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“A six-inch blade. I smiled. Did he buy it? It was actually just shy of four—but very nicely weighted—and as Aunt Bernette noted, a little exaggeration was always expected when describing weapons, victories, and body parts.”

Title: The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson (The Remnant Chronicles #1)

Author: Mary E. Pearson

Published: July 8th 2014 by Henry Holt

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance

Stars:  5                Content Rating: 2

Synopsis:

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.

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Hello lovelies! This series is so good. I had read books 1 and 2 and had completely forgot about them until I started seeing the third book around! It had been so long that I decided to reread them and I am so glad I did! (I know.. lots of exclamations !!!!)

Strong story line and characters, CHECK.

Good pace and kept me interested, CHECK.

Would recommend to friends, CHECK.

Would buy and read again, CHECK.

I absolutely love it when I open up a book and there is a map inside. It means that I am going to be discovering a new land. The author is going to be taking me to a new world and I can’t wait to jump in and see what it is like there. This story starts off on Lia’s wedding day. She is First Daughter of Morrighan and as such she is supposed to have “the gift” which she doesn’t and is supposed to marry the Prince of Dalbreck. She has older brothers and has grown up riding and tracking. Sneaking away to play dice and card games with the boys. On her wedding day she decides she escape. She wants a life of her own, to be loved for who she is and she is not afraid to work for it. Her lady’s maid, Pauline, helps her and they runaway to a little coastal town and to freedom.

The Prince has to know who this girl is that would just bail on their wedding. He takes off after her and when he does find her, she is not the kind of Princess he was expecting.

The Assassin is sent to kill Lia (obviously.. haha) to prevent any future plans of uniting Morrighan and Dalbreck. Those two kingdoms together could cause trouble for the kingdom of Venda.

Now here is something funny. The book is narrated by Lia. Then the Prince has his part and the Assassin has his part and it alternates back and forth and through Lia’s narrative you know the names of the Prince and Assassin. Then towards the end you realize who is who and I totally had them mixed up. It was a total shock when I got that far, BUT I think I just missed something earlier on because now that I read it again I wasn’t confused. Still I was like MIND BLOWN.

Through out there are “Songs of Venda” that were sung by first Queen. They thought she was mad but the people liked to here her sing while she sat on the wall. They are stories but when written out they sound more like prophecies. I’m excited to find out how Lia’s story will fit into the crazy Queens verses.

As you follow these three characters and get to know them better the more you love them. Which is usually what always happens.. right?  You see the struggle and the growing, things start falling into place and you see more of who they are, and why they are that way.  This book is full of young love, betrayal, with lies, heartache and a wonderment that only a fantasy novel can bring. It has been a crazy adventure so far and I will be starting the next one ASAP!

Thanks for reading!