I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Pawn by Aimee Carter
Series: The Blackcoat Rebellion #1
Published by Harlequin Teen on November 26, 2013
Pages: 296
Format: ARC
Source: the publisher
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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 went into this book expecting one thing, and it was something else entirely. I don’t know how it happened or how I got so confused. I was positive I had read that, in order to move up in society, Kitty had to go through a labyrinth and fight her way to the end. And that, if she made it to the end, she would be rewarded with the society rank of a seven.

Despite the HUGE confusion this caused when I realized it wasn’t about that at all, I still really enjoyed this book. The plot and the writing were really interesting and very unique to the Dystopian genre. A lot of the “twists” and “shocking revelations” were not shocking, unfortunately. I found a lot of it very predictable. But again, that didn’t deter me from reading and I still found it interesting and unique.

As far as MC’s go, Kitty was kind of boring and passive. I felt indifferent towards her, I didn’t care what happened to her. It was almost like she was detached from her situation. She didn’t fight for anything, she just let it happen to her. I mean, being a good girl and behaving kept her alive, but all she did was complain about how she hated it and didn’t want to be a pawn and yet.. She didn’t fight. It wasn’t until the last twenty pages or so that Kitty finally started to stand up and rebel. She finally stood up for herself and what she believed in, and she did it with everything she had. At that point, I finally, finally liked Kitty.

Other characters I liked: Celia, Knox and Greyson. Celia was a bit crazy and intense, but she was also strong, brave and feisty. She believes so strongly in the things she fights for, even if her judgement is slightly clouded. And, above all, she stands up to Daxton and doesn’t let him shut her up.

While the love interests in this book weren’t exactly in a love triangle, I definitely felt myself taking sides. Benjy was okay, but I really, really loved Knox and I totally wanted him and Kitty to end up together. And finally, with Greyson… I can’t explain it, but there was just something about him. He was detached from his family and their craziness and he just wanted to be friend’s with Lila and be left alone to invent things.

Clearly, I hated Augusta and Daxton. Augusta was just crazy and insane. And Daxton was a manipulative jerk who.. Well, I don’t want to give anything away, but the revelation with his character was very intriguing!

Overall, despite the flat MC and predictability, I did still enjoy Pawn. I would have rated it a 4, had it not been for those things. I’m still looking forward to the second book in the series, especially since Kitty showed some promise at the end of Pawn. I’m excited to see what happens next.