THE BEAUTY OF DARKNESS By Mary E. Pearson

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE BEAUTY OF DARKNESS By Mary E. PearsonThe Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson
Series: The Remnant Chronicles #3
Published by Henry Holt and Co. on 8/2/16
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 688
Format: Hardcover
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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ReviewedbyDani

Lia and Rafe have escaped Venda and the path before them is winding and dangerous - what will happen now?

Short and Sweet

I was going to write a short synopsis but then I saw the one from amazon, which is above and I don’t think I can make one shorter than that so moving on to what I thought…

My Thoughts

~ Okay so hopefully you’ve read the other two books before you read this so I don’t spoil anything. After the end of the last book Lia and Rafe have escaped Venda and are on their way to Dalbreck.

~ So this wasn’t my favorite book in the series. I mean first off what happened to the romance? The ending between Lia and Rafe just confused me. And the romance between Kaden and Pauline felt forced.

~ I liked seeing how everyone was preparing for battle and strategies.

~ I didn’t like Lia in this book, I liked her in the first two but in this book she was just rude and she was mainly rude to Rafe. I mean the guy risked his life for her and it felt like she was trying to use his feelings for her to get what she wanted. She went to his kingdom demanded help from his army, and she knew he had his own struggles to deal with in his own kingdom.

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~ It seemed like Lia didn’t care about anything except for the prophecy. I mean I know she was looking out for her kingdom too but she could have at least been more grateful to Rafe and his friends.

~ So about Kaden and Pauline it was definitely forced. It felt like they were locked into a room with each other and had to learn to trust and develop feelings.

~ At some point in the book, I wanted to stop reading but I pushed through.

~ The big battle wasn’t that captivating there was some fighting and then Lia gave a speech that stopped everyone in their tracks.

~ This book just didn’t feel like the first two it wasn’t anything special.

Overall

I’m still unsure if I would recommend this book. I like the first two but this one is a hit or miss I suppose. Maybe read the first two and skip this one? I don’t know but I think Lia is what made me dislike this book the most she changed so much from a girl who wouldn’t let anyone control her destiny to a girl who is now following a prophecy and letting it control what she does.

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THE HEART OF BETRAYAL By Mary E. Pearson

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE HEART OF BETRAYAL By Mary E. PearsonThe Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson
Series: The Remnant Chronicles #2
Published by Square Fish on 8/2/16
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 496
Format: Hardcover
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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ReviewedbyDani

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.

My Thoughts

~ The Heart of Betrayal has to be my favorite book in The Remnant Chronicles series. We got so much more in this book from the world building to the character development.

~ The book was set in Venda which I liked, because we get to see how the Vendans lived, they depended on the Komizar more than the resources they had.

~ Lia doesn’t have any allies in Venda so it was nice to see her make alliances with some unlikely citizens in Venda.

~ We also get to see Lia’s gift become more prominent, which seems to draw the Komizar’s interest.

~ Rafe lies to stay alive in the Vendan kingdom while he waits for his own army to come and rescue him and Lia. I love Rafe he’s smart, calculating, and has a good heart, he tries to do the right thing.

~ There isn’t a set strategy for Lia and Rafe to stay alive they just have to stay alive long enough to escape.

~ I liked seeing Kaden on his own turf, we get to learn more about his past and his relationship with the Komizar. I thought that Lia would have stronger feelings for Kaden since they were in Venda, but she just uses him to survive in his world.

~ Venda is in it’s own world, we don’t learn much about whats going on in the outside world sometimes news is passed around but not much often.

~ We also learn more about Vendan history and about the gift and Lia’s prophecy.

Overall

I loved this book, I liked Kiss of Deception too but Heart of Betrayal has so much more to offer. I loved the ending and I want to see how things are tied up in book three!

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THE KISS OF DECEPTION By Mary E. Pearson

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE KISS OF DECEPTION By Mary E. PearsonThe Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
Series: The Remnant Chronicles #1
Published by Henry Holt and Co. on 7/8/14
Genres: Action & Adventure, Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 497
Format: Paperback
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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ReviewedbyDani

In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia's life follows a preordained course. As First Daughter, she is expected to have the revered gift of sight—but she doesn't—and she knows her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom—to a prince she has never met.
On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—even as she finds herself falling in love.

Short and Sweet

Princess Lia does not like traditions. Lia escapes from her arranged marriage by taking off to a nearby village. Lia is making a new life for herself as a barmaid. Everything seems to be going fine until two men enter the bar, one is the prince she left at the alter and the other is the assassin sent to kill her.

My Thoughts

~ The book is told from all three characters points of view. All three did a beautiful job as narrator.

~ Lia was an intriguing character. She had a vast knowledge in languages which she used to her advantage. She was also brave and stood for what she thought was right.

~ We get to see the men the same way Lia did, and we got to learn their names, as Rafe and Kaden.

~The most interesting aspect of the book was that we didn’t know who was the prince or the assassin.

~I thought I would be able to guess who was who but in the end I was totally wrong.

Overall

The Kiss of Deception was an amazing book. The story is captivating once it gets started. I definitely liked this book, and I can’t wait to continue on with the series!

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