Pawn - Aimee Carter

Pawn by Aimee Carter
Series: The Blackcoat Rebellion #1
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: November 26, 2013
Source/Format: Netgalley (Thank you, Harlequin!) || e-galley

[I received this book from the publisher. This in no way affects the thoughts expressed in my review.]

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. (from Goodreads)

I've been looking forward to reading Pawn for a while, primarily because I enjoyed this author's other series (my reviews: 1 / 2 / 2.5 / 3) a lot. The novel is a departure from Carter's previous trilogy, focusing on a dystopian society instead of a world where mythology and real life come together... and that's a good thing!

Right off the bat, readers are tossed into the action. It was difficult for me to feel any sense of urgency about the stakes of things at first because I simply didn't have a reason to care about these characters, especially main character Kitty Doe. For the first half of the book, I was simply trusting the author's urging to care about what happened to Kitty instead of caring of my own volition.

But then, the second half of the book came in -- and everything changed! It was almost like a switch had been flipped, and the things that had been missing made an appearance. The story took on an actual direction, and I learned more about these characters (which gave me more incentive to care). I really liked the fact that there were plenty of moments that really caught me off guard, twists that I hadn't seen coming at all; this was, in fact, what kept me reading until the wee hours of the morning.

In spite of my qualms about the first half, and the fact that I didn't particularly care for any character until later on in the book, I enjoyed it. Carter's angle on this story is smart. She demonstrates how Kitty's life and that of her friends mirrors a chess game: it's all about strategy, position and using your "pieces" in the right way, though these "pieces" in question are human beings. Once I could see the broader angle to the tale, I could appreciate the artistry to the story's outline even more.

What Pawn lacks at its start, it more than makes up for by its end. Even though I still don't particularly care for Kitty, I've got enough of a reason to root for her (and the rest of her friends, who I actually might love a little bit more than her). In the end, it's all about the game and how you play it -- and I'm admittedly curious to see how Kitty and the rest will play as the series continues.