The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Book Description:
A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love.

My Thoughts:
I know many people are raving about this book right now. And I feel bad that I haven't gotten to this until now. But, if you haven't read this book yet? YOU SHOULD READ IT!

So what makes this book so amazing? The story line? not really although it's fun. The romance? no but it's a plus. The adventure? nuh huh. It's the WRITING! I was reading this simply enjoying the story not seeing anything that really stood out to me when little over half way through the book WHAM the author does something I did NOT see! I thought I had it figured out and I was a bit disappointed in certain aspects because I was rooting for someone I thought was someone else but then.... I remember I was in bed reading and I bolted upright and out loud said, "what?! wait.....what?! no. way! THAT'S TOTALLY BRILLIANT!" I even had to go back through the first half of the story and skim to where when I had gotten it all wrong!

Princess Lia is about to marry a man she has never met and instead of a loveless marriage to someone she hasn't even seen, Lia decides to run away. To finally take control of her life that has never been her. Where she was raised for the very day. A day that would join two kingdoms and help her father achieve his goal. Lia fees and literally decides to strip herself of anything and everything that made her royal including becoming a serving girl for a town she thought far enough away where nobody would notice or possibly find her.

The problem? The slighted prince is intrigued by a princess whom he himself has never met, but who would run away and then be able to hide herself well enough that it was a challenge to find. His intention? Just to see her. No intention of speaking to her or anything. Yet, when he does find her, he doesn't make himself known and keeps who he is from her.

The other problem? There is an assassin. An assassin who has never failed at what he does best. An assassin who has hardened himself against anything and everyone who would hurt him or his country. And for the sake of his country he was called to assassinate Princess Lia in order to stop this wedding from ever happening. Yet when she runs, she makes it a bit of a challenge to find her and when he does she is the very least of what he expected and find himself for the first time in a place he never expected to be. In love and in doubt.

Overall I loved the story because it was clean, fun, romantic, and NOT what I expected. Well done Mary, well done.

Sexual Content: mild (some kissing)
Language: mild
Violence: moderate (some descriptions of murder and battles)
Drugs/Alcohol: mild