The Heart of Betrayal (The Remnant Chronicles #2) by Mary E. Pearson

Title: The Heart of Betrayal (The Remnant Chronicles #2)
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Source: ARC - received a copy from the publisher at NTTBF which does not in any way influence my review of the novel.
Release Date: July 7th, 2015
Rating: 5 Major Stars

Intrigue abounds in this hotly anticipated sequel to The Kiss of Deception!

Held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda, Lia and Rafe have little chance of escape. Desperate to save her life, Lia's erstwhile assassin, Kaden, has told the Vendan Komizar that she has the gift, and the Komizar's interest in Lia is greater than anyone could have foreseen.

Meanwhile, nothing is straightforward: there's Rafe, who lied to Lia, but has sacrificed his freedom to protect her; Kaden, who meant to assassinate her but has now saved her life; and the Vendans, whom Lia always believed to be barbarians. Now that she lives amongst them, however, she realizes that may be far from the truth. Wrestling with her upbringing, her gift, and her sense of self, Lia must make powerful choices that will affect her country... and her own destiny. -Summary from Goodreads

            Wow! That was my first thought when I turned the last page (well, that and: AAAHHHH!!!!). This book was so beautifully and powerfully written, I couldn't get enough of it! I was lucky enough to pick up an ARC at the North Texas Book Festival in March and could barely stop hugging it enough to read it! The Remnant Chronicles is easily one of my favorite fantasy series ever. It made me laugh and swoon. It clenched my heart and kept me anxious to find out what would happen next. Lia is forever cemented as one of my favorite heroines and the cast of character in this book were phenomenal.

Lia really is amazing because not only has she the strength to survive the emotional trauma carried over from the first book and her captivity, but she makes the best of it and has the ability to adapt to almost any situation. Growing up as a princess, she is armed with an understanding of “court” life and how to maneuver through it. She also has the unconventional education that her brothers gave her which come in handy in some humorous ways. There were a couple times I was just laughing out loud from something Lia did that was obviously a result of her older brothers’ influence.

            The romance was perfection. It had enough bickering to make me smile and sweetness to make me swoon. There is still a bit of a love triangle if you squint but it was done in such a believable and heartbreaking way I couldn’t get mad at it. I love romance's that bloom under these intense situations. I think it makes them even more beautiful.

            There’s nothing that I didn’t like about this book, but one of my favorite things to read was Kaden and Rafe’s POVs. Now that almost everything is out in the open we get to what they think about each other as enemies as well as rivals for a certain maiden’s heart. Their interaction is much more tense and very fascinating to read.

            I even liked the villain of this book. The dreaded Komizar. Okay, so “like” may not be the right word, but I felt he was the best kind of villain because he was charismatic but ruthless. He cared for his people but had no room for mercy. At times you believed him and felt for his cause, but then in the same scene he could send a shiver of fear into your heart. I think that me, as a reader, had the same trouble as Lia when trying to figure this guy out and that made is so much more intense because you never really knew what he was going to do.

            The world building is superb and is beautiful even in the rough lands of Venda. I didn’t want to leave it and had a major book hangover after I finished this book. I don’t know how I’m going to survive until the next book!

     -Sarah

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Title: The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1)

Author: Mary E. Pearson

Source: Library

Rating: 5 AMAZING STARS

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. -Summary from Goodreads

                First off, I have to say how pleasantly surprised I was with how much I loved this book. There have been a few reads this year that I almost passed up on because, based on the summary, I didn’t think they were my type. However, I am a sucker for hyped books so I end up reading them anyway (like this one) and half the time I end up loving them more than I ever could have imagined (like this one). The Kiss of Deception has is all: romance, mystery, action, suspense, friendship, magic, and it all blends together to create a dazzling gem of fiction.

            One of the most fascinating aspects of this book was how Pearson dealt with the narratives. There are five narratives given by only three characters. Lia has the main narrative of course but then we have the Prince and the Assassin and their alter egos. Confused yet? Good, than you are where you’re supposed to be. We read how Kaden and Rafe are falling for Lia but then we get inside the head of the prince and the assassin and we don’t know who is who! I certainly didn’t. I was going back and forth until the big revelation and I never figured it out.

            Lia is such an amazing character, I just love her to bits. Not only is she strong willed but she’s smart and works hard at any task she is given, even if she is terrible at it. She is on a journey to find a life of her own making but also to find out what love truly is. Lia had seen many things called love and she has seen the misery of false love and is not impressed. One thing I admire about this book is that “romance” wasn’t the only love addressed. We saw the love between siblings, friends, and second families. While it wasn’t the main part of the story is was an important part of Lia’s growth. You really felt for Lia through her triumphs and her struggles. She is not perfect by any means but I couldn’t help but cheer her on the whole time. This book is about her story and not just what guy she is going to end up with.

            Technically The Kiss of Deception does have a love triangle but it was done so well that it didn’t annoy me at all (if you’ve read my reviews you know that I hate love triangles). Though she cared strongly for both there was only one guy she really wanted and though she didn’t necessarily handle it the best she quickly understood where she was going wrong and tried to do better.

            The world grew steadily darker and more intense and the story progressed. The characters developed and changed and so much happened that it felt like I had been reading for days (and multiple books) though I finished it in one. It has been a while since I’d been that immersed into the world of a book, it was amazing. If I had one critique, and this is being pulled out a hat here, was that I was a little confused about the magic of a First Daughter. A first I thought it was a royalty thing but then it seemed to be a power that most First Daughters had. I’m still a little fuzzy on it. It didn’t however diminish my enjoyment of the book. Hopefully in the sequel I’ll get a better grasp of it.

            I am recommending this book to every reader out there, even if you don’t read fantasy, because it is that amazing! Right from the beginning this was a 5 star book and I am anxiously anticipating the sequel which comes out around July 2015…. It’s going to be a long, hard wait.

           -Sarah