Ratings52
Average rating3.9
The thrilling, New York Times–bestselling sequel to The Kiss of Deception 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 among 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. The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson drives up the stakes and the romance, and will leave readers desperate to read book three in the Remnant Chronicles, The Beauty of Darkness. “It’s rare that the second book in a series is as good—or perhaps better—than the first, but that’s the case here.” —Booklist, starred review, for The Heart of Betrayal “A heart-pounding sequel that fantasy fans will appreciate.” —School Library Journal for The Heart of Betrayal “Fantastical.” —USA Today for The Kiss of Deception “A sumptuous fantasy.” —Chicago Tribune for The Kiss of Deception “In The Kiss of Deception, a new realm is masterfully created, featuring court intrigue, feuding nations, breathtaking landscapes, and the gift of sight. Fans of the Game of Thrones series will enjoy the magic and fantasy in this timeless dystopian world.” —VOYA for The Kiss of Deception "Pearson (the Jenna Fox Chronicles) is off to an extraordinary start with her fantasy series, the Remnant Chronicles, creating an alluring world and romance that's ideal for fans of Kristin Cashore and Megan Whalen Turner." —Publishers Weekly for The Kiss of Deception
Featured Series
3 primary booksThe Remnant Chronicles is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2014 with contributions by Mary E. Pearson and Ana Death Duarte.
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This was another fantastic book in this series. It took me less than 10 pages to get right back into the action and become engrossed in the story again. I cannot wait to read The Beauty of Darkness, especially with how this one ended. I need to know what happens with Lia, Kaden, and Rafe!
After that unexpected ending in Kiss of Deception, I was very excited to see what was going to happen next. In this book, Rafe spins a web of lies as an emissary of Dalbreck to try to buy some time before help arrives. Lia remains a prisoner (sort of) trying to play the game for surviving in the kingdom of Venda. Kaden is still in love with her and hopes that he will be able to convince her to return his feelings now that she will get to see him at his home base. The Komizar is an evil, manipulative villain who toys with Lia to make her submit to his machinations.
Lia undergoes great transformation in this book. Though the Komizar parades her around his people to manipulate her gift to gather support for himself, she truly gets to know the ordinary people, bonds with them and begins wondering about her role in the future of Venda. The Song of Venda and her gift give her more proof that she indeed has to save the Vendans from becoming prey to the Komizar's lust for power. She becomes more sure of her gift, learns to be compassionate towards everyone and makes relationships with everyone around her while also trying everything she can to protect Rafe.
Kaden tries his best to protect Lia from any harm but he struggles to balance his love for Lia and Venda and his loyalty towards the Komizar. We get to see a different softer side of Kaden and learn about his cruel childhood. Lia starts to care for him more too but his expectations of love never waver. His choices at the end shatter his whole life but I can't help but love him for that.
Rafe is the same sweet cinnamon roll that I am in love with but he is so much more here. He is Prince Jaxon, acting as an emissary, curbing all his warrior instincts and his love to ensure that they survive and make it home. He is so smart and intelligent and already feels like he would make a good King. But what I love most about him is his all consuming love for Lia. It is so true and boundless and I was waiting for the few and far between scenes of them being together. They make such a beautiful couple and all I could wish for was that they could be together despite the world going to hell. The ending broke my heart and I was left weeping and searching frantically through my heap of books for The Beauty of Darkness.
The secondary characters are amazing as usual. Aster, Yvet, Zekeiah, Efferia – all make Lia understand the plight of the ordinary Vendans who she comes to love like her own. Rafe's friends are awesome too with their crazy escape plans. The one scene between Jeb and Lia is so heartwarming and there were so many such emotional scenes throughout the book accentuated by the beautiful writing. Rafe as usual has some of the most loveliest lines that tug your heartstrings.
The ending left me both devastated and hopeful and I couldn't wait another moment before starting the finale. This was an awesome sequel and I loved it as much as the first one. But my love for the characters grew even more and I can't believe I just have one more book to read about them. Ohhh I am going to miss them so much!!!
Omfg this book can't end like this no Mary E. Pearson you did not do this to us.
Well, that was an interesting story If you don't mind it being annoying in a lot of places. And to tell you the truth, I've read much worse.
I don't know if the second book was any better than the first one. More like they were on the same level for me. Sometimes I liked Lia, sometimes I didn't. I really appreciated how much she had changed. Her actions were far more logical this time around. Some of them, anyway.
Of course, there were the betrayals, but Kiss of Deception would be a much more suitable title for this book as there were a lot of kissing and almost all of it was a deception. By the way, about the love triangle. It got a little development. But I really liked that MC was not doubting which one she likes more. And that is clear to her, despite all the circumstances.
By the way, we've travelled to the new part of the world. And I did like some of the new characters. However, I was all too eager for the escape. And the ending didn't disappoint. By the way, the ending is again a cliffhanger, so I just need to go and read the last book.