The White Rose – Amy Ewing

Sorry for the long delay, I was too busy reading!
So, The White Rose is the second in the Jewel Series. The Jewel ended with Violet and Ash getting caught and Raven raving (!) The beginning of the White Rose sees Violet and Ash in prison and in trouble. Violet has decided to save Raven so her escape plan that she has hatched with Lucien is transferred to Raven. They all somehow meet up in the mortuary and escape. Garnet is the best character for me, he has a bit of wit and charm about him and his emerging relationship with Raven should be explored in the next book.
This book didn’t have the same feel about it as The Jewel. The Jewel has more of a dystopian feel about it whereas as this one is a bit more camping in the woods. Ash and Violet’s relationship feels a bit staid to me, like something else needs to happen. Violet is a little bit too whiney for me in this one, and Ash has this whole ‘I’ve been used and abused my whole life’ thing going on. The real stand out characters for me are Garnet and Raven. Raven slowly emerges from the madness that operations on your brain will do to you, and she is a likable, sassy character.
The old lady is a good addition as well, and there is a bit of a Lucien back story which explains a bit more about his involvement and why he is doing what he is doing. The surrogates growing use of magic and the power that it has, and what they can do with it, is good. Violet seems to be a bit more powerful and it leads nicely into what she will need to do in the last book to change the world.
I’m sorry to say that this book feels a little bit like a filler. Usually in a trilogy I enjoy the second book because it answers some questions, explores the characters and sets everything up for the finale, but this one just felt a little flat. I didn’t like Violet as much and she was less of the strong female heroine and a bit more of the girlfriend who isn’t get enough attention from her man! On the whole though, a well written sequel that promises much in the final book. If you are a fan of books like The Red Queen and Divergent then this will satisfy your craving. Until the next time…