I'm not really sure what kind of expectations I had for The Book of Ivy when I started it. I'd heard that it was good from a few people, but other than that I hadn't heard much about it and I wanted a quick, exciting read. And yes, it definitely delivered. 
 The book starts out by laying the foundation of the world the characters live in, and it's very similar to a ton of other apocalyptic stuff - the earth basically went down the drain and somehow humanity managed to rise up from the ashes and construct a society out of a few raw materials and whatever was left of us after most of the population died out. It sounds pretty bleak; however this book does not spend a lot of time on explaining how said world blew up, but instead focuses on who took charge afterward. There was a major division between two families: the Lattimers and the Westfalls. Each had their own ideas of how their civilization should be governed, and it boiled down to who got to the guns and weaponry first. In short, the Lattimers won, not the Westfalls (and they were pretty bitter about it). And that's basically the driving force in this story. 
 Obviously, the novel centers on Ivy, the main character, a Westfall who has agreed to take part in a plan that will eventually put her family back in power. Her father is ultimately behind it all, but Ivy goes along with everything he says because she wishes to please him and she hates the Lattimers for killing her mother (the president in particular). I really liked Ivy as a narrator, most of the time. She felt extremely down-to-earth and relatable to me; she had a lot of flaws, but all of them were understandable and exactly how I imagine I would feel in her shoes. She's unsure about most of the things she does and constantly second guesses herself. Her main goal is to murder her husband, Bishop, and it was terribly awkward for her to pretend to want to be around him while remaining detached inside. Ivy simply has too much empathy to be that emotionally distant, and I found her extremely endearing for that. 
 I really enjoyed the pacing in this book - the writing itself had that addictive quality about it that made it hard to put down. It's actually on the short side, so it's not hard to speed through. Although the secondary characters weren't extremely fleshed out, I still liked most of them. Victoria probably could have been a really good friend to Ivy with more time, and I liked the icy personality of Mrs. Lattimer, Bishop's mother. She felt like the real villain in all of this. I enjoyed the relationship between Ivy and her family - I could never really tell how deep their affections actually ran. I was certain that her father and sister were using her and extended kindness to get what they wanted, but I kind of hoped that somewhere deep down they cared for her more than they really did. 
 The romance in this novel is beautiful - I honestly didn't expect to love it so much. There are arranged marriages in this society, to encourage population growth, and Bishop and Ivy are paired in this way. They were completely awkward with each other at first, but they started talking and things took off from there. Bishop was genuinely interested in Ivy as a person and treated her with respect and kindness. He's got a very laid-back personality, and he takes his time thinking things through. He's loyal and nice, but he can also stand up for himself and take charge when necessary. Bishop is just an all-around good guy, the type of person who you'd want to meet in real life. (view spoiler)[It broke my heart a little when Ivy managed to convince him that she'd been planning to kill him all along. I adored that he had so much faith in her despite what everyone else was telling him. (hide spoiler)] And I was surprised I liked him so much, because honestly I get a little bored with his type sometimes. But no, Bishop was completely swoon-worthy. (view spoiler)[It's a good thing I loved the romance so much, too, because if you don't like it I doubt you'll like the book. (hide spoiler)] 
 I felt like the end came rather quickly - one second everything was fine and then bam, conflict. In that respect, I wouldn't have minded if The Book of Ivy had been just a little longer. But if wishing for more is the worst complaint you have about a book, you know it was good. I'm definitely excited for the sequel to come out later this year. 
 4 stars