“In The Kiss of Deception, a new realm is masterfully created, featuring court intrigue, feuding nations, breathtaking landscapes, and the gift of sight. It does leave you hanging, but the sequel is due out soon, so you won't have to wait. In fact, the last third - after Lia's decisions catch up to her - is brilliant. But in Pearson's hands, none of that seemed trite. Yes: Lia gets caught (it wouldn't be much of a story if she didn't). Sure: you can predict elements of the plot, and how the love triangle will turn out. There are no stereotypical characters here everyone has depth and layers. Additionally, Pearson developed the characters of the men pursuing Lia, her maid, and even the bartender that Lia ends up staying with. She was feisty and rash, and managed the transition to acting like a commoner without that royal snobbery so often seen. She figures she can outwit the king's trackers, the assassin that's on her tail, and whoever else is after her, and escape to a seaside village and live happily in disguise.įor me it was Lia that made the book: she was independent, intelligent, and thoroughly confident in her decisions. She makes a plan, and runs away on the morning of her wedding with her maid. Unfortunately, that daughter is Lia: headstrong, opinionated, and not at all willing to go through with the (stupid) traditions of her parents religion. The relations with their neighboring countries are tentative at best, violent at worse, which means the marriage of the royal family's First Daughter to the prince of a neighboring kingdom is of grave importance. It's an elaborate ritual, one seeped in religion and tradition. They are given in marriage, with no choice or say in who they end up with. The world is Morrigan, a kingdom with a strict religion and rules for the First Daughters, especially of the royal family. Pearson is a skilled enough writer to give us both a world and characters that leap off the page. That's a tricky thing too many authors either slack on the characters or the world, and while I enjoy the elements, I find that the whole is lacking. It makes me incredibly happy when an author gets the balance between world building and character development right. I am a huge fan of well-written fantasy books.

The kiss of deception series order