Queen by Aimee Carter

Genre:  YA Dystopian

The Blackcoat Rebellion Series, Book 3

Aimee Carter's website

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Note:  This is the third book in a series.  Anything below could potentially spoil plots from earlier books in the series.

Description (taken from Aimee Carter's website):

PAWN…CAPTIVE…QUEEN?

Kitty Doe is a Blackcoat rebel and a former captive with a deadly connection to the most powerful and dangerous man in the country, Prime Minister Daxton Hart. Forced to masquerade as Daxton's niece, Lila Hart, Kitty has helped the Blackcoats take back the prison known as Elsewhere. But Daxton has no intention of ceding his position of privilege—or letting Kitty expose his own masquerade. Not in these United States, where each person's rank means the difference between luxury and poverty, freedom and fear…and ultimately, between life and death.

To defeat the corrupt government, Kitty must expose Daxton's secret. Securing evidence will put others in jeopardy, including the boy she's loved forever and an ally she barely trusts. For months, Kitty's survival has hinged on playing a part. Now she must discover who she truly wants to be, and whether the new world she and the rebels are striving to create has a place in it for her after all.

Kitty has been Masked to look like Lila Hart, the prime minister's niece.  She has been the spokesperson for both the rebellion and the current government.  But once Lila comes back into the limelight, Daxton no longer has a use for Kitty.  So he discards her in Elsewhere, a place he hopes will end her.  But instead, Kitty finds the full power of the rebellion willing to listen.

When Kitty tries to oust Daxton in front of his people, it's hard for people to believe her especially if they live a privileged life.  What she needs is evidence.  But is she willing to risk her life and the lives of her loved ones to get this?  As the rebellion leads a life of its own, key characters will come into play and choose to risk it all.  But in the end, will Kitty get what she wants?  A life without a corrupt ranking system?

This book is fast-paced and kept me hooked.  The story is easy to follow, and I don't remember a lot from the earlier books other than I enjoyed them.  However, there is something that happens in the story that bothered me.  I became so fixated on it that I kind of ignored the rest of the story.  And...  I don't know if that just made me get through the story faster or if I quit paying as much attention.  But regardless, I was happy with the ending.

I think this is a good dystopian series that people will like.  I was definitely glad I got my hands on it.

A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin

Genre:  Adult Fantasy

A Song of Ice and Fire Series, Book 1

George RR Martin's website

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Description (taken from George RR Martin's website):

Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

This review isn't going to be of much help for those who have never heard of this book nor the tv series.  If you've seen the tv series and gotten yourself hooked, then you pretty much know if you're going to like this story or not.  I'm one of the few who had been holding off on reading the books for as long as possible.  Because they're super long, and I feel like I wouldn't have been able to keep the characters straight.  But I've finally read the first book.  And my thoughts?

If you've seen the tv series, don't hold your breath for much to change with reading the book.  The first season follows the book really well that I often found myself bored with the book and frustrated with how long it was.  I mean, sure, I found the hidden plot lines that foretell what's to come and I enjoyed the foreshadowing.  But I honestly wonder if I would have caught on if I hadn't already known the story and what happens.  There were definitely some moments where it was nice to make the connections in the book.  But I don't really think I gained anything extra from this book.

While I am absolutely addicted to the tv series, I am not quite sold on the books.  And it's probably because I started the books after the tv series.  However my husband is forcing me to read the next one, and he's told me things begin to deviate a lot more with that one.  So maybe I'll be surprised?