Review: Pawn

PAWN
The Blackcoat Rebellion #1
Aimee Carter
Young Adult/Dystopian
352 pages
HarlequinTEEN
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
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
Pawn is a thrilling start to a new series, the intensity of it stemming not so much from action but rather intrigue, every person Kitty comes across outfitted with multiple masks both literal and figurative that keep us guessing as to what their charm or their cruelty is hiding. It’s with no shortage of trepidation then that we flip the pages of this first installment, wondering what move any one of the players of this horrifying power game will make next and, even more pressing, where that move falls in the grand scheme of their endless conniving. Though it may sound as though Kitty is surrounded by a group of utterly miserable and truly awful people, what makes this book so thought-provoking is Ms. Carter’s ability to cast light on some of their darker motives, forcing us to understand their endgame even though we’re appalled by the lengths to which they're willing to go to achieve it.

Kitty is a joy to follow from the beginning, a young woman with an extraordinary sense of self despite being what society calls an “extra”, given the last name of Doe and shipped off to a group home to be yet another hungry mouth to feed in a sea of gaping maws. She knows exactly who she is though, and even while those in power succeed in shaping her physically, she never bends mentally, refusing to be manipulated and always keeping an eye and ear out to help her navigate exceedingly dangerous seas. She’s a person who absorbs information like a sponge, allowing it to seep in and settle while she figures out how she feels about it, never overreacting or jumping to conclusions like those around her. Instead she is ever-patient, learning the rules of a game she never thought would have a place in her life and slowly acquiring the knowledge to outplay the longtime players.

The romance in this first installment is as interesting as the rest of the story, at first appearing as though it will be a non-issue, only for previously clear waters to grow murkier as Kitty is sucked deeper and deeper into Lila’s life. She begins this journey with an adorable longtime boyfriend in Benjy (whom we unfortunately don't get to know all that well in this first book), someone she’s desperate to save from herself given her unfortunate classification as a III, but when playing Lila Hart she’s engaged to Knox, someone she knows from the moment she meets him has innumerable secrets. Luckily though, there's no real love triangle situation even when Benjy enters back into the picture after a fairly lengthy absence, and thankfully all three of them know exactly where everyone else stands so there’s no petty jealousy or over the top reactions. They are all victims of circumstance (perhaps Knox to a lesser degree than Kitty and Benjy), and the relationship between the three of them has the potential to be one of those nuanced and infinitely complex ones that hold us captivated rather than irritating us with the transparent purpose of creating drama for an existing couple.

Overall, Pawn is a quick and extremely tense read, one that makes us absurdly grateful we have our reality to return to after seeing the Hart’s warped version of utopia. We’re left at a logical stopping point with no cliffhanger in sight, and I simply can’t wait to see where Ms. Carter and Kitty take us next.

Rating: 4/5

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.