{Review} Sekret - Lindsay Smith

Sekret by Lindsay Smith
Genre: YA Paranormal / Historical Fiction
Release Date: Apr 1 / 2014
Publisher: Roaring Book Press

An empty mind is a safe mind.

Yulia's father always taught her to hide her thoughts and control her emotions to survive the harsh realities of Soviet Russia. But when she's captured by the KGB and forced to work as a psychic spy with a mission to undermine the U.S. space program, she's thrust into a world of suspicion, deceit, and horrifying power. Yulia quickly realizes she can trust no one--not her KGB superiors or the other operatives vying for her attention--and must rely on her own wits and skills to survive in this world where no SEKRET can stay hidden for long.

*A copy was provided by the publisher for review*

Thank you so much to Macmillan and Netgalley!

Sekret was a refreshing read. I don't usually read many historical fiction books especially ones about Russians and the KGB. The closest I've read to something about this is probably Animal Farm.

 I don't really understand the history behind Sekret but the story and characters were well thought out and entertaining. The people with mind powers were really cool and there were all kinds of different ones. Yulia could access to memories through touch and her team members had abilities like scrubbing away memories and seeing into the future. 

While this is a truly impressive story, I can't keep the characters straight sometimes. The twins, Misha and Masha, gets messed up in my head sometimes. I still don't know which one is a boy and which one is a girl. Khruschev and Roskov are confusing too. The Premier also had a name that stars with a K and kind of the same spelling. It's all very confusing.

The romance was weak too. I don't really see the attraction towards Valya. Yulia just starts liking him. I do like Valya but I don't really know when and how she started liking him. Sergei was also kind of there as well. I don't really know if I'd consider this a love triangle, but even if it isn't, the relationship between Yulia and Valya developed too fast for my taste.

Overall, Sekret was a good book even though it could be confusing at times. I've never read much about Soviet Russia and I think this book offers something different in the YA genre with its super cool genetic powers and battle plot.

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