DNF MiniReview: The Kiss of Deception

Author: Mary E. Pearson
Date of Publication: July 8, 2014
Pages: 492
Source: Library
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.

GOODREADS

Review:
I’ve had quite a love and hate relationship with this one. At first impression I didn’t think it was my type of book, but after reading some positive reviews I started to reconsider. See the premise is everything I could ever want in a book, but once you’ve read enough book that you can compare ways a story can go wrongly, one become a little cautious. That’s what happened here.

I only got around 30% through this book when I could not see myself being able to finish it. I read Mary E. Pearson’s The Scribbler of Dreams in the 7th grade and it was one of my first YA reads. She is a great writer but I couldn’t see that translate well to a fantasy read such as this one. Everything felt unrealistic and weak. The initial chapters were to quick to jump from scene to scene without giving much information or explanation. I was quite annoyed at Princess Lia's decision to just up and leave “all of a sudden” after planning but not really planning for weeks and then dragging her loyal servant on the perfect, obstacle free escape.

My second problem was the prince and the assassin. Too quick to trust, too quick to talk. Both were so flat. I realize I should give it more time for development but in that first 100 or so pages, so much had happened but none of it was development. I didn’t like how the assassin wasn’t really an assassin in the way he acted. His “I’m scary and broody” persona bothered me as it had no real proof to it. He tells us that he scary but he can't deliver at all. Instead he just stares dumbfounded at a fool of a princess. I don't see what makes him hesitate. As for the prince, he just pined and then said he was thankful she ran away from the wedding and then pined some more.

Ughh.. I’m frustrated by this book. Many aspects scratched me the wrong way and when it comes down to it, I know this isn’t for me. I’ve over analyzed it and quite certainly killed any joy it could present me. I’ll pass on this one. I hope everyone else has better luck. Take it with a grain of salt and just enjoy the story, don’t think over it all too much.

-Mari