Jennifer M. (Kaydence) reviewed on 6/23/2014 + 380 more book reviews

Summary:
Because of many circumstances, Kitty is at the lower end of society. She did terrible on her national placement test, so she has no chances to have a successful future. She begins working as a prostitute to attempt to take care of herself. What else is she to do? Then the Prime Minister offers to transform Kitty into Lila, the Minister's niece who was mysteriously killed. Other than getting a major raise in society, Kitty would then be able to have a future of more than she ever dreamed of. The only problem is that she has to stop the rebellion that Lila began, a rebellion that she finds herself sympathizing with. After going under the knife, everything about Kitty is expected to change, but will she be able to keep a part of her identity as she is now mixed up in all of the politics of this crazy world?

My thoughts:
Perhaps I have read this too close to Palace of Spies and Lord of Opium, but the switch of a lower class character to an upper class character without letting the surrounding people know, is too familiar to me at this point in time. Unfortunately, this made some of the twists really predictable to me. They are what you would expect in this type of situation. Perhaps I would have enjoyed this more if I had not read the other two books (and two other trading spaces books) within the span of a month. Regardless, dystopian is my favorite genre and I rarely pass up a chance to read something that comes out. I loved the political aspects of this book. The manipulations and intrigue more than the general overthrow of everything is more interesting than a lot of the books within the genre. The lies are fun for me, especially since I had some pretty good ideas of how they were going to end up playing out. Kitty is a great character, as expected. She is spunky, defiant, and stronger than she appears to be at first. She is thrust into a love triangle when she goes through the change. Benji is her boyfriend (and super adorable), but Lila was engaged to Knox. What happens between the three of them is more natural than a lot of love triangles. I felt that Carter handled that situation pretty well. I think of it as an arranged marriage situation. Plus they all end up having to work together. Overall, I enjoyed the book. I just found it too familiar to other stories to give it an "I love it" rating.

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