June 25, 2015

ARC Review: The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson

The Heart of Betrayal (#2) by Mary E. Pearson (July 7, 2015)
470 pages
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Romance
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Source: I was lucky enough to snag a copy at ALA Midwinter. This didn't affect my honest review. Thanks Macmillan!
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon
My Rating:

Warning: This review may contain spoilers of the first book in the series.
Goodreads Summary: Intrigue abounds in this hotly anticipated 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 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 Review

The sequel to The Kiss of Deception was a huge and wonderful success!

Here is why I loved it so...

The Heart of Betrayal had more secrets, power plays, and lies than I could ever have hoped to imagine to have in one novel. I loved watching all the characters participate in the crafting of this beautiful web of lies, deceit, and strategic moves, some to survive, and some just for power.

Rafe and Lia are one of my favorite fictional couples. Not only that, but they are both wonderfully genius in their own ways. I loved getting to learn more about them and all of the other characters in this stunning sequel.

This book kept me up late at night. My mantra: Must... Keep... Reading...

I was never bored and I was always on high alert.

I had so many emotions and feels while reading this one, enough to fill the Grand Canyon.

My only small tiny complaint, the reason I only gave this book 4.5 stars instead of 5, the idea of Lia having the gift wasn't as fully explored as I would have liked it to be.

If you haven't started reading this series yet then you are missing out! Go read!

9 comments:

  1. Kay, I'm SO excited to read this & happy that The Heart of Betrayal was a hit with you! I can't wait to go back to this world and Rafe and Lia (one of my favorite fictional couples, too.) I do wish there had been more about her gift, but it sounds wonderful anyways.

    Great review!! :)

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    1. I think you are going to love this book!!!

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  2. Wow! Sounds like a great series! Wonderful review!

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  3. I'm obviously missing out Kay. I like the genius couple already. So many secrets and lies with this one which isn't surprising considering the title. Did you like this better than The Kiss of Deception?

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    1. I am thinking you will like this. I think I like the sequel as much as The Kiss of Deception. They were actually both really good in kind of different ways!

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  4. Ah good point about the gift not really being explored further... Now that you mention it that IS something I would have liked to see but got so swept away by all the other awesome that this book contained... I hope we get more answers in the third book at least.

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    1. I think we will. Or at least I hope so! They could do more with her gift and I would love that. This series makes me so happy.

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  5. I am so glad you could love this one after you loved the first book so much as well. I have this book in the series but I actually don't have the first one. Which is the perfect excuse for me to buy it, of course :D

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