Book Review & Guest Post: The Revolution of Ivy (The Book of Ivy #2) by Amy Engel

The Revolution of Ivy 

(The Book of Ivy #2) 

by 

Amy Engel 

Expected Pub 

November 3rd 2015 

by Entangled Teen 

ARC For Review 

Summary

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.

My Review of The Book of Ivy

(The Book of Ivy #1)

Here

Freedom is More Valuable than All the Safety in The World

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!! This is dystopian post apocalyptic done right. The author does not hold back the world building and flow is just as amazing as before. The first book in this series got a 5 star from me which is unheard of…So you can imagine the bar was set HIGH. Not only did she meet the 5 star caliber she exceeded it! ONE MILLION STARS!!! I can’t help it guys this was a wonderful story full of struggle, survival, acceptance, redemption, LOVE, forgiveness, and the power of the human spirit. I don’t have the words…just this was one killer read. Engel knocks a bottom of the 9th walk off grand slam. It is bitter sweet that this is the end but it is full of hope and absolutely beautiful. Do I recommend this read ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY… absolutely.

The Story, Ivy is on the other side of the wall surrounded by endless skies and ominous feelings of madness solitude and despair. Betrayed and abandoned by those that were supposed to love and protect her Ivy is lost. She is not only lost in the physical world but within herself as well. The drive to survive propelled her forward fighting the wild, and confronting a monster from her past are just a few obstacles she faces. On the brink of giving up fate smiles and brings Ivy what she needs most. A foundation for building strength and knowledge of what it takes to survive and thrive. Nature is a formidable force and hunger is a serious threat. Ivy will work hard and learn everything she can in order to never be a victim ever again. Having Bishop by her side was a dream she never imagined but knowing she cannot survive losing him again she hides her heart. There love has never been easy but very real and undeniable. Knowing how far she has come and knowing how strong she is now Ivy faces and accepts the truths hidden deep within her soul. Her life is no longer about who has power and who doesn’t but when faced with a choice Ivy follows her heart. Fighting for what is right and for those she loves is what Ivy has become she will never run again.

The Characters, Ivy grows so much in this installment. We see such a transition but it was wonderful and it felt organic. What I mean by that is Ivy works very hard to learn and to grow so though the transition isn’t overnight or insane it’s real. Little by little we see the changes within her, finding out what she wants, who she wants to become. Loving Bishop didn’t happen by choice but it is this love that has taught her so much about herself. Life has always been planned and the blame of all her pain was always someone else’s. Now Ivy knows that certain things can’t be changed or controlled letting go of those poisonous thoughts opened her mind to accepting a new hope for a new life. Bishop, good golly miss molly!! This guy!! Gah! Wonderful, amazing, cherishing, supportive, just….everything. Bishop was so good for Ivy he loved her fiercely, but not in a overly overbearing way. He wanted Ivy to find herself and he hoped that when she did, she would also find that he will always be by her side. These two are the culmination of decades of anger and hate…their love for each other holds the key to stopping what has festered for so long between two families. Decisions and second chances Ivy and Bishop are the second chance of the bigger picture. Though some decisions were taken from them these two overcame those challenges together. I loved all of the side characters because each interaction helped with Ivy’s growth…Ash, Caleb, Victoria, Erin, Callie, Matthew, Justin, the jam guy and even Mark(ugh I hate that guy)…they all helped shape her into the wonderful woman she becomes.

The End, ugh just typing those two words is making me cry…Wow I balled and balled and balled my head off. Some very shocking and very painful things come to fruition. It was hard to read because of the connection to the characters and story the pain came through the pages. Ivy’s desperation for something different, anything else was…heartbreaking. Was it an HEA…yes but it too was very real don’t forget this is post apocalyptic so it’s not like 10 years later the world is fixed! No, no, no this was a story of survival and love. Not let’s fix America so that being said don’t expect that because it isn’t there. What is there is the complexities of humanity our drive to continue living. Finding kindness in a world of chaos seeing the world as it was raw and untamable. This is their story and the choices they made. I’m super sad it’s over but I’m elated that it happened.

My Rating

5.0 million Stars!! Gah!! I’m getting emotional again this series is wonderful I recommend it to EVERYONE. Warning only awesome people non awesome people might not get it ;0) If your even a tiny bit awesome then RUSH… like…push people out of the way to read because this is AWESOME. Okay even if you’re not awesome I still think you should give this a try and find the awesome WITHIN!!!

Purchase Through

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Guest Post

Lets welcome Ms. Engel!!! She is here to tell us a little bit more about our beloved Ivy and Bishop eeeeeeeee! What a treat! 

If Ivy could have done 3 things differently in her life what would they be?

This is a great question! I think if Ivy (knowing what she knows now) could go back and do things differently, she would start by not taking everything her father tells her at face value. She would listen to her father, but also try and find out answer for herself and not automatically trust everything her family tells her. In that same vein, I also think she would seek out friendships beyond her family. She lived such an insulated life and just having a small taste of a broader world was so good for her. I think she would expand on that and cultivate friendships with a larger circle of people. Lastly, I think she would want to go back in time and genuinely tell Bishop how much she loves him. She felt like she had a valid reason for keeping the depth of her feelings from him, but now, alone and beyond and fence and believing she’ll never see him again, I think she regrets not having told him her true feelings.


If Bishop could speak from his heart directly into Ivy’s heart what would he tell her now that she is on the other side of the wall?
This is actually a really hard question to answer. Bishop isn’t embarrassed about his feelings or ashamed of them, but he’s also someone who shows how he feels more by doing than by saying. He’s not the best at “laying it all out there” as he’s said before. He’ll never be the type of guy who tells a girl he loves her fifty times a day. But I think if he could speak directly to Ivy’s heart he would tell her, first and foremost, that the still loves her and that he forgives her. He would say that she is his best friend, too, and the first person he could ever really be himself around. He would tell her to be brave and strong beyond the fence and not to give up. And to wait for him.

Wasn't that amazing?! *Sigh* Thank you for stopping by! Hugs your way!

<3 <3 <3

About The Author

Amy Engel was born in Kansas and after a childhood spent bouncing between countries (Iran, Taiwan) and states (Kansas, California, Missouri, Washington, D.C.), she settled in Kansas City, Missouri where she lives with her husband and two kids. Before devoting herself full time to motherhood and writing, she was a criminal defense attorney, which is not quite as exciting as it looks on TV. When she has a free moment, she can usually be found reading, running, or shoe shopping. 

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