The Kiss of Deception

Reviewed by: Megan Moynihan - Walker Memorial, Westbrook, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: February 4, 2015

Review

Seventeen year old Princess Lia of the kingdom of Morrighan bucks centuries of tradition, fleeing her own wedding to a prince she has never met. She settles in the village of Terravin where she finally feels at home and revels in the freedom of making her own choices, all the while attempting to blend in as a barmaid. When two handsome strangers arrive at the inn where she works, Lia soon finds herself falling for one of them. What Lia doesn’t know is that one of the strangers is the jilted prince while the other is a dangerous assassin that intends to kill her. Meanwhile Lia’s choice to desert her wedding has put the alliance between the kingdoms of Morrighan and Dalbreck at risk and has left the kingdoms vulnerable to the gathering armies of Venda, a third kingdom said to be made up of savage barbarians.

For more than half of this book, the story is mostly focused on the developing relationships between Lia and the two handsome strangers. The author keeps the reader constantly guessing which character is the prince and which is the assassin which is fun for a while but not necessarily important to the larger plot of the book. The true action begins when Lia hears news of an attack on the kingdom of Morrighan that was led by the barbarians of Venda. Guilt-ridden, she decides to finally face her duties as princess but en route to Morrighan she is kidnapped and a dangerous journey ensues where Lia begins to realize the grave danger her kingdom is in. At times, Lia’s character seems somewhat selfish and self-absorbed, putting her best-friend in danger to realize her own dream and her initial lack of concern for the political stability of her kingdom but as the story progresses, Lia begins to develop into a person of stronger character. I am hopeful that the next book in the series will answer some of the questions and plot points left hanging at the end of the first book.

Overall Book Score: good