real HOLY SHIZZ moment, but I was OK with that. O’Brien writes in a fun, enchanting way that I was able to enjoy. It’s worth checking out.

Blog Tour: Hook's Revenge by Heidi Schulz

Ahoy there! International Talk Like A Pirate Day is nearly upon us. This Friday, September 19, landlubbers the world over will get their sea legs—or at least sound like they have.

If you want to join in, but don’t quite know how, read on. I talked my curmudgeonly pirate narrator into sharing a few pirate terms, and it only took a little bit of blackmail to do it.

Arrrr!

Batten the Hatches Ships are built with hatches in the decking, leading to cargo space and crew quarters. During storms they are “battened” down or secured and made waterproof. “Batten the hatches” is often yelled by landlubbers pretending to be pirates. They generally have no idea what it means, but neither do those at whom it is yelled.

Now that you know what it means, you are at an advantage, perhaps the first in your young life. Do try not to waste it.

Bo’sun Shortened form of boatswain. It was likely shortened because the bo’sun has so much to do that he doesn’t have time to say the whole word. He supervises the deck crew, oversees the ship’s stores and provisions, and inspects the rigging, sails, chains, and anchors. In the case of Mr. Smee, the bo’sun also kept the captain’s clothing in good repair, gave pep talks, and baked cakes—sometimes of the poisoned variety.

Cat-o’-Nine-Tails A lash made from nine knotted ropes. Also the only cat I like.

The Eye of the Wind The direction from whence the wind blows—useful knowledge aboard a vessel propelled by such. Blind Bart tried to make ear of the wind a saying, but it never caught on.

Jolly Roger This phrase refers to more than Captain Hook’s ship and Jocelyn’s happy-go-lucky friend. Jolly Roger is also the name of a pirate flag, generally emblazoned with a skull and crossbones. Jocelyn embroidered a set of Jolly Roger napkins at school and gave them to Miss Eliza for Christmas. They were not much appreciated and never used.

Keep a Weather Eye To watch closely. Jocelyn, sensitive to Blind Bart’s lack of vision (and because she felt bad that his ear of the wind campaign was not a success), amended the phrase to weather ear.

Me Hearty “My friend.” Take note of this. It is the first and last time you will ever find me saying those words to the likes of you.

Offer No Quarter This means that no mercy will be given and no surrender will be accepted. The parties have to fight—to the death! Or, as it was in the Pirate and lost boy Wars, until they got tired and went home.

Poop Deck It may surprise you to learn that this term does not refer to a ship’s bathroom. A ship’s bathroom is called the head. Ships are interesting places.

The poop deck serves as the roof of the back, or aft, cabin. It is also from here that the ship is steered. On the Hook’s Revenge, this was the highest decking area, which made it a good place for Captain Jocelyn to stand and address and/or berate her crew, as they needed and/or desired.

Powder Monkeys Pirates often use the term monkey-sized for any small thing. A powder monkey is a boy, just about your age, who carries gunpowder from the powder magazine, or room where it is stored, to the cannons. The only requirements of the job are being a small size (less easy for the enemy to target) and possessing enough wits to keep from blowing oneself up.

I’d recommend you for a position, but though you are the right size, you are still under-qualified.

About HOOK'S REVENGE:

Twelve-year-old Jocelyn dreams of becoming every bit as daring as her infamous father, Captain James Hook. Her grandfather, on the other hand, intends to see her starched and pressed into a fine society lady. When she's sent to Miss Eliza Crumb-Biddlecomb's Finishing School for Young Ladies, Jocelyn's hopes of following in her father's fearsome footsteps are lost in a heap of dance lessons, white gloves, and way too much pink.

So when Jocelyn receives a letter from her father challenging her to avenge his untimely demise at the jaws of the Neverland crocodile, she doesn't hesitate-here at last is the adventure she has been waiting for. But Jocelyn finds that being a pirate is a bit more difficult than she'd bargained for. As if attempting to defeat the Neverland's most fearsome beast isn't enough to deal with, she's tasked with captaining a crew of woefully untrained pirates, outwitting cannibals wild for English cuisine, and rescuing her best friend from a certain pack of lost children, not to mention that pesky Peter Pan who keeps barging in uninvited.

The crocodile's clock is always ticking in Heidi Schulz's debut novel, a story told by an irascible narrator who is both dazzlingly witty and sharp as a sword. Will Jocelyn find the courage to beat the incessant monster before time runs out?

Purchase Hook’s Revenge: Powell’s | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | Amazon

About Heidi Schulz:

Heidi Schulz is a writer, reader, and giraffe suspicioner. Her debut novel for middle grade readers, HOOK’S REVENGE, will be published by Disney•Hyperion on Sepetember 16, 2014. A sequel, HOOK'S REVENGE: THE PIRATE CODE, will follow in fall of 2015. Bloomsbury Kids will publish her picture book debut, GIRAFFES RUIN EVERYTHING, in 2016. She lives in Oregon with her husband, their teen daughter, a terrible little dog, and five irascible chickens. 

Heidi is represented by Brooks Sherman of The Bent Agency.

Review: Tease by Sophie Jordan

Title: Tease

Author: Sophie Jordan

Publisher: William Morrow

Publication Date: 5.27.2014

Pages: 320

Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Series: Ivy Chronicles #2

Source: Purchased finished copy

Rating: 4 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

What happens when a girl who always calls the shots meets a guy who's too wild for even her?

A born flirt and good-time party girl, Emerson has never had a problem finding a willing guy. She's always chosen her hookups carefully, and she's never broken her three cardinal rules:

Never let them see the real you.
Never fall in love.
Always leave them begging for more.

Then Shaw comes along. A hottie from the wrong side of the tracks, he's immune to her flirtatious banter and come-hither smile. After rescuing her from a disastrous night at a biker bar, he doesn't even try to take her to bed—he calls her a tease and sends her home instead. Unable to resist a challenge, or forget the sexy, dark-eyed, bad-boy biker, she vows to bring him to his knees.

But instead of making Shaw beg, Emerson finds herself craving him. For the first time in her life, she's throwing out her rule book. Suddenly, she's the one panting for a guy she can't control—a guy who won't settle for anything less than the real Emerson and who forces her to do things she's never imagined, including facing a past she thought she'd buried.

A guy who just might leave her wanting more. . . 

Review:

Sophie Jordan is fast becoming an auto-buy author for me. She had a brilliant way of sucking a reader into any story and completely capturing my attention until long after the last page is turned. Her foray into the burgeoning new adult genre is no different and she follows up Foreplay with TEASE, a captivating gem of a book that adds a new layer and new complications for characters we met in the first book.

Emerson is kind of hard to get a handle on. She clearly got issues she's focused on repressing and not dealing with. Instead she parties her way through life, blasting out a persona to protect her vulnerabilities. Because of this, I found her hard to get a handle on. There was a lot of push and pull as her character developed and matured.

Shaw is a guy who is relentless. Who doesn't love a hot Marine? I mean, come on. He pursues Emerson with a dogged devotion that stunned me with its intensity. I can see why Jen claimed Shaw as her own before I even started reading this.

Fans of new adult novels and contemporary novels will love this. It's a wonderful, quick read to sink into. Sophie Jordan can do no wrong!

Blog Tour & Review: The Perilous Sea by Sherry Thomas

Review:

Finally more of Iolanthe and Titus! I could not wait for this. Personally, it lived up to my expectations. It was full of adventure, more than the first book I'd say, friendship, hardship and a wee bit of heartache.

I really liked the format of how this story played out, how it was written. It starts off in two different scenes. One that happened way after and what is continuing to happen in the Desert. While the other one is placed 7 weeks prior in England and leads up to the Desert. I was slightly confused at first, keeping track of what and who was where, but that's just me and I was so excited to get this book. The amount of adventure put in this book between the two stories was monumental. And the twists!!! I was like "gasp! No friggin way".

Titus and Iolanthe are still the same wonderful characters. Although, Iolanthe has learned to stand on her on two feet a little more as she accepts her destiny. Even when her destiny might be completely wrong, she deals with it. I really loved seeing her grow.

You get to know a few other characters, that were quite minor in the first but become important here. You get to know the previously reserved Kashkari and the not so obnoxious anymore Wintervale. They both blow your mind as to tier importance, as you never see it coming. Ah the twists!

I was certainly not let down. It definitely lived up to my expectations and then some. Exciting and surprising are what comes to mind.

Rating: 5 Stars

Title: THE PERILOUS SEA (The Elemental Trilogy #2)

Author: Sherry Thomas

Pub. Date: September 16, 2014

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Pages: 432

Formats: Hardcover, audio, eBook

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads

After spending the summer away from each other, Titus and Iolanthe (still disguised as Archer Fairfax) are eager to return to Eton College to resume their training to fight the Bane. Although no longer bound to Titus by a blood oath, Iolanthe is more committed than ever to fulfilling her destiny—especially with the agents of Atlantis quickly closing in.

Soon after arriving at school, though, Titus makes a shocking discovery, one that makes him question everything he previously believed about their mission. Faced with this devastating realization, Iolanthe is forced to come to terms with her new role, while Titus must choose between following his mother's prophecies—and forging a divergent path to an unknowable future.

About Sherry:

Sherry Thomas is one of the most acclaimed romance authors working today. Her books regularly receive starred reviews from trade publications and are frequently found on best-of-the-year lists. She is also a two-time winner of Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA® Award.

English is Sherry's second language—she has come a long way from the days when she made her laborious way through Rosemary Roger's Sweet Savage Love with an English-Chinese dictionary. She enjoys digging down to the emotional core of stories. And when she is not writing, she thinks about the zen and zaniness of her profession, plays computer games with her sons, and reads as many fabulous books as she can find.

Sherry’s next book, THE PERILOUS SEA, volume two of her young adult fantasy trilogy, will be available fall 2014.

Author photo by the lovely and talented Jennifer Sparks Harriman at Sparks Studio.

Website /Blog/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Giveaway:

For First Place US Only:

1 winner will receive. The Burning Sky, The Perilous Sea, and The Hidden Blade and a handmade solid lotion bar and some homemade face scrubs, plus a burning sky bag. US Only

Runners Up US Only

 2 winners will receive The Burning Sky, The Perilous Sea, and The Hidden Blade. US Only

Rafflecopter Code:

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Tour Schedule:

Week One:

9/8/2014- A Book and a Latte- Interview

9/9/2014- Such a Novel Idea- Review

9/10/2014- Fiktshun- Guest Post

9/11/2014- The Irish Banana Review- Review

9/12/2014- Bewitched Bookworms- Interview

Week Two:

9/15/2014- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

9/16/2014- A Backwards Story- Interview

9/17/2014- Carina's Books- Guest Post

9/18/2014- Nerdophiles- Review

9/19/2014- Candace's Book Blog- Review

Review: Kiss of Broken Glass by Madeleine Kuderick

Title: Kiss of Broken Glass

Author: Madeleine Kuderick

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: 9.9.2014

Pages: 224

Genre: Young Adult, Poetry, Contemporary, Issues

Series: N/A

Source: ARC from ALA

Rating: 4 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

Madeleine Kuderick’s gripping debut is a darkly beautiful and lyrical novel in verse, perfect for fans of Sonya Sones and Laurie Halse Anderson. Kiss of Broken Glass pulses with emotion and lingers long after the last page.

In the next seventy-two hours, Kenna may lose everything—her friends, her freedom, and maybe even herself. One kiss of the blade was all it took to get her sent to the psych ward for seventy-two hours. There she will face her addiction to cutting, though the outcome is far from certain.

When fifteen-year-old Kenna is found cutting herself in the school bathroom, she is sent to a facility for mandatory psychiatric watch. There, Kenna meets other kids like her—her roommate, Donya, who’s there for her fifth time; the birdlike Skylar; and Jag, a boy cute enough to make her forget her problems . . . for a moment.

Review:

Told in haunted, elegant verse, KISS OF BROKEN GLASS is a spectacular debut that will resonate with readers long after the last page is turned. It’s truly hard to believe this is the launching point of Madeleine Kuderick’s career because it reads like a seasoned pro. I love it when debut authors don’t shy away from touchy, tricky subjects. Kuderick took “Go big or go home” to a new level.

I’m honestly not that big a fan of books told through verse. I prefer fleshed out stories with lots of details that you can’t always get in poetry. But because of the subject matter, I can’t imagine this book being written any other way. Every word is precise and weighted, each moment fleeting and echoing through the rest of the book.

Kuderick doesn’t dance around the issues of cutting, but she handles in a vividly accessible way so many generations can—and will—be able to relate to it and Kenna. It should be a staple in school libraries and classrooms. I can’t wait to see what she does next!

Blog Tour: The Clockwork Dagger by Beth Cato

Hello & welcome to THE CLOCKWORK DAGGER blog tour. I'm so thrilled to be on the tour. Check out today's post below & be sure to enter to win!

By: Beth Cato

Published by: Harper Voyager

To Be Released on: September 16th, 2014

Add it to Goodreads

Get it From: Amazon | B&N

Book Blurb:

An extremely fun and very commercial fantasy debut, in the bestselling vein of Trudi Canavan and Gail Carriger. THE CLOCKWORK DAGGER is an enchanting fantasy debut about a young healer with incredible powers setting off on her first mission, when a series of strange occurrences (including murder) rock the airship she is traveling on. But the dashingly attractive steward may be one of the infamous Clockwork Dagger assassins, her cabin-mate hides secrets, and the conspiracy may reach the crown itself.

Praise for The Clockwork Dagger

“The Clockwork Dagger was just what I needed: A steampunk adventure with an uncommon heroine, a fascinating magic system, and a young gremlin! I’m hooked and can’t wait for more Octavia and Leaf!”
—New York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne

About the Author:

Beth Cato resides in the outskirts of Phoenix, AZ. Her husband Jason, son Nicholas, and crazy cat keep her busy, but she still manages to squeeze in time for writing and other activities that help preserve her sanity. She is originally from Hanford, CA, a lovely city often pungent with cow manure.

Giveaway:

Enter to win a copy of THE CLOCKWORK DAGGER, complete with a gorgeous black-and-gold paper parasol, for your very own steampunk adventures and cosplays (seen above)!

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Review: Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley

Title: Rites of Passage

Author: Joy N. Hensley

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: 9.9.2014

Pages: 360

Genre: Young Adult, Military, Contemporary, Bullying

Series: N/A

Source: eARC from publisher

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

Sam McKenna’s never turned down a dare. And she's not going to start with the last one her brother gave her before he died.

So Sam joins the first-ever class of girls at the prestigious Denmark Military Academy. She’s expecting push-ups and long runs, rope climbing and mud-crawling. As a military brat, she can handle an obstacle course just as well as the boys. She's even expecting the hostility she gets from some of the cadets who don’t think girls belong there. What she’s not expecting is her fiery attraction to her drill sergeant. But dating is strictly forbidden and Sam won't risk her future, or the dare, on something so petty...no matter how much she wants him.

As Sam struggles to prove herself, she discovers that some of the boys don’t just want her gone—they will stop at nothing to drive her out. When their petty threats turn to brutal hazing, bleeding into every corner of her life, she realizes they are not acting alone. A decades-old secret society is alive and active… and determined to force her out.
At any cost.

Now time's running short. Sam must decide who she can trust...and choosing the wrong person could have deadly consequences.

Review:

I first heard about RITES OF PASSAGE almost a year and a half ago when I met the lovely Joy N. Hensley at a local event. Since then I had been anxiously awaiting reading it, so when it appeared on Edelweiss one blessed day, I immediately downloaded it and settled in that very night to read it. One of the best decisions ever.

For a debut, Hensley does an admirable job and writes like she’s been doing it since birth. She has a way of telling a story that thrusts the reader deep into the action and brings these vibrant characters to life.

I couldn’t love Sam more if I tried. Her heart, her spirit, her determination … I’m sad to say I’m not as strong as Sam. I wish I was, but I think I would have backed down in the face of such harsh conditions. The hazing she endures is brutal, but it’s a great story of a girl pushing through adversaries and learning what she’s made of. It’s an uplifting story in that regard that will have girls and boys cheering.

My only complaint, and this is more of a personal nature than anything, but the end. Really, Joy Hensley? THAT END?! *sobs*  But not even my own sadness over the end can detract from the flawless story here. If you like a contemporary with the perfect balance of grit, humor, and swoon, RITES OF PASSAGE is your book.

Review: Believe by Erin McCarthy

Title: Believe

Author: Erin McCarthy

Publisher: InterMix

Publication Date: 1.21.2014

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Series: True Believers #3

Source: eARC from publisher

Rating: 4 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

Robin used to be a party girl… until she got black out drunk and woke up in bed with her best friend's boyfriend. Now she's faced with being THAT girl, and couldn't be more disgusted with herself. She can't even tell her friends the reason for her sudden sobriety and she avoids everyone until she meets Phoenix—quiet, tattooed, and different in every way that's good and oh, so bad…

Phoenix is two days out of jail when he meets Robin at his cousin's house, and he knows that he has no business talking to her, but he's drawn to her quiet demeanor, sweet smile, and artistic talent. She doesn't care that he's done time, or that he only has five bucks to his name, and she supports his goal to be a tattoo artist.

But Phoenix knows Robin has a secret, and that it's a naïve dream to believe that his record won't catch up with them at some point. Though neither is prepared for the explosive result when the past collides with the present…

Review:

True Believers is one of my favorite New Adult series, and I love telling people about this awesome, yet often overlooked, series. I feel like more people are getting familiar with it because of me. Or because the books are now in print as well as digital format. Probably the latter.

BELIEVE is book 3 and what I love most is how these books layer in characters from previous books but they can be read as standalones. Robin’s story was hinted at towards the end of book 2, and I have to admit, I was fairly unimpressed by Robin in that book. All I got was a quick “I cheated” and it’s hard to feel any sympathy for a character when that happens.

In BELIEVE, it’s easy to see Robin lead a lifestyle that simply spiraled out of control. It’s easy to see how it happened, but the heart and soul of the girl underneath is what drew me into this story. Robin is a likeable and very human character. She makes mistakes—often big ones, but there is definite growth in her.

Phoenix … Phoenix was a little hard to wrap my head around. I expected a tough, fresh out of prison badass, but this guy is sweet and sensitive and has such a big heart. He also wants to help Robin, but he’s not a masochist. Guys being the be all, end all saviors in New Adult is played out. Phoenix is a guy who is loving and supportive, but will call you on you BS. He’s not a doormat and I loved seeing genuine maturity in a character like his.

This is a fantastic series. Everyone who reads NA needs to have True Believers and Erin McCarthy on their radar. I own all the books in ebook format, but I am happily also buying them in physical form because I need them in every way possible. And so do you.

Review: The Jewel by Amy Ewing

Title: The Jewel

Author: Amy Ewing

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: 9.2.2014

Pages: 358

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian

Series: The Lone City #1

Source: ARC for

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

Review:

The Jewel. Doesn't that sound so lovely and full of promise and happiness? Like it should be something good. Wrong! The title couldn't more deceiving. But yet it is perfect.

Violet, Lot 197, is such a strong girl and full of emotions. I can see myself in her in a few ways. She has such a strong will and her own determined mind set. She works so hard to do what is right even if it means it's wrong to her, and against her will.  I love how she knows who she is, despite everything she has gone through and the people who try to break her.

I love all the little twists. I can't tell you about them because it would ruin it. If you ask Hannah, as I told her, I let out a few strings of quiet expletives, almost whispering to myself. Saying them aloud would just have ruined the moment of complete and utter surprise.

And who doesn't love a book you can relate to or see the relevance in today's world. There isn't a lot of that but enough that I can imagine the life in The Jewel as a parallel to ours. There are stereotypes, which are wrong when you meet someone with out using their title and you get to know them. The feelings of people who can't have children and will do anything to have one of their own. And the ruined life of a "slave" surrogate.

I really loved this book. Finished it in a couple of hours because I could just not put it down. While there are some parts that will pull at your heart strings or make you madder then hades, there is determination and love, and a secret plot behind every pretty face in The Jewel.