If I had to describe Amy Ewing's debut novel, it would be "The Handmaid Lite." In most other ways, "The Jewel" is a pretty standard young fantasy novel -- a vaguely science-fictiony/fantastical setting, lots of dresses and luxurious surroundings, an add-water-for-instant-romance subplot, and a teen girl who seems to be the center of all the important activity. The only part that stands out is the whole idea of surrogacy. 
 Violet is one of a few girls born with psychic powers -- the Auguries -- which allow her to carry the babies of royalty to term. As a result, she has been torn forever from her impoverished family, trained to use her abilities, and eventually sold to the Duchess of the Lake, who wants the seemingly impossible from her: a fast-grown daughter exceptional in every way, so she can be married off to the Elector's baby son. Violet hates every part of her new gilded life, but a surrogate cannot escape the city known as the Jewel. 
 But she's quickly caught up in a web of clashing agendas -- the Duchess not only wants to snatch up power through her baby daughter, but is in a secret race against the cruel Electress and what she is planning for the surrogates, while the kindly Lucien promises to help Violet escape this life. But Violet, not being too bright, is swept up in a clandestine romance with Ash, a companion (gigolo) purchased by the Duchess' niece. 
 "The Jewel" starts off with a fair amount of promise -- despite Ewing's preoccupation with glamorous party dresses and hairstyles, she does craft a chilling portrait of a place where women are reduced to uteri on legs, sold as reproductive slaves. It lacks the social commentary and narrative depth of novels like "The Handmaiden," and the setting is rather painfully generic (a vaguely generic fantasy/dystopian setting with pseudo-Victorian style), but it's a serviceable and sometimes chilling depiction of women literally stripped of all humanity. 
 But then... the plot goes off the rails when Ash Lockwood enters the scene, and the standard young-adult romance immediately kicks into gear. Suddenly Ash and Violet are passionately in love for vague "you're so real" reasons, after having one very brief conversation about music. And since both of them could die -- or worse -- if they are found out, both characters are then required to act like soppy idiots who constantly have melodramatic outbursts and can't cope if the other is anything but exaggeratedly devoted to them. 
 And frankly, that thick streak of stupidity in Violet (she just sort of ignores Carnelian obviously figuring out about her relationship with Ash) is what completely undermines her as a protagonist -- while she's passionately devoted to her family and friends, she also seems oblivious and far too easily swayed. If your heroine is too dumb to realize what's obviously going to happen, why should she elicit your sympathy? 
 Ash seems even stupider, throwing a tantrum when Violet tries to distance herself from him and emotionally blackmailing her into continuing an affair that could get them both killed. Nothing about him feels real, especially since he goes from being a polite, experienced companion to freaking out because Violet won't risk both their lives for a few makeout sessions. Even worse, he is a distraction from the more interesting characters -- such as the eunuch Lucien, the dissipated Garnet or the defiant Raven -- and the political entanglements in the Jewel, such as the chilling secrets about the surrogates. 
 It has some good plot threads, but "The Jewel" is undermined by romance-induced stupidity and a frankly obnoxious male lead, which derails all the chilling and intriguing elements of the plot. Hopefully it gets better later.