“I had been silenced far too many times by those who exerted power over me. Not here. My voice would be heard, but I’d speak when it served my purposes. I betrayed neither word nor expression. The Komizar and his governors were no different from the throngs I had passed on my way here.”
Oh my god. I have no idea where I want to start. This book was just as amazing as the first. Honestly, if you haven’t read this series, do it, right now. You won’t regret it!
Let’s start with the new setting. The Kiss of Deception left Lia and Rafe walking right into the heart of their enemy’s kingdom, Venda, as their very own royal prisoners. And although they knew Lia’s true identity, they did not know about Rafe’s. He thought on his feet and gave himself up as the Prince’s messenger so that he wouldn’t leave Lia again (so sweet!! We’ll get back to that though, I promise!) No more countryside or freedom for them.
“Food can be scarce in Venda. Especially in winter. The bones are a symbol of gratitude and a reminder that we live only by the sacrifice of even the smallest animal and by the combined sacrifices of many.”
I loved Venda. It was dark, mysterious and yet everything they did, had a reason. Chaotic at times but it always kept functioning. They are a ruthless people. They’ve seen starvation and they don’t allow themselves to ever forget. They have been through dark days and know how to survive and surpass them. They also implore a democratic way to craft a decision. They actively enlist the people’s opinion before making decisions and punishments and that shows a people built on respect. Their tenacity to never return to those dark times was admirable and should not be overlooked. They are a people who got knocked down and fought back!
The Komizar trusts his people to seek their advice and in turn views their decision as a fair and just way to seek justice. But don’t get me wrong, I would definitely not want to live here! But I definitely see where they are coming from and it was a nice change in setting. It gave this book an edge because at the root of the story is this strong heroine struggling to survive, where everyone is an enemy and every move determines if she lives or she dies. It gets you hanging on every word, just hoping she doesn’t slip up. It got rather addicting.
“Every man waiting below needed to believe his comrades would be there for him, that no fear or impulse would deter him from doing his duty. One of the five who died may have been their brother, their father, their friend.”
Venda has harsh punishments and uses prolonging methods of execution. When Kaden is given the job as the Keep and sent on a mission from the Komizar to exact an execution, knowing how Venda works and what is expected of him, he still delivers a swift death to the five deserters. He knew full well that this decision might not be taken lightly if word got around and yet he still did it.
This book really showed who Kaden is. The Kiss of Deception showed him as a cunning and clever assassin but here we see him vulnerable and I think it was because he got to see Lia, a royal, fighting everything she’s expected to be and do. We find out that he has a Morrighan noble as a father and a mother, who turns out to be his very weakness. An assassin with a weakness, yup, you heard that right.
“I knew how the Komizar perceived royals. I couldn’t blame him. It was how I had perceived them too, but she wasn’t selfish fluff wearing a crown. When she had defied all of us and killed Eben’s horse, that wasn’t fluff.”
Kaden is madly in love with Lia! You can see it! He values everything she does and admires her fierce compassion! This little story arc teases the possibility (briefly! Settle down Rafe fans!) of a deeper relationship for him and Lia. I liked that aspect too because the first book seemed to lack just a little bit for these two, it was more Rafe than Kaden. And then this book just turned the tables and helped balance out the page time for both rivals. It was great and heart-crushing at the same time! It even got me wondering, what if? What if she went with Kaden instead? And when books get you hoping and challenging their very words you know you hold a great one in your hands. They managed to get you hooked on their fiction. Made you care what happens next and who goes with who. I just ugh, there are so many MANY feels with this series in general, so well done Mary because I am loving these books!
“Malich laughed the night he told me that he killed Greta. He reveled in her death. He said it was easy. Her death cost him nothing. It will now. Everyday that I breathe, I will make it cost him something. Every time I see that same smug grin on his face, I will make him pay for it. It’s not enough. It will never be enough.”
Lia is not one to forget, and she shouldn’t either. I really hope Malich gets all that he deserves because its way overdue. This was dramatic and heart-stopping and I just can’t wait for her to avenge Greta, and her brother. It better happen haha!
“Sometimes winning is not only a matter of knowing the rules, but of making your opponent think he knows them better.”
The Komizar is definitely a villain that you hate to love. He is ruthless and horrifyingly disciplined and yet loyal to a fault for his people. He is an irresistible, typical bad boy with an affinity for political strategy. He leads Venda with a warrior’s heart, who never lets anyone forget it, friend and foe alike.
“You’re a strange girl, Lia. Shrewd and calculating. Malich tells me, and adept at games, which I admire. But I do not admire lying.”
He likes to tease and taunt Lia, thrives on it even and I think this made the chemistry between these two even more fiery! They were always trying to beat the other and I truly believe that he was drawn to her feistiness for right and it overpowered his people’s lust for wrong.
Every scene with Lia was so well done. Most notably the one where Lia stands up to the butcher after he threatened a child for stealing. She went at him so fast and fierce (it was pretty great so I included it below) Lia just smacks you in the face with her unpredictability!
“You!’ I said, pointing my finger in his face, forcing him to look at me. ‘If you ever so much as touch any child again, I will personally cut every limb from your worthless body and roll your ugly stump down the middle of the street. Do you understand? You call yourself a lord?’ I sneered. ‘You’re nothing but a repulsive coward! Go ahead! Hit me again! But in the same moment, I’ll be slashing your nose from your miserable excuse of a face.”
“Starving is barbaric, Princess. Stealing from the mouth of another is barbaric. The infinite ways your kingdom has kept us on this side of the river are barbaric. A fingertip is a small price to pay, but a lifelong reminder. You’ll notice we have very few are one-handed people in Venda.’
‘But Yvet and Zekiah are children.’
‘We have no children in Venda.’”
Like DAMN! First off, here’s Lia being Lia, putting arrogant albeit bloodthirsty jerks in their place and then all of sudden we have the Komizar telling her why that butcher has that permission. It’s a sad situation, Venda and yet no one, not Dalbreck or Morrighan will step in and extend an olive branch to an obviously desperate neighbouring kingdom.
“Because I so stupidly loved her.”
This single statement broke me. I’ve always wanted Lia and Rafe together but Kaden was a close second. They bond on a different level and this book really liked to tease this possible relationship. There were many times where Lia had to lean on Kaden for survival and that just made him want her more! Her feelings didn’t waver but his were pushed into the arms of unrequited love. We also see Kaden as more than an assassin. He is fair and just, living in a death filled world fraught with impossible situations. He’s so much more than he appeared in The Kiss of Deception. I loved that but this, falling for Lia, gave so many feels, it hurt. Because what he didn’t know was that her heart was already given, to Rafe and yet he just falls harder and harder. It was tragedy wrapped in hope and wonder. I really hope Kaden finds his happy ending like Lia found, with the Prince she jilted.
“I ran from Civica because for once in my life, I wanted to be loved for who I was--not what I was and not because a piece of paper commanded it.”
100 % agree with Lia. Who wouldn’t run away from a life they can’t choose? Tons of people do it and I’m so glad that Mary E. Pearson included her reason why and like I said it’s understandable and honestly? It’s even realistic and relatable. You can put yourself in Lia’s shoes very easily and feel what she must have felt having a life where she was only the star and everyone else wrote the script. But you know what was even better? What Rafe said to her later on (and yes, I included it because it’s so adorable!!!)
“You were never a proper princess.’ His hands cradled my face, and his smile faded. ‘But you’re everything I want. Remember that. I love you, Lia. Not a title. And not because a piece of paper says I should. Because I do.”
This is literally what she wanted for love and guess what folks, she found that with Rafe. And again I truly am sorry for any Kaden fans reading this but I will say that this book got him so much closer in the race for Lia’s heart.
“He consumed me in a different way—the way his eyes made everything jump inside of me when I looked into them, his laughter, temper, the way he sometimes struggled for words, the way his jaw twitched when he was angry, the thoughtful way he listened to me, his incredible restraint and resolve in the face of overwhelming odds. When I looked at him I saw the easygoing farmer he could have been, but I also saw the soldier and prince that he was.
‘We’ve had a terrible start--- it doesn’t mean we can’t have a better ending.’
The way he filled me with hope.”
It’s official. These two were meant to be. There was never a choice between Rafe and Kaden. Lia knew almost from the beginning that it was the farmer who stole her heart.
“We made it this far. I didn’t even know where we were. We were lost on a riverbank with miles of dark forest surrounding us, but I scooped one arm under her knees and the other carefully behind her back and stood. I kissed her one more time, my lips gently resting on hers, trying to bring back their colour. And I began walking. A 1000 miles or two, I would carry her all the way to Dalbreck if I had to. No one would pry
her from my arms again.
‘Hold on, Lia.’ I whispered.
‘Hold on for me.’”
What an ending!! WOW! One more to go and I’m still not sure if I can handle it.
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