The Book of Ivy Review

Title: The Book of Ivy

Author: Amy Engel
Publisher: Entangled Teen

After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual.

This year, it is my turn.

My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and restore the Westfall family to power.

But Bishop Lattimer is either a very skilled actor or he’s not the cruel, heartless boy my family warned me to expect. He might even be the one person in this world who truly understands me. But there is no escape from my fate. I am the only one who can restore the Westfall legacy.

Because Bishop must die. And I must be the one to kill him…

Wow, I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. It has been sitting on my shelf forever. I needed something to read and asked my boyfriend to pick a number and when I counted on my bookshelf, this was the book he had picked. And I am really glad he did, because if not, I probably would have never picked it up and that would have been a shame. Because it was fantastic!

What I Liked:

 

• Ivy. The main character, Ivy, is strong and speaks her mind on first glance. But when you get to know her deeper, she is weighed down with the ideas and thoughts of her sister and father. Her actions become theirs to make and you get to see her battle with that. Though, it does get a bit tedious at times, over all it is very well displayed.

• Bishop. I struggled on whether or not to put him in the "Liked" or "Didn't Liked", but overall, he was a great character. I do feel he was a bit too perfect for an actual human and could have used some flaws. 

• Original. Though I did get a hint of a Throne of Glass vibe, it is nothing else like anything i have ever read before. As a writer myself, it is hard to write YA today without having it be similar to something else. It was nice to read this and not feel like I knew exactly where she had gotten this idea from. 

• Pacing. The pacing of this book was very nice. It was a fast read, starting off at the wedding ceremony and it keeps you intrigued until the very last page.

• Cliffhanger. So, this could have went in the "didn't like" column if my heart was speaking. But this is a logical review and the end of the book does exactly what it was intended to do. Makes the reader want the next book to see what happens to our main character and how she can get herself out of the mess she has gotten into.

• Clever. This book was extremely clever on the ways that Engel incorporated the problems and issues of life today with this dystopian world. Even though this world is so much different from ours on the surface, they struggle with the same problems we face today. Like domestic violence and problems in the justice system.

What I Didn’t Like:

• Romance. This is personal. I felt that there could have been a lot more romance in the book. Again, my heart speaking, but I went through the entire book yelling at Ivy that Bishop was perfect and to kiss him already!

• World Building. I really wish she had taken more time to show around the world a bit more. I would have liked to know more about the history and more about the justice system and the trails. Hopefully we will get to see that more in the next book.

Would I recommend:

• Yes. This is a great book if you are looking for a YA novel. It keeps you wondering what she is going to do throughout the entire book.

Will I Read The Second One:

• Yes. I actually ordered if before I wrote this review.