Original Title: The Kiss of Deception
Year Published: 2015
Published by: Square Fish
Number of Pages: 486
First Sentence: "Today was the day a thousand dreams would die and a single dream would be broken."
Goodreads Rating: 5/5
Plot:
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 escapes 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.
My thoughts:
This was not what I expected, which I’m thankful for because it turned out to be so much better than what I expected. Does that make any sense? Ah well, it was a really good book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was such an entertaining read and it got me hooked from page one. I was a little apprehensive starting it because despite being interested in it, I was unsure whether I would like it or not since I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.
Lia, our main character, is absolutely brilliant. At first, you might think of her as a spoiled brat, but she turns out to be so much more. I wanted to bundle her up in a blanket and protect her from the world. She is just lovely and I really liked her.
Pauline, her handmaiden, is as equally brilliant. I loved the relationship between these two and how they were more like sisters than master and servant. We also got two very different yet strong women, proving that strong women come in many different forms.
Rafe and Kaden are the assassin and/or the prince. The best part? You don’t get to know which one is which until halfway through the book. Instead, they are only referred to as “the assassin” and “the prince” when we have chapters from their point of view. Lia doesn’t find out who they really are until the very end, so she is no help in figuring out who is who until Pearson finally tells you.
Something else that I love, is the fact that this book is perfectly set up for a love triangle, but it never happens. Yes, Lia finds both guys to be handsome and interesting, but she definitely only feels like she wants a relationship with one of them (I will not tell you which one). The fact that the book set the love triangle up and then pretty much said “nah, not doing that” was just amazing. Love triangles get so freaking boring, and I hope that it won’t become an actual love triangle in the other two books.
The plot was so much fun. It was fast paced and just so bloody interesting. Pearson’s world building was fantastic and brilliantly written. Her characters felt real and all felt unique and like they belonged in the story. Even the events taking place felt realistic and like they could actually have happened.
Do I recommend it?
Yes, I do.
