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Wednesday, August 20, 2014

My Thoughts: The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson


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


**Review copy received by publisher**


In another attempt to jump out of my contemporary comfort zone I decided to give The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson a try. I had heard a number of good things about this one, and I was curious. I will admit that it took me a little while to finally pick the book up, buy when I did, I was completely engrossed in the story. I was so incredibly pleased by The Kiss of Deception I am a little sad that I finished it.

The story begins with Lia- the first daughter of Morrighan and her best friend/lady's maid fleeing the morning she was to marry a stranger.  The two wind up in a sea side village, working as bar maids. It is in this town that the two girls hope to settle and create a new life. However, the arrival of two mysterious boys-one the Prince Lia was supposed to marry, the other, an assassin sent to kill her, shake things up a bit for them, and thus, we have The Kiss of Deception.

I love love loved this book. SO much. The characters were absolutely fantastic. First off- Lia was fierce. She was a fighter. She was mouthy and she knew what she wanted. She was also super brave, loyal and she was a romantic. What a fabulous heroine. It's been a while since I have had the pleasure of reading such a well rounded protagonist. I also really like Rafe and Kaden ( the assassin and the prince, or is it the other way around? I'll never tell). I liked both guys for different reasons. I really like Rafe's broody nature, and how he seemed pissed off at the world. This made his tender moments all the better. I enjoyed Kaden's playfulness, and how he didn't really take things all that seriously. This would generally irritate me, but for him it worked.

I have to say one thing, Pearson is either a super genius or purely evil, but you actually don't know who Rafe and Kaden represent until about half way (maybe more) through the book, which is the prince and which is assassin remains a mystery for a good long while. I was sure I had it right, and I knew who was who, but than something would happen and I would wonder if I was wrong. By the time of the reveal I was pretty sure I was fooling myself... You'll need to read this one to see. I loved it though. Trying to figure out who was who. It's really not that big of a deal. But I thought it was an entertaining aspect of the novel.

Some have said that the middle of The Kiss of Deception is a little slow, I don't really agree. I loved the pace, I loved getting to know the characters and I really enjoyed the writing. It was so easy to get lost in. The latter half of the book does pick up in pace, and it's great. I think if you love character based novels, you will really enjoy this one. If you are more plot/action centred, you may struggle a bit in the middle, but maybe not.

Overall, The Kiss of Deception was a wonderful novel and I loved every page. I am excited to see what's in store for these beloved characters and I can't wait for the sequels.

~Happy Reading Everyone!

Monday, August 18, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Fantasy Books Aylee Has Been Telling me to Read


TTT is hosted over at The Broke and Bookish

Top Ten Books People Have Been Telling You That You MUST Read (whether because they think it's a "you" book or it's just been generally recommended so often)



I am SO excited about this week's topic! I can barely contain how excited I am.

This week, Aylee from Recovering Potter Addict and I have decided to collaborate. The two of us have pretty different reading tastes- she's pretty high fantasy and I tend to lean more contemporary. There are a number of books we have been trying to get the other to read. I don't know how many times I begged her to read John Green before her Great John Green Read of 2014 and she has mentioned Patrick Ness to me more times then I can count. There are a few more that I have insisted she read, and you can head over to her blog post to see that list.

This week's list, is her list for me. I hope you enjoy. It was SO MUCH FUN doing this.-Stay tuned to the end for a special announcement.




1. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness – I think Sara will appreciate the beauty of this one. It’s essentially a contemporary with fantasy undertones so I think this would be a good start to ease Sara into the genre.

2. Coraline by Neil Gaiman – Quick and easy read with all of the whimsy and creepiness of a Neil Gaiman read. This book kind of terrified me (as did the movie) even though it’s technically a children’s book, so it might be a good Hallowe’en read.

3. Night of Cake & Puppets by Laini Taylor – I know Sara has enjoyed the first two books in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy so I’m keen on her reading one of my all-time favourite novellas, featuring some of my all-time favourite secondary characters, Zuzanna and Mik. This one is SO wonderful that I can’t imagine anyone not loving it!

4. The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas – I know that Sara recently read and loved Throne of Glass and I am positively ADAMANT that everyone who reads that must also read this collection of prequel novellas, as they are utterly fantastic.

5. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater – This one was such a powerful and meaningful book for me so it holds a special place in my heart. I hope Sara enjoys it too!




6. The Archived by Victoria Schwab – This one had an entirely unique concept, which is so rare in books these days. Furthermore, it was an especially well executed concept in a well-written plot. Can be read as a standalone.

7. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers – This one might be more of a challenge because it can be quite heavy on historical politics, but it’s absolutely worth reading. The ever-present theme of mortality is quite powerful and Ismae is an amazing protagonist. Can be read as a standalone.

8. The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey – Another challenging read, but also entirely rewarding in my opinion. This one is unlike anything else you will read in any genre. And Rick Yancey is a supremely talented writer. Can be read as a standalone.

9. The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen – This one is kind of like Game of Thrones-lite, so it has plenty of court politics and violence, but is less dense to get through than Game of Thrones. I am really unsure what Sara will think of this one… but it will be a challenge and that’s kind of the point!

10. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness – This is my all-time favourite book after Harry Potter, which if you know me is saying something. The stream of consciousness writing is so effective here that it really brings the protagonist to life. It’s part fantasy, part sci fi, and part dystopian so it’s bound to be a challenge, but the product is pure brilliance. 



BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! 




So, Aylee and I have decided that we are not stopping with these lists. We have decided to jump in and challenge one another to read these books. Yup, you read right. I am going to dig in and get all ten books read, and she is going to do the same.

Amber from Books of Amber and Judith from Paper Riot started this trend a little while ago, and we both thought it was such a brilliant idea, and we wanted to take part. We have no idea how we're going to document success, what kind of time frame we are looking at, or how we're going to keep each other accountable. But in all honesty there are no hard and fast rules. We're just going to have fun.


"So, please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can install, a lovely bookcase on the wall."
— Roald Dahl