You Think You Know But You Have No Idea

"We may all have our own story and destiny,
and sometimes our seemingly bad fortune,
but we're all part of a greater story, too.
One that transcends the soil, the wind, time...even our own fears"

--Mary E. Pearson, The Kiss of Deception

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. Books
Pages: 496
Publication Date: July 15th, 2014
Source: ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review
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Goodreads Description

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 assasin 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.

The Storytelling 

You GUYS! I will NOT tell you why the storytelling of this book is brilliant because you will figure it out yourself by about page 80 and you will NOT be able to put it down! I was tweeting all over the place about how unique and genius this was. I was not only surprised but had a jaw-drop moment. Just SO cool and I could not turn the pages fast enough to try and figure out this story. Mary E. Pearson weaves an amazing story of fantasy and faith, duty and desires of the heart. I love how the religious lore she created and the magical realm of the Ancients. I cannot wait for more history and to see where the legends of the past lead us into the future.

The End 

I am foaming at the mouth for the next book and to see what happens next! No joke. I swooned HARD at the end of this book. I savored the last 5 pages and it took me 10 minutes just to read those last few pages because I was just cherishing what was happening and I was freaking my shit over how excited I was with the plot.

The Character Development 

Y'all these characters are complex and deep and more layered than the cake of my dreams. The journey each character takes from beginning to end is not won easily but more than worth the end result. Lia, especially, is such an amazing character to read about. She goes after what she wants in life but is also dependable and puts others before herself when it really comes down to it. Reading her talk about her love of adventure and her dreams was beautiful. She is a girl after my own heart that she knows what she wants and she goes after it. LOVE. The boys are not what they seem...and that's all I'm saying about that.

The Secondary Characters 

Pauline, Berdi, Gwenyth, Eben, etc. these characters are not fully present throughout the novel entire but when they are there they are fully fleshed out characters. They have desires, fears, wants, needs. I loved these characters and also cannot wait to see further development with these guys in future books.

The Love 

Oh my gosh, the swoon! I was swooning HARD. Especially at the end!! Oh my word! I couldn't handle it! The book really isn't heavy on the romance but when we get scenes of it, Pearson does not hold back on the sigh-inducing situations. Wowza. I need more.

The World Building 

While the world-building is overall great, I felt like it got a little description heavy at times. Especially during the last third of the book, I found the book more description than dialogue and interpersonal interaction. I would have like a little less of the scenery and a little more character interaction.

VIP

This is an amazingly unique take on a fantasy world. I cannot wait until the next book and to see what happens with our characters. There is much drama and conflict to be had in the future and I see myself anticipating the rest of the series eagerly! Fantasy lovers will love this!