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!