Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
Publication Date: July 8th, 2014
Rating: 3.5/5
In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia’s life follows a preordained course. As First Daughter, she is expected to have the revered gift of sight—but she doesn’t—and she knows her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom—to a prince she has never met.
On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—even as she finds herself falling in love.
So I’ve kind of forgotten how to write a book review so bear with me because I’m going to talk to you about how I really enjoyed this book but don’t know how to explain that it also didn’t made me go “OH MY GOSH AHHHH”. I loved the premise of it and things got pretty interesting when the perspectives started changing for sure, and while I’m excited to read the sequels, as I’m writing the review I just don’t feel super hyped and it might be partly because of my mood but I know that it’s also because it was just really easy to put the book down. Like even when things started to get intense, I still found myself able to put the book away. It just didn’t have the intensity that I wanted, I guess?
So anyway, Princess Lia runs away because she doesn’t want to marry a stranger (Understandable) and she’s tired of just being a pawn to her parents (also understandable). But what really interested me was that the Prince she was supposed to marry wasn’t exactly angry that she ran away… but that she had the courage to do it FIRST. So anyway, he goes after her because he received a note way before the wedding requesting that she get to see him before she agrees to marry (and because he’s curious as to who the heck this girl thinks she is).
ON TOP OF THAT, there’s an assassin coming after her (uh oh!). But the really interesting part? When the POVs change, WE DON’T KNOW WHICH ONE IS THE PRINCE AND WHICH ONE IS THE ASSASSIN. *chef’s kiss* PERFECTION. See? Like it was a good book but I guess I just really wasn’t in the mood?
Anyway, there’s obviously tension and a bit of romance. But there’s also this whole plot with Lia and her ancestors. It’s a really interesting sort of backstory and I’m definitely intrigued by it. I really liked that element of magic with it and the whole culture of the realm.
This was a bit of a slower paced book (which normally, I really enjoy (for example, We hunt the flame, my absolutely obsession and reason for living) focusing on characters and development. I really enjoyed that, but my mind just wasn’t focusing, making this a lesser rating FOR ME.
If you enjoy a good character based story, assassins and cons, pretending to be someone you’re not, a sprinkle of magic, a dash of romance, and a new adventure, I would definitely recommend this to you! If you enjoy fierce females, family and friendship, mysterious men who both seem to have their eyes on you (for very different reasons), and a journey of self-discovery, this is for you!
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