Bookwhit

Title: The Traitor’s Kiss (to buy on Amazon click here.)

Author: Erin Beaty

Published: May 9, 2017 by Imprint

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance

Stars: 5                  Content: 4

Synopsis:

An obstinate girl who will not be married.
A soldier desperate to prove himself.
A kingdom on the brink of war.

With a sharp tongue and an unruly temper, Sage Fowler is not what they’d call a lady―which is perfectly fine with her. Deemed unfit for marriage, Sage is apprenticed to a matchmaker and tasked with wrangling other young ladies to be married off for political alliances. She spies on the girls―and on the soldiers escorting them.

As the girls’ military escort senses a political uprising, Sage is recruited by a handsome soldier to infiltrate the enemy ranks. The more she discovers as a spy, the less certain she becomes about whom to trust―and Sage becomes caught in a dangerous balancing act that will determine the fate of her kingdom.

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I listened to this one on Audible. I have loved every narrator so far, however this one has been my least favorite to listen to. I didn’t feel she did the different characters voices as well as some of the others have. Now I want to reread this book just because I feel like I would have read some of the expressions differently.

This story was amazing. I absolutely loved it! *Me squealing*. At first it reminded me of Disney’s Mulan. Sage is to be married off and sent to the Matchmaker for her interview. All dolled up and lines memorized to impress this woman to gain an advantageous match that she doesn’t even want. She is stubborn and like most women wants to be loved for who she is. Not for pretending to be someone she is not. The interview doesn’t go well and Sage finds herself not being matched but being an apprentice to the Matchmaker!!  She is very smart and observant. She learns fast and finds that she is really good at reading people. She learns all she can about the ladies and their families whether it be by playing a lady or by playing spy.

Every 5 years the Matchmaker takes so many eligible ladies to the capitol to be matched. The girls don’t come back. The go willingly to get a husband and align their families with the powerful nobles that are looking for wives. At first Sage has to pretend to be a lady so she can learn more about them and for her own protection. Being a lady gets into her into circles otherwise denied her and she finds she can intermingle with the nobility and the commoners. Perfect for finding out everyone’s secrets. If there is one person she can’t seem to find anything out about though, it is Captain Quinn.

Captain Quinn is the General’s son and nephew to the King. He feels it is punishment to escort the brides to the capitol until he is told something is brewing. The Royal Army wasn’t sure what exactly but something is definitely brewing and Captain Quinn is supposed to be getting as much info as he can. Every member of his ‘team’ has a part to play. The Captain needs someone on the inside with the brides to feed him any information that might be useful. They send their “mouse” in to make contact with a maid and instead he meets Sage. Sage is more useful than a maid would have been but she is also too smart, too observant, too curious. She asks questions that he can’t answer. Their country is on the brink of war and all information is top secret. Will they come to trust each other or will they ruin everything? And who exactly is playing “mouse”? I have to reread this because I was surprised! I’m a little disappointed in myself actually because it was probably very obvious but I didn’t catch on tell they full on spelled it out for me. Ha ha.

I really did love this book. Sage is strong, brave and smart. She meets her match in Ash. There were a few surprises. I didn’t really try and predict this one and I loved the twists and turns. I was really sad when it ended and was ecstatic when I learned it was a trilogy. Those of you that have to have the whole series out will want to wait. The other 2 books won’t be out for a few more years. Those of you who like to look forward to the release date of the next book in a beloved trilogy need to read this now!! Happy reading friends!