Seen at Bookish Antics! 
 I have a feeling that The Jewel will be a huge hit with readers with its world that blends science fiction and magic, a forbidden romance and an absolutely gorgeous cover. I really enjoyed reading The Jewel, but I never fully was engrossed in this book because of the lacking world-building and a romance that enthralled and irritated me simultaneously. The Jewel is a novel that will draw in fans of Wither and leave them eager for more. 
 Imagine being sold into servitude as a surrogate and being forced to carry the child of a woman you hate. Violet was one of the top choices for a surrogate and is bought by the Duchess, one of the wealthiest women in the Jewel. The problem is that Violet doesn't want to be a surrogate and gets sucked into an affair with Ash, a companion for the Duchess's niece. 
 I hate to say this, but The Jewel definitely reminded me of The Hunger Games in a bunch of aspects. From Violet's mute servant to the stylist who helps her remember to be an individual to a bunch of other similarities that were too glaring to overlook. This book didn't have much of a THG feel to it, it was just that here and there I noticed details that felt inspired by Collins's trilogy. 
 I liked Violet, but she was unrealistically perfect: she's gorgeous, smart, powerful, compassionate, selfless and so on. Besides a few momentary moments of anger, Violet is always this idealized character that everyone is obsessed with and I'm really tired of reading about untouchable, perfect characters. Ewing did make Violet likeable, but she never really made her feel even vaguely human because Violet has virtually no faults. I wanted Violet to show some cracks in her flawless exterior, but Ewing continued to turn her into this goddess-like character. 
 The world-building in this novel is shaky at best and I don't really understand much about the Jewel or its origins. There are explanations given, but they never felt adequate or in-depth enough to me, I wanted answers and I kept receiving lackluster responses. I think part of the problem with the world-building is also tied into the fact that the surrogacy infrastructure is never really delved into or explained either. Why are the poorest people who live in dire conditions capable of producing the most magnificent, magical offspring? 
 The romance with Ash is an element of The Jewel that I'm really ambivalent on and I couldn't really make up my mind how I felt about this relationship. I knew I didn't like Ash much and he gave off this 'bad news' aura, but I really enjoyed watching Ash and Violet interact. Ewing managed to make their relationship incredibly sweet, despite my dislike of Ash which sounds ridiculous. 
 Amy Ewing is definitely a talented writer with a gift for writing beautiful descriptions of dresses, homes, artwork and music. I loved reading about Violet's musical talent and her abilities struck a note with me almost immediately. Reading about her ability was like humming to an extremely addicting song, once you started you couldn't bare to stop. 
 Magic and science fiction come together in The Jewel, an unlikely pairing which is rarely found in YA books. Surprisingly, this pair seems to be a match made in bookish heaven because the magic in this book is well-thought out and intriguing. I loved how magic came at a price and reading about how the Surrogates's attempts to train themselves to control these abilities called Auguries was one of my favorite parts of this novel. 
 The Jewel is one of the better dystopian books I've read this year and I enjoyed reading about Violet and The Jewel. After the cliffhanger that this book ends on, I'll definitely continue this series and I have a feeling that book 2 will be much faster-paced. I'd most likely recommend this one to fans of YA romances and I've got my fingers crossed that I like Ash better in the subsequent novels.