#Review: The Revolution of Ivy by Amy Engel - 4 Wine Glasses

Title:  THE REVOLUTION OF IVY
Series:  The Book of Ivy #2
Author: Amy Engel
Format: Kindle
Published : Entangled Teen (November 3rd 2015)
ISBN: ASIN: B00Q20YDZA
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Reviewer: Linda
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 4 Wine Glasses

Ivy Westfall is beyond the fence and she is alone. Abandoned by her family and separated from Bishop Lattimer, Ivy must find a way to survive on her own in a land filled with countless dangers, both human and natural. She has traded a more civilized type of cruelty--forced marriages and murder plots--for the bare-knuckled brutality required to survive outside Westfall's borders.

But there is hope beyond the fence, as well. And when Bishop reappears in Ivy's life, she must decide if returning to Westfall to take a final stand for what she believes is right is worth losing everything she's fought for.

Linda's  Thoughts
No one survives beyond the fence. At least that's what my father always told me when I was a child. But I'm not a little girl anymore, and I no longer believe in the words of my father. He told me the Lattimers were cruel and deserved to die. He told me my only choice was to kill the boy I loved. He has been wrong about so many things. And I'm determined that he's going to be wrong about my survival as well.

THE REVOLUTION OF IVY by Amy Engel is an engrossing ending to the Book of Ivy duology. The series is a dystopian young adult romance. I had read the first book in this series late last year. It had ended with a jaw-dropping cliffhanger and I've been dying to read the sequel. I started reading THE REVOLUTION OF IVY one evening and was so immersed with the story that I could not put it down until I finished it in the wee hours of the next morning. It encompassed a plethora of unexpected twists that left me stunned and unable to sleep until all was resolved. This is a story that I'll not forget for a long while.

Do yourself a favor and read this series in order. There's so much integral character development and complex plot details from the first book that overlap to this one that a reader would be lost if they tried to read THE REVOLUTION OF IVY as a standalone.

THE REVOLUTION OF IVY picks up exactly where THE BOOK OF IVY ended. I loved the hero, Bishop Lattimer, in the first book and he never ceases to merit those same feelings in this tale. He's strong, caring, responsible, smart and supportive of Ivy even when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds.

Our heroine, Ivy, continues her struggle to overcome the mental abuse she suffered at the hands of her father and sister growing up in the cocoon they kept her enclosed in. Truthfully, I wanted to shake Ivy through much of the first half of this book. She was her own worst enemy! She knew what she wanted, but refused to accept that it was hers for the taking. I felt that there was no good excuse for her actions towards Bishop. Thankfully, seemingly overnight, she came to terms with what she needed to do and I almost forgot her earlier immaturity that had me so frustrated. I was amazed that Bishop allowed her to abuse him so. She's lucky he didn't give up on her. Ivy finds herself and becomes the strong character that she was meant to be. Be aware that there is some non-graphic sexual activity in this story making it suitable for the more mature teen.

Following please find a few of my favorite quotes from this read:

“I don’t want a girl who makes me happy,” he says. “I want you.”
---

I concentrate on the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other and continue moving forward even as part of me is left behind, beyond a fence I cannot breach.
---

"Relax," the girl says. She holds out a hand but doesn't touch me. "We're not going to hurt you."
"Yet," the man in the doorway says with a smirk.
---

"I want to see you naked. I want to touch you. I want you to touch me. I just...want."

This series is well written with an engrossing storyline set in a post-apocalyptic world. I highly recommend the series to anyone who enjoys YA dystopian reads like The Hunger Games or Divergent. THE REVOLUTION OF IVY provides a satisfying, if not happy, wrap-up to the series.


Suggested Reading Order:
THE BOOK OF IVY (Book #1)
THE REVOLUTION OF IVY (Book #2)