Book Review: The Book of Ivy

The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel (Book of Ivy #1)

Paperback Edition- 282 Pages

Genre- Young Adult, Dystopia and Romance

5/5 Lily Pads 

Would I Recommend It? Yes

No Spoilers!

Hey guys. It's been like two weeks since I last posted a review. I've been having a really good reading month. This is probably the best reading month I've had so far this year. If you guys watch my YouTube channel, you'll know I always post Monthly Wrap-up videos every month. I love filming them but I want to start posting my wrap-ups on my blog too. I think I'll start doing it this month. I hope you guys are okay with that. Anyway, so I just finished "The Book of Ivy" and really enjoyed it. It was actually a recommendation from my sister because she loved it and really wanted me to read it. It's been a long time since I read Dystopian books. Over the years I learned that I don't really like Dystopian books. I like Fantasy a lot more so this was the first Dystopian I've read in years. I really enjoyed it. I guess the genre is hit or miss for me. 

The Plot (Goodreads Summary)

 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…

My Opinion

Like I said before, I really enjoyed this book. About a year or two ago when this book first came out, I heard so many amazing things about it on Booktube. I noticed the hype died down for it in the past year. I just remember everyone raving about it. I'll admit when I first started this book I wasn't sure if I would like it because I don't like Dystopian books. The plot sounded very intriguing and I like books about the girl having to kill the guy. But yeah I really enjoyed it. 

The writing was awesome. The writing style is very simple and it was such a quick read. I flew through this book and read it in 2 days which is very fast for me. The pacing was perfect and I was never bored. Even though the book is so short, there was plenty of action for me and I found it very entertaining. 

The world Amy created was really awesome. I'll admit, there wasn't a lot of world building. I loved that because I don't like world building which is probably why I hate Dystopian books. The world is very simple to understand and of course it's a cruel society and the main character doesn't approve of it. 

Now let's talk about the characters. Okay, so first I want to talk about our main protagonist, Ivy. I really liked her, she was so strong and just awesome. She's such a nice person and I felt so bad for her. I honestly would feel the same way if I was in her situation. I can just imagine how awkward it was for her to get arranged to marry this guy you don't even know. The whole situation was just so realistic to me. I found Ivy very relatable. The first couple of days  she didn't really talk to her husband (Bishop) much because she didn't know him and that's how I would be. I loved how she never had a boyfriend and she didn't know what to say and how to act around him. The whole situation is just so awkward. Overall, she was just very relatable. I loved her personality. She's the kind of person that's not afraid to say what's she thinking. I really admire that, and I love how she stands up for herself. She did irritate me at the end of the book though. 

I really loved Bishop. He is literally the perfect guy. He's so nice, caring and just such a great guy. I loved how he wasn't the typical guy. He's not a bad boy at all. I loved how he let Ivy do things that wives aren't supposed to do. He let her work instead of just staying home like the wives do. I love how he wanted to help out around the house, and he always cooks and does laundry. I want a guy like that. I love that he never pressured her to do anything she didn't want to.

The romance was amazing! It was such a slow burn romance and it's amazing how Amy pulled it off because it's such a short book! You'd think since the book is so short, the romance would be insta-love but it wasn't. It was developed really slowly. Ivy and Bishop took the time to really get to know each other first. There was no lust either. It was just so awesome!

As for the others characters I don't really have too much to say without spoiling anything. All I can say is, I hate her sister Callie and her Dad. They are so terrible! If you read the book, you'll know what I mean.

The ending was terrible! It was a cliffhanger and it took a different turn than what I was expecting. I really need to read the second book to find out what happens. At the end of the book I wanted to slap Ivy. I feel so bad for her. 

Finally, I wanna talk about the plot. I thought the plot was unique even though it's becoming a trope in YA now about killing the guy. I thought it was unique though because the main character is sixteen and she's married. How many YA protagonist are married?     

 Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It didn't blow me away like everyone else, but it was really good! It's probably one of the best Dystopians I've ever read besides Hunger Games and Fire & Flood. I give this book 5/5 Lily Pads. I think this book is worth a buy. If you wanna read a really quick book, I really recommend this one. That's my review! Thank you so much for reading this long review. I'll have more posts coming up soon so stay tuned for more. Happy reading! :)