The Book of Ivy is a post-apocalyptic story set fifty years after nuclear war decimated America. A peaceful but strictly controlled society has been established by a group of survivors, sheltered from the surrounding wastelands by a large fence. The society is governed by the descendants of the Lattimer family, who rose to power by usurping the founding Westfall family. In order to maintain the peace the daughters of the losing side are forced to marry the sons of the winning side in a yearly ceremony designed to control the population and prevent an uprising. The novel follows Ivy Westfall, who is about to marry Bishop Lattimer, the son of the current leader. However, she has been trained by her family in secret and her mission is to kill her new husband as part of a rebellion. 
 I have to admit initially I found this book to be very slow. It was an enjoyable enough read but didn't seem like anything special and there really wasn't much happening. The plot lacked tension or propulsion and seemed to be meandering. It wasn't until the last few chapters that everything sped up and I suddenly found myself incredibly invested in where the story was headed. Despite the setting, the story was also much less of a dystopia than I expected and more of a slowly developing romance. I don't think the blurb accurately illustrates what this story is about, which is perhaps why it is generating some pretty differing opinions. I went in expecting kick-ass action, plotting and secrecy and rebellion and a main character trained to be a ruthless assassin. In reality, Ivy was quite a weak character in some respects, who repeatedly makes silly decisions and is generally very passive. As a moral, thinking character she was interesting and quite strong. And that's actually what this story is meant to be about, I think. It discusses some big ideas about loyalty and family and morality and power. 
 I think the characterisation on the whole was quite good. I quite liked Bishop as a character, I liked the questions he raised and I enjoyed Bishop and Ivy's interactions. I did struggle to feel the chemistry between Bishop and Ivy, but there is definitely a sweetness to their relationship and an honesty about their choices regarding each other that I enjoyed. I felt like their relationship was developed quite naturally and truthfully. However, I do feel that this is yet another story that is setting up for a sequel. But I feel like the sequel could be really good so I'm excited to read it, because that cliff-hanger was pretty epic and everything about the story feels like it's finally getting good (and which is really why I bumped the rating up from 3 stars to 4 stars). If you like dystopia I think it's definitely worth a shot.