I liked this book, I really did. But I also really should have written the review as soon as I was finished it, because it's already starting to get swirled up into all of the rest of the many fantasy-YA-books-with-a-female-lead I've read. That hopefully isn't a critique of the book, but rather my own poor memory. But we'll see. 
 Laia (I had to look up her name again) wasn't born a slave, despite what the Goodreads description says. But rather was a second class (but free! This is important!) citizen in a Romanesque tyrannical world. After tragedy befalls her family, Laia makes the choice to become a slave in order to spy for the ~Rebel Alliance~ that she hopes will help her rescue her recently-jailed brother. 
 Elias, on the other hand, is the son of the Commandant (basically the Head Mask) and top in his Mask Classes and he's pretty sick of it. What is a Mask, you ask? They're basically the top of echelon of the first class citizens, the scariest and the deadliest of all of the tyranny-enforcers. Picture a bunch of watered-down Darth Vaders. They're the muscle, and super scary, but they still have to report to the Emperor. 
 Romance ensues. There is a mess of a love rectangle that I'm hoping will get all situated in the next book, because I am NOT here for that. 
 Other things ensue too, like character development! Laia starts the story as a pretty weak (but beautiful - lord we can never forget that -) jam maker, but through becoming a slave and spying on the Commandant, she becomes much stronger. This is the main reason I gave this book four stars. You may have noticed from my other reviews, but I am pretty tired of my female MC suddenly realizing they're the Chosen Ones, the Strongest of the Strongs, Instantly-Perfect, etc. Laia is so not special. For the most part, she's a pretty bland spy. She makes lots of mistakes. And though she gets better, she doesn't grow out of the realm of realistic character development. This was so refreshing to read. Laia doesn't learn she has some secret power that will save her and all of Scholar-kind. She's just a normal girl who has to do her best in the situation she's in. SO COOL. 
 The writing was also really good and really engaging and I can't wait to read the sequel, even if this book didn't super duper stand out to me.