The Kiss of Deception
(The Remnant Chronicles 1)
by Mary E. Pearson
4 out of 5 stars
First, a Filipino lesson.
BITIN - (verb) to hang up
BITIN - (verb) to hang up
BITIN - (expression) - to leave hanging
The ending of this book is largely "BITIN (expression)".
DO NOT READ THIS UNTIL BOOK 2 COMES OUT!
I'm serious.
SYNOPSIS
Princess Arabella something Jezelia of Morrighan, or Lia to her inner circle, runs away on the morning of her wedding day. It was an arranged marriage to solidify a crucial alliance between two (Morrighan x Dalbreck) of the three kingdoms in their seemingly isolated country. Naturally, 17-year-old princesses refuses to be wed to a complete stranger regardless of political and very bloody consequence.
Her decision to take her and her maid, Pauline, was not completely a disaster. We learn that Kingdom 3 (Venda) has sent their best assassin to thwart the alliance/marriage. Of course, Lia is well on her way to Terravin (a port town in Morrighan). As the assassin tracks Lia, the Prince of Dalbreck was thinking of the same thing. The Prince decided that tracking down Lia himself would be the best move for the future of his kingdom. What he would do after he finds her was a mystery, even to himself.
Follow Lia, Kaden, Rafe and a few others quite literally in a confusing switching POVs through out the book. Read them discover love, donkeys, lots of horseback riding, drinking various types of alcohol, do laundry, kill a few blokes, kill lots of soldiers, and other exciting things in their adventure that ends all too abruptly.
WRITING STYLE/WORLD BUILDING
It's a straight up fantasy with various small mysteries. The world is nothing unique. Its origin story is post-apocalyptic. Ancients who fancied themselves just a step below the gods made mince-meat of the their world. There was world-wide famine, death and devastation. The survivors, called Remnants, were led by a charismatic female leader with the magical gift of sight. A girl with a gift is called a Siarrah. The first Siarrah is called Morrighan and she saved the Remnants by leading them to a relatively fertile and safe land away from the devastation. Because of this deed, all first-born girls are honored in festivals and by the church.
Each chapter opens with an excerpt from an unknown text that is, weirdly enough, not used by anyone currently living. The meaning and origins of the text is also unknown. But a copy of this story is written down in a book that figures greatly in the story.
The real magic mystery of the story is Lia's gift: if she has it or not. But it's eclipsed by the Twilight-like love triangle that is Kaden-Lia-Rafe. The book was disastrously marketed as a regular love triangle with a twist: who is the Prince and who is the Assassin. Even though there are switching POVs, it is unknown who is who. However, this was not done properly. I guess the author was trying to be clever. It has many merits but it only left me confused in the end (instead of giving me a satisfying shock by the end of the first half of the book).
Mind that the "magic" bit in this book doesn't turn into anything epic. It's just a hint of this-and-that by Lia. This is no Lord of the Rings.
The second half of the series darker than the first. At the beginning of the first half, the assassin/prince mystery is resolved. Finally! Because this was just confusing mess. The scenery changes dramatically. The world expands and we learn more about the people as Lia grows as a character. There are intense action sequences which is a stark contrast to the boring bits in between.
CHARACTERS
I'm going to keep this short.
Lia should have been Kelsey in The Queen of the Tearling (my review here). She's decisive but imperfect. Her court is marred by politics more akin to the real-world, which is a war of words and party-invitations. I guess Lia has a much better world. But Kelsey has better supporting characters. Of course, Kelsey's perfect-ness annoys me like no other.
OVERALL
I really enjoyed reading this book. Unfortunately, the marketing for this book is horrendous. The title and blurb is just one half of the book - the bad half. The better second half is completely absent from marketing. What?! I say: play to your strengths.
Also, change your title. It gives the wrong impression.
SEQUEL
This book ended just when the story was taken to another level. Naturally, proper economics demand that one should end the book when interest on what-happens-next is at its peak (to encourage sales). The good thing is that the next installment is coming out in July 17th, 2015.
Her decision to take her and her maid, Pauline, was not completely a disaster. We learn that Kingdom 3 (Venda) has sent their best assassin to thwart the alliance/marriage. Of course, Lia is well on her way to Terravin (a port town in Morrighan). As the assassin tracks Lia, the Prince of Dalbreck was thinking of the same thing. The Prince decided that tracking down Lia himself would be the best move for the future of his kingdom. What he would do after he finds her was a mystery, even to himself.
Follow Lia, Kaden, Rafe and a few others quite literally in a confusing switching POVs through out the book. Read them discover love, donkeys, lots of horseback riding, drinking various types of alcohol, do laundry, kill a few blokes, kill lots of soldiers, and other exciting things in their adventure that ends all too abruptly.
WRITING STYLE/WORLD BUILDING
It's a straight up fantasy with various small mysteries. The world is nothing unique. Its origin story is post-apocalyptic. Ancients who fancied themselves just a step below the gods made mince-meat of the their world. There was world-wide famine, death and devastation. The survivors, called Remnants, were led by a charismatic female leader with the magical gift of sight. A girl with a gift is called a Siarrah. The first Siarrah is called Morrighan and she saved the Remnants by leading them to a relatively fertile and safe land away from the devastation. Because of this deed, all first-born girls are honored in festivals and by the church.
Each chapter opens with an excerpt from an unknown text that is, weirdly enough, not used by anyone currently living. The meaning and origins of the text is also unknown. But a copy of this story is written down in a book that figures greatly in the story.
The real magic mystery of the story is Lia's gift: if she has it or not. But it's eclipsed by the Twilight-like love triangle that is Kaden-Lia-Rafe. The book was disastrously marketed as a regular love triangle with a twist: who is the Prince and who is the Assassin. Even though there are switching POVs, it is unknown who is who. However, this was not done properly. I guess the author was trying to be clever. It has many merits but it only left me confused in the end (instead of giving me a satisfying shock by the end of the first half of the book).
Mind that the "magic" bit in this book doesn't turn into anything epic. It's just a hint of this-and-that by Lia. This is no Lord of the Rings.
The second half of the series darker than the first. At the beginning of the first half, the assassin/prince mystery is resolved. Finally! Because this was just confusing mess. The scenery changes dramatically. The world expands and we learn more about the people as Lia grows as a character. There are intense action sequences which is a stark contrast to the boring bits in between.
CHARACTERS
I'm going to keep this short.
Lia should have been Kelsey in The Queen of the Tearling (my review here). She's decisive but imperfect. Her court is marred by politics more akin to the real-world, which is a war of words and party-invitations. I guess Lia has a much better world. But Kelsey has better supporting characters. Of course, Kelsey's perfect-ness annoys me like no other.
OVERALL
I really enjoyed reading this book. Unfortunately, the marketing for this book is horrendous. The title and blurb is just one half of the book - the bad half. The better second half is completely absent from marketing. What?! I say: play to your strengths.
Also, change your title. It gives the wrong impression.
SEQUEL
This book ended just when the story was taken to another level. Naturally, proper economics demand that one should end the book when interest on what-happens-next is at its peak (to encourage sales). The good thing is that the next installment is coming out in July 17th, 2015.
The Heart of Betrayal
The Remnant Chronicles #2
The Remnant Chronicles #2
Expected Release: July 17th, 2015
P.S. If pressed, I prefer the assassin over the prince.
 by Mary E. Pearson 4 out of 5 stars ){kind=link}
Great explanation. I found figuring out what "The Remnant" part of The Remnant Chronicles hard to decipher at first! You have clarified so much for me!
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