The Kiss of Deception

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

July 2014

ISBN: 978-0-8050-9923-2

Pages: 496

Historical, Fantasy, Young Adult

Princess Lia lives a life in a society steeped in tradition and one that follows a preordained course.  She is a First Daughter and expected to have the revered gift of sight.  Though she doesn’t have it and she knows her parents have perpetrated a sham especially when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom.  Also to a prince she has never met.

The morning of her wedding Lia flees to a distant village.  She finds a new life and becomes hopeful when two handsome and mysterious strangers arrive.  What she doesn’t know is that one is the jilted prince and the other is an assassin sent to kill her.  Lia is on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets even as deception abounds and she finds herself falling in love.

This is story that draws readers in with the mystery that is woven through the romance.  It will keep readers turning the pages to find out what will happen next.  The story comes to life for the reader with the vivid picture that is painted with every word that is read.  The reader will find themselves getting lost in Lia’s world and wondering how things will work out. This is the first book in a series so while some of the questions are answered it does leave a cliff hanger at the end and the overall plot is not resolved in this book.  So while there are still many questions that need to be answered it is still a great story that will have readers eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. 

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses

LRH