[Review] The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel

ABOUT

Title: The Book of Ivy

Author: Amy Engel

Series: The Book of Ivy #1

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Release Date: November 11th 2014

Get it Here: Amazon

Goodreads Page

Source: Library

Synopsis:
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…

This book is set in a post-apocalyptic society after a nuclear war. The entirety of the book takes place in a pocket of civilization called Westfall, founded by Ivy's grandfather. Arranged marriages are a part of this society in order to keep the two sides, the winning one and the losing one, at peace. The losing side's daughters marry the winning side's sons while the winning side's daughters marry the losing side's sons. Ivy has to marry Bishop, the president's son, while also carrying out her mission: to kill Bishop and restore her family's rightful place as leaders of Westfall.

The revolution of the losing side has always been a family affair, the idea and plans only shared between Ivy's father, her and her sister. Originally, it was supposed to be Callie, Ivy's older sister who married Bishop. However, he refused to marry until he was eighteen, forcing Ivy into the spotlight. She had always been the spare and she molded herself to whatever her father and older sister needed her to be, seeking approval. So when she marries Bishop and he wants to know her, she doesn't really know who she is. Throughout the novel, as her relationship with Bishop grows she's able to discover herself and start to make some of her own choices.

Ivy's family is the type that believes that their cause is the right one and there are no other sides to the story. So since this novel is written in first person, I enjoyed that Ivy isn't zealous and strictly on the path that her family set her on. She has doubts and she discovers things for herself.

Bishop. Oh my dear Bishop. He's going in my book boyfriend harem. He's so so so sweet and patient with Ivy. He doesn't force anything on her and he is genuinely interested in getting to know her. Through Ivy's point of view, she starts out seeing him as this flat character of a person who's a reflection of his father's views and ideals and we, the readers, get to watch as she slowly learns how complex of a person he is and watch as his character is fleshed out. I love it.

The world, from what we can see of it, is constructed quite well too. The process in which they rebuilt society is logical. Everything makes sense to me.

I highly enjoyed this novel and I really can't wait to read the next installment.

Happy Reading!