REVIEW: The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel

The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel Published by: Entangled Teen on November 11th, 2014 Series: The Book of Ivy #1 Pages: 304 Format: Paperback Genre: Dystopian, Science Fiction Source: Purchased Rating: 5/5 BUY THE BOOK or ADD IT TO GOODREADS!
FROM GOODREADS: 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 THOUGHTS: 
Dear The Book of Ivy,
Okay, I'll be honest right of the bat. I hadn't heard anything about you whatsoever until about three days before your release when one of the blogs I co-blog on wrote a review for you, gushing about how much they enjoyed you. Meh. I thought. Then I saw a few more reviews popping up saying the same things. How great you were. Five stars everywhere. All over goodreads. Then, I went to the bookstore, and lo and behold my bookstore had one copy of you. It was like it was fate. My copy of you was meant for me, and me alone, and destiny had me purchase you. Thank goodness for that, because all those reviews and fate/destiny and what-not? They got me to sit down immediately when I got home to read you, and I didn't stop.
Your main character, Ivy Westfall, is the daughter of one of the founder's of a city after the US was obliterated. But he wasn't the only one. A Lattimer beat him to the throne, and now to keep the peace, he has arranged marriages for everyone. Ivy is arranged to marry the president's son, but her family has plans for her other than marriage. She is meant to kill her new husband, Bishop, but Bishop is turning out not to be who she was raised to think he was. 
Ivy was awesome! I loved her character! And Bishop. Oh how I swooned for him with each passing of your pages, The Book of Ivy. I wasn't expecting much out of you, but in a world drowning in dystopian YA novels, it takes a lot for me to say that you stood out in the crowd. Your characters were spot-on. The prose was great. The setting was flawless. Your pace was fast and kept me on the tips of my toes. I had no idea what to expect next. On the surface, you're a typical dystopian YA book, but I would encourage all my bookish friends to take a deep breath and plunge inside your pages. Because I assure them, they won't stop until they've finished you.
At least, that was definitely my case with you, The Book of Ivy. You blew me away, and I'm totally dying after that ending. WHAT THE WHAT?! You can't do that to me! I have no idea how I'm going to wait for the sequel to you, but I shall endure, because I have a feeling it will be one hell of a ride, just like you. FIVE HEARTS!

Still in awe of you,

Becca

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