Review: There are a lot of elements of “The Kiss of Deception” that I LOVED! 

To start, I was completely immersed in the world building. Pearson did a phenomenal job creating languages, like the language of Venda, from scratch. I was also impressed by how Pearson constructed the religion prominent in Morrighan. Excerpts from religious texts (songs and testaments) were a refreshing addition, as they provided a change in format. Pearson also spent a lot of time establishing the three monarchies in her world and the different group of groups of people within them (The Morrighese, the Dalbretch, the Vendans, and tribes of Gaudrel).

I really loved the characters Pearson created and how she developed their relationships with each other. It was also great that we got to read from multiple perspectives! I found Lia to be a strong character who was not afraid to get dirty and sacrifice her happiness for others, which I greatly admired. I really loved her friendship with Pauline. The love triangle between Rafe, Kaden, and Lia was complex and incredibly entertaining!

Though there were many parts of this book that I loved, there were some areas I had some trouble with. I felt as though too much time was spent in Terravin and by the end of the novel, I was unsure of the larger conflict. I also found the character motives to be a bit flimsy. For example, I did not quite understand why Kaden, a seasoned assassin, would simply let Lia live. 

All in all I am SO glad I decided to start reading “The Remnant Chronicles” before beginning the “Dance of Thieves” duology! “The Kiss of Deception” is a must-read for those new to the fantasy genre.