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In the Lone City, impoverished girls with special gifts are auctioned off as surrogates for the barren nobility. When Violet is purchased by the Duchess of the Lake, she is pulled into cutthroat court politics and a forbidden romance.

You'll like it if you enjoy

  • Dark court politics and rebellion
  • A single love interest romance
  • Fast-paced dystopian survival
  • A sheltered heroine finding her voice

Good to know

  • Dark themes surrounding forced surrogacy
  • A protagonist who can feel naive early on

Tags

  • Female Lead
  • Romance
  • Single Love Interest
  • Dark
  • Fast Paced
  • Coming of Age
  • Political Intrigue
  • Survival
  • No Gore

Reading order

  1. Cover for The Jewel (Lone city trilogy Book 1)

    Book 1: The Jewel

    373 pages10h audio2014

    The Jewel introduces Violet Lasting, a girl from the Marsh trained as a surrogate and sold at auction to the imperious Duchess of the Lake.

    Navigating court politics, secret cruelty, and a forbidden attraction to Ash — a companion bound to the same household — Violet begins to understand that the Jewel's glittering surface conceals something truly monstrous.

    A tense, fast-paced YA opener with strong romantic tension and a gut-punch cliffhanger.

  2. Cover for The White Rose (Lone city trilogy Book 2)

    Book 2: The White Rose

    315 pages8.5h audio2015

    The White Rose picks up immediately after the chaos that ends Book 1, with Violet on the run alongside Ash and her best friend Raven.

    Sheltered by unexpected allies and discovering that her Augury powers run deeper than she imagined, Violet must decide whether to join a rebellion that could cost everyone she loves their lives.

    Nonstop action-driven pacing and deepening found-family bonds make this the fan-favorite middle book.

  3. Cover for The Black Key (Lone city trilogy Book 3)

    Book 3: The Black Key

    309 pages8h audio2016

    The Black Key brings the trilogy to a close as the rebellion ignites and Violet must fight on two fronts — rescuing her sister Hazel from the Duchess and leading the Paladin sisterhood into the final battle for the Lone City.

    Alliances are tested, secrets are revealed, and the cost of revolution becomes devastatingly real in this satisfying series finale.

    Features high-stakes political conflict and a complete, hard-won resolution.

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