Author: Aimée Carter
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Series: The Blackcoat Rebellion #1
Release Date: November 26th 2013
Pages: 346
Rating: ★★★★
YOU CAN BE A VII. IF YOU GIVE UP EVERYTHING.
For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country.
If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked—surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter.
There's only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered, the same one that got her killed …and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that's not her own, she must decide which path to choose—and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she's only beginning to understand.
Review:
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, this will not influence my review in any way.
This book was a pleasant surprise! I started reading it at the same time as I started watching Orphan Black. They are both about people taking other people's identities, an intruiging concept!
This book was a pleasant surprise! I started reading it at the same time as I started watching Orphan Black. They are both about people taking other people's identities, an intruiging concept!
Quick summary
The world in Pawn is divided into 7 sections: from I to VII. You get your rank via a test. Our protagonist Kitty gets a III, which condemns her to a low job. She is bought by the president who Masks her as his niece Lila, who had been killed. Kitty has to impersonate her to stop a rebellion fused by Lila's actions.
Characters
Kitty was very likeable, caring and didn't hold back her opinions. But I did have the feeling her intelligence fluctuated a lot, one easy thing she couldn't figure out and another difficult thing she solved easily.
Benji and Knox were both good guys and set on protecting Kitty. There is no love triangle in this book, hopefully also not in the next one.
The bad guys did not have a lot of depth. The grandmother and president were just bad and only cared about power. They did things to their family that were quite extreme and slightly unrealistic.
Plot
The plot had a quick pace and was exciting. It was like one big game of chess, in which Kitty is the pawn and used by everyone (great title!). You were constantly guessing who was on which side and what would happen next. There were a lot of twists and a few unpredictable shocks. Fortunately there was no overwhelming romance in the story. Benji and Kitty were already together at the start of the book and were sweet as a couple.
Dystopian World
The dystopian world of Pawn was interesting and well developed. One test determines the rest of your life. Most people score low and have as a result a bad life. If you protest or if you get too old, you get sent Elsewhere, a mysterious place. Kitty makes a lot of shocking discoveries of how her world works and is therefore determined to continue Lila's rebellion. I would have liked to learn more about the rebellion and how the Blackcoats work, hopefully in the sequel we will.
Conclusion
Characters
Kitty was very likeable, caring and didn't hold back her opinions. But I did have the feeling her intelligence fluctuated a lot, one easy thing she couldn't figure out and another difficult thing she solved easily.
Benji and Knox were both good guys and set on protecting Kitty. There is no love triangle in this book, hopefully also not in the next one.
The bad guys did not have a lot of depth. The grandmother and president were just bad and only cared about power. They did things to their family that were quite extreme and slightly unrealistic.
Plot
The plot had a quick pace and was exciting. It was like one big game of chess, in which Kitty is the pawn and used by everyone (great title!). You were constantly guessing who was on which side and what would happen next. There were a lot of twists and a few unpredictable shocks. Fortunately there was no overwhelming romance in the story. Benji and Kitty were already together at the start of the book and were sweet as a couple.
Dystopian World
The dystopian world of Pawn was interesting and well developed. One test determines the rest of your life. Most people score low and have as a result a bad life. If you protest or if you get too old, you get sent Elsewhere, a mysterious place. Kitty makes a lot of shocking discoveries of how her world works and is therefore determined to continue Lila's rebellion. I would have liked to learn more about the rebellion and how the Blackcoats work, hopefully in the sequel we will.
Conclusion
I loved this book, especially the Masking concept. It's a creepy idea that you can live in a world where they can remake everyone into someone else.
I'm looking forward to reading the sequel!
This book didn't really meet my expectations so it got a 3 from me. I'm glad you liked it though! I didn't like Benjy much and I think my favourite character would be Knox. Great review :)
ReplyDeleteI like that the plot seems big, and the romance doesn't seem like a big deal. The idea sounds so cool so it's great that the world building does it justice. I'm really interested in getting to this book!
ReplyDelete-P.E. @ The Sirenic Codex
I love it when the title represents a book well. :) This seems to be a good book that I should at least try. I might like it!
ReplyDeleteThis one kind of reminds me of Divergent, but then again I haven't read either book yet lol. Dystopia is a favorite genre of mine and great world building is a must have! Glad to hear this one met your expectations for the most part.
ReplyDeleteI have this one my wish list, although I do not know whether I want to read it or not since I have heard mixed things about it. And I hate it when dystopian book disappoint me, since dystopian fiction is one of my favorite genres.
ReplyDeleteAndreea
If you like dystopian books, you should really read this one. It was one of the best dystopians I've read so far this year!
ReplyDeleteOh, it's a pity you did not like it that much! What did you not like about it?
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an interesting book, I watched the first ep of Orphan Black a while ago and I do see the resemblance. I like that it is fast paced so this is definitely being added to my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteOoh, this book sounds really interesting. Many people said that it doesn't live up to its hype, but I think I'll give it a try, since your review really made me curious :D
ReplyDeleteSad to hear that the antagonists were flat, though. But YAY NO LOVE TRIANGLE!! I think I've love it already :D
Thanks for your review!
Neysa @ [B.O.O.K.L.I.F.E]
ill give this book a try. on a side note, i love the book cover too lol new to book blogging here! isabelleadrid.blog... :)
ReplyDeleteOh, welcome to the book blogging community! Hope you'll like it here :)
ReplyDeleteWait, did Kitty actually get plastic surgeries or something to look like Lila? Face Off 2.0? That's kind of scary... I do like novels with lots of conspiracies though, especially ones you never could have guessed. From what you said, the bad guys are not very secretive in this book, maybe Carter will put up some crazy twists in the subsequent books. That would be cool.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this one too! There was just a tiny something that didn't push it over into the "love" category for me but it was really enjoyable and I'm definitely looking forward to book two! :)
ReplyDelete