Gold Star Review: The Kiss of Deception

The Kiss of Deception 
by Mary E. Pearson
The Remnant Chronicles, book one

In this timeless new trilogy about love and sacrifice, a princess must find her place in a reborn world.

In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia’s life follows a preordained course. As First Daughter, she is expected to have the revered gift of sight—but she doesn’t—and she knows her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom—to a prince she has never met.

On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—even as she finds herself falling in love. (Description from Goodreads.com)

I absolutely love Mary E. Pearson's writing.  I loved the Jenna Fox Chronicles, so I was absolutely giddy when I got the approval through Netgalley to read THE KISS OF DECEPTION. It was so different from her (purely) science fiction trilogy, and yet, with it's hints of dystopia and the bits of magic woven in, I loved this book just as much.  It still captured me totally, reminding me again how I need to set aside a whole day when I pick up one of Mary E. Pearson's books.  I could NOT put it down!!

Pearson is a proven master at being able to draw readers into a world, trickling information to them one little drib drab at a time.  As we go on Lia's journey, we learn not only more about her (her relationships with family, society's expectations for her, her own expectations for herself) but we learn much about the world that she is living in...and yet, we don't truly learn the full extent of either.  I have my suspicions about some of the world building in the Remnant Chronicles, but I know I'm going to have to wait probably until the end of the trilogy to find out if I'm right or not... And it takes Lia learning more about her own past and future for readers to get an idea of where her destiny might lead her in the end.  

With a fiesty, smart, caring heroine, a super-hot love interest and another intriguing man thrown into the mix for some extra fun, and a prophecy that will LITERALLY change the world someday, I am hooked.  Absolutely hooked. I will be eagerly awaiting the arrival of book two, The Heart of Betrayal.  

Full disclosure: eARC received from Netgalley

Mini Reviews: The Novella Edition

Winter's Passage
by Julie Kagawa
Iron Fey series, book 1.5

Meghan Chase used to be an ordinary girl...until she discovered that she is really a faery princess. After escaping from the clutches of the deadly Iron fey, Meghan must follow through on her promise to return to the equally dangerous Winter Court with her forbidden love, Prince Ash. But first, Meghan has one request: that they visit Puck--Meghan's best friend and servant of her father, King Oberon--who was gravely injured defending Meghan from the Iron Fey. Yet Meghan and Ash's detour does not go unnoticed. They have caught the attention of an ancient, powerful hunter--a foe that even Ash may not be able to defeat....

This is such a great series. I loved getting this extra little glimpse into the Fey world.



The Assassin and the Desert/The Assassin and the Empire
by Sarah J. Maas
Throne of Glass novellas, 2 and 4

The Silent Assassins of the Red Desert aren’t much for conversation, and Celaena Sardothien wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s not there to chatter, she’s there to hone her craft as the world’s most feared killer for hire. When the quiet is shattered by forces who want to destroy the Silent Assassins, Celaena must find a way to stop them, or she’ll be lucky to leave the desert alive.

Celaena Sardothien is the assassin with everything: a place to call her own, the love of handsome Sam, and, best of all, freedom. But Celaena won’t be truly free until she is far away from her old master, Arobynn Hamel – so she and Sam decide to take one last daring assignment that will liberate them forever. And that’s how Celaena learns that having everything… means everything can be taken away.

Kicking myself that I didn't read these in the proper order, but I have all four novellas so I'll be going back to fill in the blanks, LOL.  Since I've already read the novel it didn't really matter what order I read them in, since I already know where the storyline is basically going, but man, Maas does a GREAT job with the backstory and worldbuilding in these. Definitely worth reading!!

 

The Initiate

by Megg Jensen

The Song of Eloh Saga, book 1

 

Over a thousand years ago, the gods left Eloh's people and took their magic with them. To win back their favor, her people sacrifice ten female initiates every ten years. No has ever survived. There has never been a Chosen One. Forced into becoming an initiate, Eloh will try to find a way to beat the odds, stay with her boyfriend, and survive the fires that threaten to consume her. But will her lack of faith in the gods and her disbelief in their magic doom her to a painful death?

 

So intriguing! This is my first foray into the highly recommended works by Megg Jensen and it will not be my last. I have the Cloud Prophet Trilogy to read soon! 

 

Freaks: A Rizzoli and Isles short story

by Tess Gerritsen

 

Homicide cop Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles have seen their fair share of mortal crimes, but the death of Kimberly Rayner may qualify as inhuman in more ways than one. When corpse of the emaciated seventeen-year-old girl is discovered next to an empty coffin in an abandoned church, mysterious bruises around the throat suggest foul play. Caught fleeing the scene is the victim’s closest friend, Lucas Henry, an equally skeletal, pale teenager who claims he’s guilty only of having a taste for blood—a craving he shared with Kimberly. But the victim’s distraught father doesn’t believe in vampires, only vengeance. And now, another life may be at risk unless Rizzoli and Isles can uncover the astonishing truth.

 



I have to admit that though this was an interesting story, I actually like the dynamics of Rizzoli and Isles on the TV version better.  Sad!

Full disclosure: All novellas purchased for my Nook

Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass
by Sarah J. Maas

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After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.
Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined. (description from Amazon.com)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Celaena is a broken, yet resiliant character.  She's notorious and almost anonymous at the same time.  Though she's the kingdom's premier assassin, most have no idea what she looks like and no one knows her true past. She survived a year in a death camp, working the salt mines, and that is almost unbelievable. Is it any wonder that she terrifies and enchants almost everyone she meets?

Though love triangles start to feel old if they are not done well, in this book, the triangle totally worked for me.  Perhaps because Celaena continuously puts her own wellbeing first...the way things should work! Though she's entranced with the Crown Prince and would gladly be with him, if she is to be his Father's Assassin, a relationship could never work... and then there is the Captain of the Guard.  Though he does not elicit the same, ahem...lustful...feelings in her, there is a soul deep connection that can only make them truly friends...and perhaps more someday.

Maas did a masterful job at worldbuilding in this book.  While the reader never truly gets the entire back story on the kingdom that Celaena finds herself in, Maas trickles little bits of information into the story as things develop, allowing readers to learn just enough to be aware of how things work, and also leave them salivating for more backstory.  In fact, I'm now working my way through the four e-pubbed novellas (The Assassin and the Pirate Lord, The Assassin and the Empire, The Assassin and the Desert, and The Assassin and the Underworld) in hopes of learning more before the next book...

In a kingdom where magic is forbidden, there is certainly a lot of weird, unexplainable things going on here.  There also seems to be a certain reason why a lot of these events seem to seek out Celaena... Maas again managed to blend the perfect amount of realism and the fantastic.  With characters that know things they shouldn't and those that seem to be perfectly in the dark... Celaena must determine who she can truly trust...her life most certainly depends on it. 

Fans of Tamora Pierce, Rae Carson, and other fantasy writers with strong female characters will devour this book!

Full disclosure: Review copy received from NetGalley, signed ARC received at BEA 2012.