The Book of Ivy by Amy EngelSeries: The Book of Ivy #1
Published by: Entangled Teen on November 4, 2014
Genre: Dystopian, Romance
Pages: 400
Source: Purchased
Book Details
Rating: ★★★★★
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 presidentβs son—my soon-to-be husband—and restore the Westfall family to power.
But Bishop Lattimer is either a very skilled actor or heβs 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 himβ¦
I LOVE it when I give a book five stars without hesitation. And to think that I almost didn’t read The Book of Ivy.
I saw it on NetGalley.
Pass.
I saw it in Entangled Teen’s newsletter.
Pass.
Why the bloody hell did I keep passing on this book??? I think I looked at it and thought, “Bleh, another dystopian.” But I must not have really absorbed the synopsis or something, because then one day last week I read the synopsis properly and thought, “Hot damn! This sounds EPIC!”
Funny how that happens, huh?
I’m so glad I decided to pick up The Book of Ivy because IT WAS AMAZEBALLS!!!
I love how Ivy (awesome name) was stuck in this horrible situation. Her dad raises her to believe certain things like:
- The president killed your mother.
- The president just wants to control us all.
- We have no free will.
- I can change all that.
- Change starts with killing the president’s son.
So she grows up believing these things without question because, I mean, her dad told her. And some of those do have some truth to them. The arranged marriage idea is stupid. The ideas that are reinforced in society (women belong with babies and in the kitchen) are stupid. There are a lot of things that are in fact stupid and do need changing. BUT, maybe her father wasn’t quite as right as she was always led to believe…
I just love how she was trapped between these two sides. She feels like she should listen to and believe her father.. but then Bishop turns out to be a really nice, level-headed guy. She becomes super conflicted! She still believes in her dad’s cause (mostly) but she doesn’t want to kill this guy, especially because he doesn’t agree with everything that’s going on either in the society.
I became a total Bishop fangirl! I love how sweet and down to earth he is. But most importantly, I love how even in the end when View Spoiler »
The Book of Ivy isn’t just another “bleh” dystopian. It’s REALLY GOOD. It also has a sweet, hesitant, slow burning romance. The ending will have you desperately clawing for more. I think I cried a little when I realized I’d have to wait until November 2015 to get more >_<
This book is pretty damn perfect.
The Verdict
I don’t think I have heard of this one and I have a love/hate relationship with Dystopian..but it sounds kind of interesting. π
I hope you like it Stormi. π I got sick of dystopian for a while but this one ROCKED!
I agree completely! I felt like it took all the “typical” dystopian ideas and just turned them upside down. I was so pleasantly surprised by this book, and I’m with you- waiting until November will be HARD!
You’re absolutely right! It put a unique spin on everything. I loved it!
I’ve never even heard of this book! I trust your opinion, Ashley π Gonna put this book in my TBR list!
I really hope you love it!
This book surprised me! I looked over it quite a few time but then I kept seeing it on a ton of top books of 2014 lists and I decided to give it a try. I’m so glad I did because I fell in love with the story and the characters! And Bishop? Totally my new book boyfriend π
I know, Bishop was AAAAAWESOME!! Definitely a new book boy to swoon over.
I knew, if I was very patient, one day we would agree on a book! LOL… I loved his book. I knew the minute I read the blurb for the blitz it was my people and I pre-ordered it.
Bahaha! π It’s awesome that you loved this one too! *high five*
I’ve been hearing such good things about The Book of Ivy lately – I’ll definitely have to check it out! Fantastic review, Ashley! x
I hope you love it Kyra. π
Can you believe we have to wait a whole year for the next book? It’s going to be unbearable. I love this one too. Such a refreshing dystopian. Bishop is amazing!
I knoooow!! When I finished I was like, “What do I do with my life now?” All I wanted was more Ivy and Bishop! HOW CAN I GO ON?!?!
To be honest, I stayed away from this book because of the horrible cover. The blurb sounds okay, but every time I look at that cover.. This shows that it’s sometimes a shame to base your opinion on the outside.
Ignore the cover! The bookish innards are delish!
Like you, I passed this one over, but I recently purchased it because of the amazing reviews it’s getting. I will be reading it soon, I’m glad you liked it π
Woohoo!! π I hope it rocks your bookish world.
I’m not a big fan of YA. I do read some, but usually if it is from an adult author that I love. I listened to Poison Princess by Kresley Cole this year (after being threatened by Carmel LOL). It was a dystopian YA and I really liked it. This looks really good too. I might have to look past the YA label and give this one a shot.
You’ve got me excited to read this one! I love dystopian and haven’t quite gotten tired of it yet. This is going on my TRB for sure π
I only added this book because of you! I passed as well, because I’m going to be honest: I hate the cover. It’s AWFUL! And it just doesn’t look like a dystopian to me. I’ll definitely be picking it up now, though!
I passed on this book too, a few times. I don’t think I ever bothered to really read the summary though. Because when it was offered to me as an audiobook and I read it I was like ‘ooooh, this sounds good!’
I finished it in one sitting. So freaking good! I loved that Bishop was actually a good guy. So many times, the guy she ‘should be with’ turns out to be an ass and we have another forbidden love, so I was excited that this wasn’t the case. Boy had me swooning! That ending was fantastic!
I’m so annoyed that we have to wait so damn long for the next book. This book deserves more recognition!
I just finished this the other day, but have had for months. I LOVED it! Everything was just so right with it. I haven’t read anything in ages that had me so glued to the pages. The cover and blurb do not do this book justice at all.
I’m so glad you loved it too! π Woohoo!!
Wow. I don’t think I remember you ever being so enthusiastic about a book. I mean, amazeballs?! Freaking awesome! The story does seem pretty fantastic. I especially like the idea of Ivy having to adjust to the idea that her dad isn’t right about everything. I think most kids reach that point sometime in their lives, but not (usually) in such a life-or-death type way. Hope I can find this one at the library. Stupid book buying ban…
Those book buying bans… they always ruin everything! π
I hope you’re able to get it from the library!
I’ve been passing on this one too. Because I thought the exact same thing. Looks like I’ll be getting a new book today.
You convinced me!
What do you recommend reading after finishing this series? I’m with you, this was a fantastic read!