Title: Pawn(The Black Coat Rebellion series) [Amazon]
Author: Aimee Carter [website]
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genre: Dystopian
Source/Type: Netgalley/Digital ARC
Stars: 3 of 5
Publisher Description:
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.
My Thoughts:
I was really excited for this book. So excited that I wanted to make myself love it. Sadly it turned out to just be meh for me. There were parts that I liked, like Kitty and Knox for instance. But then there were parts that just fell flat and felt like all other dystopian books. Honestly at times I felt like I was reading Legend by Marie Lu and Eve by Anna Carey all mixed in one book and that made me sad. I guess the thing is is that I just wanted more.
Pawn is the story of Kitty Doe, a girl that has become victim to a caste system. She is what is termed an “extra”. Basically she is a second child that her parents were not allowed to have and is sent into an orphanage with all the other extras. Kitty has great things in mind for her life but that all changes on her 17th birthday when she is tattooed with a III. But that night things don’t seem to go as planned for Kitty. Instead of buying herself time until her boyfriend is legal and a VI, she ends up getting an offer to be a VII which is unheard off. Not knowing the effect Kitty agrees and soon finds herself Masked as the Prime Minister’s niece Lila who has been killed. With a life that is no longer her own and the pressures mounting from two sides Kitty has to make decisions she never thought she would have to make and save lives of not only herself but the people around her. But little does Kitty know, not everything is as it seems.
I really wish this book was different than it was. I wanted so much more out of this story, but it just didn’t give that to me. It just gave me the same old dystopian stories I have read in the past. I had heard there were twists involved and there were, but I wasn’t shocked by them and I was excited about them either. They were more just there to try and add drama. There were definitely parts that I liked like I said before, Kitty and Knox were a highlight. And there was one twist that I wasn’t expecting really, but that was really all there was. I wish more of Kitty was explored as she really was fascinating. And I wish there was more of her and Knox as they had a strange little spark between them that worked.
Although well written and a pretty quick read, I just didn’t feel it. I have heard good things about Carter’s other series and I plan to check that out, but Pawn may be where it ends for me in terms of The Black Coat Rebellion series. But I will say if you are new to dystopian books, then I would highly recommend this one.
Other Books by the Author:
Yesss finally someone else loves Knox! Everyone seems to hate on him in favor of Benji 🙁 I couldn’t stand Benji and I still hold a grudge against him – and I read the book more than a month ago now!
And the “extra” idea reminded me too much of Ender’s Game and the “third”
Benji was so wishy washy. Knox had some swagger and I liked that. They had way more chemistry than boring Benji.