Pawn by Aimée Carter

Pawn by Aimée Carter

Release Date: November 26, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Series: The Blackcoat Rebellion, Book 1
Rated: YA 14+
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

YOU CAN BE A VII IF YOU GIVE 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.

I was super lucky when I got my hands on an ARC of this one– it’s been on my TBR pile for a while and I jumped at the chance to review it. I started this one ages ago, but unfortunately something came up and I had to put it away. I totally regret waiting this long to read Pawn because it was AH. MAY. ZING. I mean seriously, I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a dystopian this much in ages. It was like a crossover between Meg Cabot’s Airhead and Kiera Cass’ The Selection– I loved it.

I seriously loved the Hart family. Doesn’t matter if they’re evil– I loved to HATE them. My eyes were glued to the pages as I wondered which family member would turn on which, and who would be the last to survive. Kitty’s character was (of course) amazing. I like how she still had her head on straight and would make the decisions a normal person would make. Carter has crafted such a real character, and that’s a relief considering how so many main characters immediately act first and think later. There is also a bit of a love triangle but it’s more one-sided towards Benjy. Unfortunately, I was more team Knox on this one! It’s just that Benjy doesn’t make much of an appearance throughout the book and Knox is constantly there. Hopefully things change a little bit more in the next book, Captive!

The world building is truly impressive. I thought it was a lot like the world of The Selection with “royalty” ruling the country and a system that defines the population, as well as job allocations depending on your number. What was interesting though was that the I’s get placed in Elsewhere, which apparently makes more of an appearance in the sequel. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding that so I’m glad as readers we get to explore it further.

I couldn’t put this one down, and now I’m left wanting MORE. Non-stop action and thrills, cute boys and a deadly plot, Pawn is a win. Aimée Carter has caught my attention and now I’m super excited to read the rest of the series!

▪ ▪ ▪ Thank you so much to Lisa Wray from Harlequin for sending a copy for review! ▪ ▪ ▪

If you like this, try...

• The Selection by Kiera Cass ● Goodreads
• Airhead by Meg Cabot ● Goodreads
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins ● Goodreads

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