Book Review – The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson


Title: The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles, #1)
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Publish Date: July 8, 2014
# of Pages: 492
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(**Warning** Possible spoilers)

Description

(From Goodreads) A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor’s secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can’t abide. Like having to marry someone she’s never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love.

Review

When Lia flees her home to avoid an arranged marriage to a prince, she does expect the attentions of not one—but two—guys in the small village she settles in. Shelving her life as a princess, she takes up the role of a barmaid and falls in love with the quiet life. As Rafe and Kaden vie for her attention, news from her brother has her resigned to returning home and facing her duty. But Rafe and Kaden are not what they seem, and Lia’s trip home is soon diverted.

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson was fantastic! From the characters to the storyline, I loved it. As soon as I finished the first book, I immediately started the next book, The Heart of Betrayal, so I could continue the journey.

So what did I like?

Lia. Lia is a fantastic heroine. She’s brave, clever, and honorable. She flees an arranged marriage because she wants to be married for love. What’s more aw-worthy than that? As the book hints, she’s more gifted than she knows and people speak of her gift and rise to power in long-buried books. When she was born, hope was born.

Rafe. I absolutely love Rafe. For the longest time I thought he was the assassin, so I didn’t want to like him, but he’s a very likeable character. I was very surprised to find out he was the prince towards the end of the book.

Storyline. While the story concept is not a new one, I like how it’s executed in this book. The constant banter between Lia, Rafe, and Kaden keep the book fresh and interesting.

What didn’t I like?

Slow pace. At times I felt as though the story was dragged out longer than it needed to be. This is a minor dislike though, because overall I thought the book was great.

Book Stats

Quotes

“Today was the day a thousand dreams would die and a single dream would be born.”

“This life was a dream of my own making, one where my imagination was my only boundary. It was a life that I alone commanded.”

“And if one can’t be trusted in love,” I added, “one can’t be trusted in anything.”

“It can take years to mold a dream. It takes only a fraction of a second for it to be shattered.”

“Maybe there was no one way to define it. Maybe there were as many shades of love as the blues of the sky.”

“Sometimes the smallest animal inflicts the greatest pain.”

Buy It

Check this book out at your local library, or buy it here* on Amazon.

*Note: this is an affiliate link

Share this:
Like this:Like Loading...