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

In this timeless new trilogy about love and sacrifice, a princess must find her place in a reborn world.

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 assasin 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.

I definitely have a love for fantasy books. This one has all the elements I wanted… awesome world building, romance, swords and arrows, heart wrenching moments, and overall a story I didn’t want to put down.

Our main character Lia, runs away from her home on her wedding day and decides to finally take her life into her own hands. I love how she refuses to be wedded off to someone she doesn’t even know. How she risks everything, her life and royalty, to find a life she’d rather lead. She’s definitely smart and witty and full of strength.

Both of our boys made an impression on me right away. Rafe with his strength and boldness and persistence. Then Kaden with his turmoil turning in his eyes but still full of caring. I’m not sure if I would call it a “love triangle” per say, but they’re definitely both love interests and as much as I loved Kaden, I leaned towards Rafe. Both boys are very different yet kind of had the same intentions. I loved both of them and can’t wait to see what happens in the future books.

It’s not a short book by any means, but it is a very adventurous one. I admit I found myself confused at a few points, but overall all the lore, and fights, and love, and harsh moments stole the show for me. Overall it was a book I very much enjoyed and the end is one that made me wishing I had the second book in my hands already!