Review: The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

The Kiss of Deception

Mary E. Pearson

(The Remnant Chronicles #1)

Publication Date: July 8, 2014

Hardcover, 489 pages, Henry Holt & Co.

Genres: YA, Fantasy

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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.

My Review

Another princess. Another love triangle. Another war. Another fantastic book!!!

This book starts off with a familiar phenomenon in fantasy. It has the princess who runs away because she doesn’t want to be in the arranged marriage that will unite her country with a neighboring one. At first I was a little hesitant with just how familiar this plotline was, but I quickly learned that Princess Lia is not someone I should underestimate. Nothing is familiar when it comes to her.

However, Lia wasn’t immediately the spunky, kind-hearted heroine I enjoyed reading about. Her plotline was so unoriginal that, while I thought it was a good fantasy, it wasn’t anything special until about three-fourths of the way in. That burial scene just slaughtered my heart and made me love Lia so much. The whole scene resonated with me and it sent a strong message about war: that war is pointless and it’s destructive.

Other than Lia, there are three other primary characters, two of which are the love interests, Rafe and Kaden. What can I say about them? They’re both completely surprising and I don’t know which one I’m leaning towards more. That plot twist threw me, even though I knew to be on the lookout for one. Anywho, I think I’m leaning towards Rafe, but Kaden isn’t too terribly far behind.

The other character is Lia’s handmaiden/friend Pauline. Her character was a tad predictable and her storyline is the same one that often appears within most YA fantasy best friend plotlines. It irked me, but it was interesting to read about, so I’m not too terribly torn up about it.

All in all, this book is a fantasy book you’ll need to read. Not only is it a good romance story with an entertaining plotline, but it also has important messages about the other side of war, something I believe every person needs to think about.

*Note: I purchased this book for myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.