The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. PearsonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I just couldn't give this 5 stars. I didn't love it, but it was definitely enjoyable. Fast paced, a ton of detail (got boring at times and I ended up skipping and skimming pages), not enough convo between characters. Loved Lia and Rafe. Kaden is still an iffy character for me. The truth about Lia's gift is confusing.
Princess Arabella Jezelia aka Lia is a definite force to be reckoned with. I loved her character because she wasn't your typical obedient princess. She didn't like tradition, she hated duty and she definitely never wanted to marry a prince she didn't love. She knew what she wanted out of life and she wanted more than the life her father her set for her. She stood up against her father, ran away on her wedding day, stood against the solider that wouldn't stop being too touchy in Berdi's inn and against Kaden's associate's. She can definitely handle her own in a fight and outsmart many. She handled things with such grace. Learning that she does in fact have a gift and it's more powerful then she thought is interesting. Her mother secretly made her stop using it and now she must find a way to stop suppressing it and actually use it. Before she left she stole two books from the Scholar and Chancellor that actually are in regards to her gift, I'm not sure why everyone kept it such a secret.
Rafe, the Prince, is just like Lia. He doesn't want the life his father prepared for him. He wants love, happiness and a real life as a prince and soon to be king. He went after the princess just to see what she was like, but he never expected her to be someone he could truly love. The bond that grew between him and Lia is absolutely amazing. I feel like it was fate for them to be together, be it through an arranged marriage or finding each other the way they did.
Kaden, the assassin, is annoying. He acts hardball, but he isn't like that at all. He is more humane then he gives himself credit for. He was kind and sweet at the inn and including when he didn't want to kill Lia, but he acts like a tough cookie because he feels like he owes the Vendan. I think he should grow some balls and help Lia truly escape and make a life somewhere for himself.
I enjoyed Gwen, Berdi and Pauline. They were awesome secondary characters. Enzo was adorable too. I liked it when Rafe scared him shitless -- priceless. The world building in this story was definitely amazing, but I wish there was less wordbuilding and more character interactions.
I will read the sequel just to see how things work out for the characters. I'm interested in knowing what Lia's gift is. Will she and Rafe escape?
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