FlumeAward – The Kiss of Deception
FlumeAward – The Kiss of Deception //The Kiss of Deception// by Mary E. Pearson
Thought I’d update this title as I’m reading it now (though it’s been slow going with all the snow shoveling that’s had to happen!!) It’s a rather standard fantasy fare in many ways – reluctant princess and first daughter defies her father the king and her kingdom by running away from the arranged marriage to unite two kingdoms on the morning of the wedding. But it’s more than just a fantasy story in that Lia is a clever and strong female lead, and the writing is a lovely woven tapestry of description blended with a good mystery/intrigue. That the prince and an assassin quickly find her working as a barmaid in a distant village and befriend her without her knowing who they are is a bit much, but I’m still hanging with the story, even as love develops between the intended prince and princess, and a potential love triangle is looming. I’m engaged and interested and look forward to reading time and my immersion into this interesting and well-defined fantasy world of the struggles between the Kingdom of Morrighan and the Kingdom of Dalbreck. I’ll update this further when I’m done, and hope to hear from others who’ve read this. I don’t typically care for this sort of fantasy, but it’s working for me so far. 🙂
UPDATE: I’m revising my opinion a bit; while I thought the book was DECENT, and the writing quite good – I don’t think it’s worthy of a Flume nomination. The more I read, the more it seemed that this fantasy world was created/contrived as a placeholder for the love triangle which was ultimately pretty lame. Fantasy lovers would enjoy this despite the dragging second half of the book, and it’s definitely meant to go on as the ending left the reader wondering what would come next – not DYING to know, mind, just wondering. In my case, I’ll let that mystery remain in my life and won’t be reading any sequels. We can pass on this for the final list.
Lisa Houde
Rye Public Library