Book Review: The Book of Ivy

Title - The Book of Ivy

Author - Amy Engel

Series - The Book of Ivy #1

Genre - YA Dystopian

Published - November 4th 2014

Publisher - Entangled: Teen

Format - Paperback

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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…

Review

In a town destroyed by war struggling to survive things aren’t as peaceful as some might imagine. At sixteen girl’s marriage are arranged with boys from across town in hopes of producing better chances of having children. Ivy is less than thrilled to marry the man that her sister was supposed to marry but as the daughter of the founders she has no choice. Her sister and father have a plan that will return rightful power of the town to their control she just has to kill her future husband.

While Ivy has grown up knowing that the president is to blame for the loss of her mother and that they stole the town. She’s spent her whole life struggling to just survive and when she’s forced to take her sisters place she plans to do what she needs to do. Only Ivy never expected to find herself attracted to Bishop, or that he’s not the bad guy who she’s been led to believe. Wanting to make her little family proud she works hard to find out about the guns, as well as staying true to the plan. As she spends more time with Bishop getting to know him things chance and she doesn’t think she can do it. What happens when her life is turned upside down?

I like Ivy she’s the younger sister who’s spent her whole life blaming someone else for their problems because that’s all she’s known. Only realize it’s all been a lie, and maybe what she’s been told isn’t the right path. I really like Bishop he’s a good guy with a good heart who just happens to be in the middle of a sinister plan that Ivy is less than thrilled about. The two while forced together really figured out how to make the best of the situation even falling in love with each other.

I’ve had this one sitting on my bookshelf for a while since but never seemed to get around to it until now. I’m so sad that I waited so long but at least I don’t have to wait to read the next one. I’m a huge fan of the dystopian concept, this one has a unique story of arranged marriages, civil war, lies and secrets that will destroy the lives of many. I loved Ivy as she grew into her own as the story progressed she really started to come out of her shell with Bishop that she was willing to risk herself for him. I enjoyed the author writing style the book flows from start to finish it’s hard to put down. The author does a beautiful job of telling Ivy’s story and I can’t wait to see how it’s all going to play out in the next book. I loved every moment it of The Book of Ivy it touched my heart strings even making me a little teary. Highly recommend for fans of dystopian novels.