Despite all of the hate I read about this book, I really enjoyed it.

Violet Lasting lives in a world where once young girls hit the age of puberty, they are tested to see if they have the gene of augury, the gene that forces them to be taken away from their families and become surrogates to the royal families of The Lone City. Violet is one of those girls, and she is sold to the highest bidder.

The woman who buys Violet expects more than she could have ever imagined--she wants Violet to give birth in three months, using her augury of growth. But Violet doesn't want to bow to the will of her Duchess. She never wanted to be in this situation to begin with. So when a friend suggests a way out of the The Jewel and out her life, she knows she must take it. But the only thing that stands in her way is a forbidden romance. Will she choose her freedom or her love?

I actually really liked this book. Despite the insta-love, the Mary Sue main character, and the weird pacing, I couldn't put this down. I woke up thinking about it. I spaced off at work thinking about it. I just couldn't get it off my mind. The first 150 pages were almost flawless; the plot was so interesting and I was desperate to find out how it was all going to pan out.

The writing wasn't the best I've ever read, but it wasn't bad. Some of the sentence phrasing was off, and there were some scenes that could have easily been cut, very unessential to the plot.

But I think the biggest flaw of this book was the insta-love. It would have been so easy to include the love interest into the story at the beginning, even if it was only for a moment. Instant attraction can easy transform into longing and lust, and then with a little bit of time and communication--VOILA! LOVE! But that wasn't the case here. Ash was throw in, almost like an afterthought, and though I enjoyed his character, it was totally far-fetched that they were in love so suddenly.

I have to end this review with this statement: WHY IS EVERY BOOK BEING PUBLISHED ENDING ON A CLIFFHANGER?!?! I mean, seriously. Can't we wrap a novel up without pissing off the reader? But yeah. Of course I have to read the next one to find out what happens.