Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.  

The Heart of Betrayal 

by Mary E. Pearson

hitting shelves July 7th, 2015 from Henry Hold & Co.

(Watch out for spoilers ahead! If you have read book 1, skip the description!)

Held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda, Lia and Rafe have little chance of escape. Desperate to save her life, Lia's erstwhile assassin, Kaden, has told the Vendan Komizar that she has the gift, and the Komizar's interest in Lia is greater than anyone could have foreseen.

Meanwhile, nothing is straightforward: there's Rafe, who lied to Lia, but has sacrificed his freedom to protect her; Kaden, who meant to assassinate her but has now saved her life; and the Vendans, whom Lia always believed to be barbarians. Now that she lives amongst them, however, she realizes that may be far from the truth. Wrestling with her upbringing, her gift, and her sense of self, Lia must make powerful choices that will affect her country... and her own destiny.

My thoughts: AHHH so excited. I loved book one (check out my review here) and I can't wait to see what happens next with these characters.  Also anxious to see how this one reads without that intriguing "not knowing who is who" factor we had in the first book.  Kind of surprised at this cover! It is definitely breathtaking, but I actually think it's a better match as the sequel of Trial by Fire! Don't you think? We'll see how it fits the story!

What future books are you excited for this week?

Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson {review}

Kiss of Deception
by Mary E. Pearson
♦publisher: Henry Holt & Co
♦release date: July 8th, 2014
♦hardcover, 489 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: The Remnant Chronicles, book 1
♦source: from publisher for honest review

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 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.

Review: Oh, Mary Pearson.  You clever author.  Kiss of Deception fully and completely captured me from beginning to end.  I found myself mesmerized by the extraordinary writing, engaged in this gutsy heroine who fled a world she felt entrapped in, and blindsided by a plot that somehow completely pulled the rug from under my feet. 

Lia has never fit the roll of princess, always running with her brothers and getting into mischief. At 17, she is forced into a marriage to bring together her kingdom of Morrighan to the neighboring Dalbreck. Terrified and unable to imagine a life in a loveless arranged marriage, she takes her life into her own hands and runs away with her best friend, Pauline. They flee to Terravin, a quaint colorful town, and take up as tavern girls to earn there keep.  I had to applaude her, she knew how she wanted to live her life and she took it, and despite being raised among royalty, didn’t hesitate to get her hands dirty. But she does start to see how it’s not so easy to walk away from her old life without it affecting those she cares about, and it’s beautiful to see her slow growth into a young woman and maybe even a true princess. 

There are three alternating voices throughout the story: Lia, Kaden and Rafe.  There is a love triangle, which doesn’t bother me, but to those of you who hate them: don’t write this one off just yet! Of Kaden and Rafe, one is the Prince Lia was suppose to marry and the other is an assassin sent to kill her.  Pearson cleverly wrote this so you don’t know which is which.  As much as I was sure that I had it figured out, I was so wrong, and when the truth is finally revealed, it turned the whole story on its head for me. 

This world is fantastical but set to feel much like our own in ancient times.  The imagery is exquisite though, creating beautiful visuals in my mind for this story to play out in: A cold loveless castle, a welcoming and quaint tavern, a village festival full of noise and games, colorful gypsy caravans, a stark unforgiving desert, and a dangerous wild forest.  Even small intricate details like the swirls and symbols of a painted tattoo were brought to life in gorgeous prose. 

There are fast-paced excitements throughout, but also some long stretches of Lia just settling into her life in Terravin, getting to know all the new people in her life, being there for Pauline, worrying about their safety---there are a lot of low-key moments, but in nearly 500 pages I never found myself bored.  As some stories do, sometimes in completely inexplicable ways, this story just clicked for me. Its a courageous and touching story with all the makings of an epic fantasy, and I can't wait to see what's to come for these characters.

Find Mary E. Pearson online: Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Kiss of Deception:  BN.com  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound