The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Title: The Kiss of Deception
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Series: The Remnant Chronicles, book #1
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication Date: July 8, 2014
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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.

All year whenever someone has asked me what my favorite book is that I've read so far I struggle with giving an answer. Not because I haven't read some amazing books, but because I had a weird sense that somewhere out there was that perfect book just waiting for me to read. The Kiss of Deception was that perfect book. Wow. Just wow. I have read a lot of fantasy books in my days and this one blew me away. I DEVOURED this book. It was full of all the elements that I love in books; fantasy, magic and romance! 

The Kiss of Deception is not a fast-paced quest filled book, but a slow journey. Princess Lia escapes an arranged marriage and finds herself in a small village where she blends in waitressing tables. While she is there two men are on separate quests to find Lia. One is an assassin sent to kill her and the other is the prince she was meant to marry. The book was told from all three characters points of view and they were all equally beautiful narrators. Lia meets the assassin and the prince and learns their names, or rather fake names, to be Rafe and Kaden. The really interesting part of this book is that we do not know which is the prince and which is the assassin. I loved how we kinda got to see the men the same way Lia did, not really knowing their true identities. It added a fun/mysterious extra layer to the book that always kept me guessing and trying to figure out who was who. (I thought I had finally figured it out! I was wrong.)

Lia was a really intriguing character. She was vastly knowledgeable in languages and frequently used that to her advantage. She also was brave and stood up for those unwilling to stand up for themselves. Kaden and Rafe were both very interesting as well. Their characters always kept me guessing. If I were asked to sum this book up in one word it would be "beautiful". 

If you like fantasy, romance, magic or just amazing stories then The Kiss of Deception is the book for you!

Infinity