Pawn by Aimee Carter – Review

Pawn

By Aimee Carter

Expected Publication: November 2013

Length: 346pages

Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises Australia

Source: Supplied by publisher and Netgalley for Honest Review

Genre: Dystopian

 

 

Synopsis from Goodreads

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.

 

Pawn is based in the future, where America is run by one family.  On the surface the ideals of America is great, everyone is born equal, on their sixteenth birthday everyone takes a test which will define who they are and be given a job, a place to live and status depending on how they score on the test.  you are evaluated and a number is tattooed on the back of your neck between 1 and seven.  people who are given ones are usually unable to contribute to society and sent “elsewhere” and exiled.  five being the average and sevens are only given to the ruling family.

Kitty doe, was born as an extra, which meant that she was the second child born to a family that could not afford to pay the fines, so she was sent to be raised in a group home.  Things are looking good Kitty has been studying hard to take her test, but then the worst happens and she is marked as a III, her boyfriend Benji is extremely smart and Kitty doesn’t’ like the idea of being separated to work in the sewer systems somewhere else so she makes the fateful decision to work in the clubs as a prostitute until benji takes his exams and can work something out for the both of them to live happily ever after.  Of course this is a dystopian so that doesn’t happen on Kitty’s first night at the club, she is brought by the prime minister of America for a obscene amount of money and Kitty has to make an on the spot decision, to die or go with him.

Kitty wakes up in a mansion looking and sounding like someone else.  She has been masked.  A rare operation that makes you look like someone else.  Lila the prime ministers niece has been tragically killed and they need to find a replacement.

Kitty is thrown into the middle of a war between two sides of the ruling family, one side wants to keep peace and rule with an iron fist, how they have been for centuries. The other half of the family wants revolution and to overthrow their own family for the good of the people.  Kitty just wants her and Benji to survive long enough to escape, but when it comes down to it which way will she choose?

I enjoyed Pawn,  I didn’t find it to be a heart stopping exciting book, but it was enjoyable, with lots of backstabbing and murderous family members, betrayal, love and above all hope.  There was so much action happening in the book as well as so many characters that I had some trouble focusing on what was happening.  I did love the characters of Grayson and Kitty.  I found Benji to be a bit spineless, I like a bad boy who takes risks to protect his woman, but Benji just seemed to keep getting kitty in trouble.

I am looking forward to reading the next edition in the black coat rebellion, and I would recommend this book, but I just didn’t really find anything that really stood out in the novel.