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 Basics 
 This is not a Cold War spy novel. It is a cheesy dystopian romance!!!!! 
 Edit: 4/30 Due to my current obsession with Heathers the Musical (thanks youtube autoplay) I will describe this book as "whine, whine, whine all night" 
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 I was initially excited to start this one. I had read it last summer but remembered just about nothing of the story line, save the main spoiler. I did not mean to dislike it so much. Here are my first thoughts: 
 Soviet Russia - Yay :) 
 Katniss-like protagonist - Yay :) 
 Brooding Pianists - Yay :) 
 Spies - Yay :) 
 This is not a Cold War spy novel. It is a cheesy dystopian romance!!!!! 
 Trope Check 
 *Mary-Sue learns she is special 
 *mind-reading powers 
 *brooding bad boy 
 *supposedly strong heroine who is about as badass as a banana 
 Full Rant 
 I really did like the concept, especially Valentin. It was interesting how he has more the quiet, almost geeky personality generally reserved for "good boy" love triangle characters while "good boy " Sergei is hot and athletic and all the things I hate in guys. 
 HOWEVER 
 I guess it's partially my fault for expecting this book to be so good but it definitely could have been written better. It was a great idea with an initially likable MC but there is honestly nothing that makes this book terribly special. 
 Why are you different, Yulia Andreevna? 
 Mainly, what ruins this book for me is its attempt to be a typical dystopian romance, in other words, Same trailer different park. At first, I planned to give this 4 stars, but a bit of confusion and the Perfected-esque music-playing scene brought it down to three. A few reasons eventually, albeit reluctanlty, brought my rating down to two. I really wanted to love this book but... 
 I expected a cross between Between Shades of Gray and The Hunger Games. Khanh (The Grinch) rated it 2 stars, but I just assumed she was being nit-picky. It turns out she was right. 
 Yulia is supposed to be a Katniss-like "survivor" with a love and loyalty for her family, but not a tough military chick with no friends in a plotless book with a body count of 100. 
 That's the recipe for an awesome character. 
 But no! 
 She has to be the stereotypical sick-puppy romantic and spout pick-up lines. 
 "I'm willing," I say. My heart beats with the Beatles. I wanna hold your hand, I wanna hold your hand. 
 "You came back for me," I say. The words sound stupid hanging in the air, but they mean so much. 
 "I always will." 
 (R U kidding me?) 
 Meanwhile, Valentin is supposed to be a secretive rebel who plays piano and tries not to draw attention, right? 
 But No! 
 Instead he becomes a "molten god of confidence" and a "sexy psychopath" because all rebellious love interests have to be "sexy" and jump of bridges and stuff. 
 (R U kidding me?) 
 And the villains. Stereotyped, archetyped, etc. I get that Soviet Russia was in ways a dystopia and, in fact, the model for the "we-choose-where-you-live-and-who-you-love" kinds of evil governments. Unfortunately, that element seems overplayed. 
 You are property of the Soviet Union, and when I tell you these things, when I permit you to see your family, it is a privilege, not a right 
 Property? (thinking about Perfected again) 
 And then the ending. 
 "My brave Yulia".... "Your powers and your life are yours now. You can use them however you like." 
 Yeah. America is a land of magical Unicorns where all your dreams come true. 
 In short, this is just another dystopian romance masquerading as Historical fiction. If you want a book set in Soviet Russia, I highly recommend Between Shades of Gray and A Mountain of Crumbs the latter is a memoir that reads a lot like a novel.