Title: The Kiss of DeceptionAuthor: Mary E. Pearson
Publisher: Henry Holt
Buy This Book: Amazon
/ Book DepositoryIn 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 assassin 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. (Goodreads summary.)
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| Me and this book. |
Get ready, blogosphere!
Here comes one of my totally rant-filled, I-hate-this-book reviews!
I honestly think it's not good to read this book after having a binge read of every Throne of Glass book. The reason for that is that, if you do, The Kiss of Deception just seems like a poor man's Throne of Glass. That may seem strange because they may seem quite different, but they have so many similarities that it really began to bug me. The Kiss of Deception, as far as young adult fantasy goes, just didn't live up to my expectations, especially after reading such a brilliant young adult fantasy series before it. As I like lists I want to put down what I found similar about the stories.
Throne of Glass - The Kiss of Deception Similarities
Both contain 3 main characters - a girl & 2 guys.
Both contain a love triangle that's not really a love triangle.
Both contain an assassin and a Prince.
Both assassin's have large scars along their backs.
Both contain someone hiding their true identity.
Both contain someone who's magic has been suppressed.
Both contain a love triangle that's not really a love triangle.
Both contain an assassin and a Prince.
Both assassin's have large scars along their backs.
Both contain someone hiding their true identity.
Both contain someone who's magic has been suppressed.
And on it goes.
When I read the Goodreads summary for this book the last thing I thought of was Throne of Glass. But as I began reading it, especially since I'd just finished Heir of Fire, I really couldn't stop myself comparing them. And this just didn't live up to it. I worry that maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it at a different time, but I honestly don't think so.
I have seen so many reviews that praise this book for it's romance, it's world building, it's characters, it's pacing and the general storyline. This is when I really came to believe that I had downloaded the wrong eARC because those were all the things that I had huge problems with. What romance? What world building? What characters? I found it completely lacking in all of those areas.
There are three main characters in this book, Lia, then an assassin and a prince. Now we are given two names, Rafe and Kaden, but it's not revealed which is the assassin and which is the prince. Why? That is the most boring plot twist ever. It just seems really frustrating and pointless to me, I didn't get why it needed to be hidden. That's the most exciting plot twist this book has to offer?!? REALLY! Who's a prince and who's an assassin. It's not even a twist because you know it's coming. So it's logical to work out for yourself that whoever seems like the most obvious option to be the prince or the assassin, it's going to turn out being the opposite. And it does. WOW! I'm totally shocked.... NOT!
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| Romance!?! Don't make me laugh. |
The assassin was a character that absolutely infuriated me for so long, even when I didn't know which character was which. After reading Throne of Glass, and seeing Celaena in action, this guy was a total let down and disappointment. He's the worst assassin ever... E.V.E.R. He has one mission, ONE, and he can't even manage that. I was just begging him to hurry up and slit Lia's throat so this book would be over. And he just couldn't do it. What a total softie, he doesn't deserve the title of assassin at all.
The main character was just meh. Just total and utter meh. She wasn't special in any way. She makes a quick, rash decision without thinking about the consequences. She runs away from an arranged marriage, I don't blame her for that one, but I did laugh that she only really thinks about the consequences of her actions after she does it. I could not, would not and will not ever find her likeable. She annoyed me. The end.
Me by the end of this book!
2/5 Butterflies
It gets 2/5 because it wasn't the worst book ever, it just wasn't a book I enjoyed reading. It just didn't live up to the reviews at all. I thought this was going to be a brilliant young adult fantasy book and then it just wasn't. It was really lacking in plot, characters and romance. I definitely won't be continuing the series.
If you have read and enjoyed this book then I'd love to hear you thoughts. What did I miss? I feel like I must have missed something.
*I received a copy of this novel from the author/publisher/publicist via Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review and received no monetary compensation for this review.
Oh yes, you definitely can NOT read this after the Throne of Glass series. I can see why you were so disappointed because of it. This is definitely not even on the same plane let alone planet as that series. It wasn't bad mind you, just not even in the same caliber. ;)
ReplyDeleteI know, I should have realised that before I started it but I didn't at all. I think I might have enjoyed it more if I hadn't read it straight after, I am seriously regretting that decision.
DeleteOh God. You can't read ANY High fantasy after Throne of Glass. That entire series (ESPEICALLY HEIR OF FIRE WHAT WERE YOU THINKING) gave me a book hangover. Reading a high fantasy would've just been failing it already lol. Now that you bring up those things, I guess it is a bit similar, but honestly any high fantasy can do with an assassin ;) Gotta love them. I do admit though, for an assassin, he was a bit incompetent :P
ReplyDeleteI KNOW!!! I KNOW!! I should have known better,this was never going to live up to it, haha! He was so incompetent, I was shaking my head in disgust. I just could not get behind the the romance and those two suddenly being in love after two minutes of knowing each other, was annoying.
DeleteOh my. I was thinking what a gorgeous cover. Wants! But...maybe not. lol That doesn't sound like one that would work for me at all. Thanks for the heads up!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I am one of a small few though, everyone else seems to love it.
DeleteI do love me some rant reviews, and I'm happy with them because quite frankly, it tells me whether or not to bother with a book. I was recently in the same situation as you were -- an all round five star rated book on Goodreads and I couldn't give it more than one star. Thank you for this review, because I would've probably added this to my TBR pile because of the pretty cover, storyline and good ratings!
ReplyDeleteHaha, it's terrible but I actually love writing rant reviews. I wanted it for the gorgeous cover, the massive hype and the great reviews. I just felt let down and disappointed at the end of it.
DeleteI haven't read it yet; it's sitting on my shelf at home, staring at me. . . . .And now I'm more nervous than ever to pick it up.
ReplyDeleteHaha, sorry! But, like I said, I definitely am one of a very few - pretty much everyone else loved this book.
DeleteUgh, I hate it when that happens...actually for BOTH the things, when a) the book sucks and when b) it seems really suspiciously similar to a book you love. IT MAKES ME CRANKY. I kind of wasn't keen on this one, but I am curious because of all the crazy 5-star reviews. Hehe. So you just made me even MORE curious. But, honestly, what can really beat Maas' series?? I'll have to go in trying really hard not to compare them. xD
ReplyDeleteDON'T COMPARE! That was my issue, I couldn't stop comparing and nothing is ever going to compare to Maas. It had a brilliant cover and the premise sounded quite good, but I just didn't enjoy any of this book. I didn't care for the characters and the romance just sucked. Hated it! Haha.
DeleteOh no, I can't believe you didn't like this book…I absolutely loved it! Everything about it, including the prince and assassin part (not knowing who was who, I thought that was clever). I didn't even think about Throne of Glass or Crown of Midnight, but I didn't just read them. ~Pam
ReplyDeleteI was the opposite, I hated everything about it. The not knowing who was who seemed so silly to me, it was obvious who would end up being who. That just made it seem pointless to hide the fact for the majority of the book.
DeleteWow! I'm sorry that you didn't end up actually liking this one. I thought it looked good, because I have also seen so many good reviews on it. Now it just sounds a bit comical, but not in a good way. I don't know. Maybe I'll still try it out. I can see why the similarities annoyed you though. Thanks for all the warnings!
ReplyDeleteI am one of only a few though, so I don't want to put people off trying it. But, I am always honest in my reviews so I am never going to say I liked a book when I actually hated it, haha. I'd be interested to see what you make of it though :)
DeleteOkay so I haven't read this book -- or Throne of Glass, but it sounds like I should be opting for the latter! I'm not sure what to make of this review (other than knowing that you really didn't like it xD) but I doubt this will be one going on my TBR even though the blurb didn't sound too bad.
ReplyDeleteI know, I should probably hold back more when reviewing books but I just don't have it in me. It's never going to happen! I just, I can't even describe my utter disappointment with this book. I am so happy I didn't end up pre-ordering it!
DeleteWow, I have this at the top of my wishlist! I'm still intrigued with it and once I get a book I want to read in my head, I usually have to follow through. I did just get Throne of Glass so I will make sure I give them a nice long space in between readings. Enjoyed your review!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I definitely recommend not reading them close together, I definitely think that affected my opinion of this book. I am in the minority, most people loved this so I don't think you have anything to worry about.
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