Review: The White Rose (The Lone City, #2) by Amy Ewing

Title: The White Rose (The Lone City, #2)
Author: Amy Ewing
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Published October 2015
Hardcover, 320 Pages
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Book #1: The Jewel

Summary: Violet is on the run. After the Duchess of the Lake catches Violet with Ash, the hired companion at the Palace of the Lake, Violet has no choice but to escape the Jewel or face certain death. So along with Ash and her best friend, Raven, Violet runs away from her unbearable life of servitude. But no one said leaving the Jewel would be easy. As they make their way through the circles of the Lone City, Regimentals track their every move, and the trio barely manages to make it out unscathed and into the safe haven they were promised—a mysterious house in the Farm. But there’s a rebellion brewing, and Violet has found herself in the middle of it. Alongside a new ally, Violet discovers her Auguries are much more powerful than she ever imagined. But is she strong enough to rise up against the Jewel and everything she has ever known?

I read The Jewel earlier this year, and I was really intrigued by it. When I read the summary for it, I believed that it was going to be something like The Selection, which is a series that I absolutely love and for that reason I wasn't keen on reading what I thought was a "copycat" series. But once I read the book and realized it was basically the complete opposite of The Selection -- with girls being forced to be surrogates for royal families -- I was super drawn in. I really enjoyed the first book, and The White Rose was no different!

I'm not going to spoil anything major for you, but this book picks up where Violet is just beginning to get punished for a crime she has been caught committing. Once she realizes that kind of world she's really involved in, she's willing to do anything to get herself out of it. So with the help of a few unlikely allies (some of which you already know and a few that you meet a little later), she sparks up a plan to take down the royalty and the Jewel once and for all. The only quesetion is, will it work?

I really enjoyed this book, especially the relationship between Violet and Ash. I liked watching the rebellion begin to unfold, especially the Society of the Black Key. I thought it was super cool, but that's also because I'm just a huge fan of stories with mafias and secret societies in general. Some of the ideas that the team came up with super creative, and I enjoyed that.

Also, I really enjoyed meeting some of the new characters in this book! While a bunch of other loveable characters return (such as Ash and Lucien) and some not-so-loveable characters as well (such as Garnet and the Duchess), one of my favorite new characters definitely has to be Sil, who is the owner of The White Rose. (Which I won't tell you much about, because you need to find all of this information out for yourself!) She's sassy and sarcastic and is filled with so much vitality that it keeps things very interesting. She's also super helpful in teaching Violet everything she needs to know to help with the rebellion.

(Minor spoilers ahead so skip this paragraph if you haven't read the book yet!) Okay, so the ending leaves off on a TOTAL cliffhanger and I'm not sure that I'll be able to handle not getting the third book for awhile. (There isn't a set release date, title, or cover yet D:) I NEED IT NOW! I'm not going to tell you what the cliffhanger is, but it left me so shocked that I actually had to take a second to collect myself because I was so stunned. I definitely think Amy Ewing pulled off that ending flawlessly, and I am super excited to see where she takes it!

All in all, The White Rose was a fast-paced read filled with epic adventures, love, and the beginning of a rebellion to take back what rightfully has belonged to the surrogates all along. That cliffhanger at the end totally tortured me, and I definitely can't wait to get my hands on the upcoming third book to find out what comes next!

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