Review: The Heart of Betrayal

THE HEART OF BETRAYAL
The Remnant Chronicles #2
Mary E. Pearson
Young Adult/Fantasy
470 pages
Henry Holt & Co.
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
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 THOUGHTS
The Heart of Betrayal is a bit of a tricky sequel, picking up the exact moment the first book left off and continuing Lia's story without the benefit of any recap. Those (like me) for whom it's been a year in between books will likely struggle to settle in, trying desperately to recount the finer details of past events and stumbling at the mention of characters who don't ring as loud a bell in our memories as we need in order to feel emotionally invested. The fact that this second installment is a bit slower in its pace only adds to our difficulties, failing to reach out and grab us to the degree that our inability to recall certain aspects of its predecessor becomes irrelevant, instead leaving us without the anchor we so desperately need.

That being said however, Lia is still an enjoyable heroine, playing it smart while in enemy territory by using silence as a weapon, largely keeping her mouth shut and evaluating all that's shared in order to fill the dead air. She's willful when necessary though, showing the Komizar and everyone else that her spine is not lacking in steel and that she will not break as easily as they so clearly expected. When it comes to the romance, Lia's feelings are clear throughout, but the hint of a triangle remains because she must play a role in order to protect herself and the one she loves, keeping the three of them riding a razor's edge of tension that at any minute might end up cutting them all to shreds.

The main issue keeping this tale from a higher rating aside from the lack of any small reminders to help us recall book one is the fact that Rafe, Lia and Kaden are all in a holding pattern for majority of the book. Rafe and Lia spend their days in Venda waiting for Rafe's friends to sneak in and help them escape, and while we're grateful the two of them realize such an endeavor is far more than two people can handle on their own and therefore don't make any easily avoidable mistakes, we don't learn all that much as they bide their time. A few chess pieces are moved though, and the Komizar proves to be a character of depth and complexity who piques our curiosity whenever he appears on page, keeping us flipping the pages in the hopes that a little action will be waiting for us.

Overall, The Heart of Betrayal is a bit slower moving than The Kiss of Deception, a book that is a rumble of thunder on the horizon, warning us of the storm that is to come in the final installment.

Rating: 3/5

*Full disclosure: I've been in a bit of a YA reading slump of late, so this very well could have been more me than the story itself. Anyone who loved book one should definitely give this a try!

Find Mary:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the author  free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Review: Kiss of Deception

KISS OF DECEPTION
The Remnant Chronicles #1
Mary E. Pearson
Young Adult/Fantasy
492 pages
Henry Holt
Available July 8th
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
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.

MY THOUGHTS
Kiss of Deception is a lighter variety of fantasy story, the sprawling world in place with a few fascinating creatures dotting its landscape, but for the most part the magical elements are relatively subtle, allowing the strength of Ms. Pearson’s characters to shine through. Lia’s journey gets off to a quick start as she flees her arranged marriage, but shortly after she and best friend Pauline arrive in the seaside town of Terravin things slow down considerably, and some readers may balk slightly at the change in pace. What keeps the girls’ time in Terravin from becoming overly monotonous however is the arrival of both Lia’s jilted prince and an assassin sent to kill her, the intricacies and complications of all three hidden identities keeping us fully engaged even though the pages may not be flipping with their previous speed.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of the entire story is how Ms. Pearson executes the perspectives of Lia, the prince, and the assassin, alternating first person points of view to give us time in each of their heads. While we do learn the names of both young men, it’s a long time before we’re one hundred percent sure of who is the prince and who is the assassin, our time with each of them full of vague allusions to moments with Lia and thoughts that arguably could be attributed to either them. We’re therefore kept on our toes, constantly alert and attuned to every nuance of their characters–of which there are so beautifully many–trying to assign them their respective labels while we watch Lia begin to fall for one of them.

While the presence of two potential suitors may be instantly off-putting to those who fear the dreaded love triangle, Ms. Pearson, in my opinion, portrays the relationships between all three individuals free of the angst and the emotional vacillation that typically characterizes such romances. Lia’s affection for one young man in particular grows oh-so slowly as she and Pauline try to make a life for themselves in Terravin, and even as she finds herself in the company of the other for some time in the second half, her feelings remain unchanged. Both the prince and the assassin are given equal page time, though their time with Lia is essentially divided into two parts: One dominates the first half of the story and the second is given his time to shine in the latter half, both of them intriguing and deeply layered characters who have us craving the next book as soon as we flip the last page.

This review cannot be complete without singing the praises of Lia herself, born a princess but delightfully lacking the inflated ego that can often accompany such a position. She has a smart mouth she puts to use on those who deserve it, and she shares a loyalty and friendship with Pauline that brings a smile to our faces as they set out side by side into the unknown. When things get rough for her and her journey takes a heart-pounding turn with the reveal of the assassin’s identity, she remains steadfast and strong, showing a mental and physical fortitude not many would possess in her same situation. Things get darker as her new journey progresses, culminating in a devastating emotional blow that results in pages polka-dotted with our tears, but we’re left with the identities of all three players finally out in the open and our hearts all the lighter for it.

Overall, despite a slight lull in the first half after a strong beginning and the lack of clarity regarding Lia’s supposed gift and where it came from for most of the book, Kiss of Deception is an entertaining story with a richly detailed world and gorgeously complex characters.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find Mary:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Mini Reviews + Giveaways: Deep Sky + The Adoration of Jenna Fox

Today I'm very excited to welcome my mother-in-law Cathy to the blog, she's a fellow book lover (and someone I've gotten addicted to many a book series) who's going to be helping me out every now and then with reviews when I get a little overwhelmed. She took over the reviews for Deep Sky and listened to the audiobook for The Adoration of Jenna Fox as I was unable to fit them into my schedule, so I just want to extend a sincere thank you to her for her help and look forward to her contributing more in the future!

DEEP SKY (Travis Chase #3)
Patrick Lee
Mystery/Thriller
400 pages
HarperCollins
Available Now
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Barnes and Noble)
The anomaly called the Breach is the government’s most carefully guarded secret.

But there is another secret even less known . . . and far more terrifying.

As the U.S. President addresses the nation from the Oval Office, a missile screams toward the White House. In a lightning flash, the Chief Executive is dead, his mansion in ruins, and two cryptic words are the only clue to the assassins’ motives: “See Scalar.”

Now Travis Chase of the covert agency Tangent—caretakers of the Breach and all its grim wonders—along with partner and lover Paige Campbell and technology expert Bethany Stewart, have only twenty-four hours to unearth a decades-old mystery once spoken of in terrified whispers by the long since silenced. But their breakneck race cross-country—and back through time and malleable memory—is calling the total destructive might of a shadow government down upon them. For Travis Chase has a dark destiny he cannot be allowed to fulfill . . .

CATHY'S THOUGHTS
Deep Sky is the last book in a trilogy. It begins with the assassination of the President and the only clue is a cryptic message–See Scalar. This leads to our hero, Travis Chase and his partner Paige Campbell. Both work at Tangent, a secret facility that oversees alien entities that come through the Breach. They know this message has something to do with them but have to look for clues and use some of the alien entities to figure out what is happening. One in particular is an entity that lets them travel into a memory and seek out more than just what is remembered in that memory. They do all this while being pursued by the new President and members of his regime. There are lots of twists, turns, and surprises which I won't mention because I don't want to spoil the story. The ultimate theme of the story is–If you could alter history, would you and at what cost?

Mr. Lee writes a twisting and intriguing mystery. He gives lots of clues and quickly eliminates the possibilities which makes you want to find out what will happen next. He does a great job of making us feel like we're methodically putting a puzzle together, and the book moves at a good pace. I have not read the first two books in the series and felt I might have missed some background history on characters and events that might have made the ending a little clearer (and there was additionally an underlying science fiction theme that was not overly prominent until the conclusion of the book), but on the whole the story held its own.

Rating: 4/5


THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX (audiobook)
Mary E. Pearson
Paranormal Young Adult
Audiobook
Macmillan Young Listeners
Available Now
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Who is Jenna Fox? Seventeen-year-old Jenna has been told that is her name. She has just awoken from a coma, they tell her, and she is still recovering from a terrible accident in which she was involved a year ago. But what happened before that? Jenna doesn't remember her life. Or does she? And are the memories really hers?

This fascinating novel represents a stunning new direction for acclaimed author Mary Pearson. Set in a near future America, it takes readers on an unforgettable journey through questions of bio-medical ethics and the nature of humanity. Mary Pearson's vividly drawn characters and masterful writing soar to a new level of sophistication.

CATHY'S THOUGHTS
This is my first audiobook and I found it a bit of a challenge. I love to read, feel the book, see the words on a page and go at my own pace. Because of this I found the audio version to be a little slow for me and found myself easily distracted. I will say that the narrator, a young woman, had an age-appropriate sounding voice. She mostly read from the main character’s point of view, which was Jenna, but also tried to vary her tone when reading other character parts. She read at an even and steady pace. Though audiobooks may not be for me, I can see a real purpose in them for those who have the time or need to use them.

The story is of 17 year-old Jenna Fox, struggling to find out who she is both figuratively and literally. It's set in the future with Jenna waking up from a coma and needing to rediscover who she is. As her memory returns, she finds out things about her past and her parents that she doesn’t understand or like. Because it's set in an age of biomedical engineering, Jenna is faced with some ethical questions and choices. It was a very interesting premise and does raise some questions about how far a parent would go to save a child.

I would give it a 3 as an audio book and a 3.5 as a book.

GIVEAWAY

Today I'm offering up both a paperback copy of Deep Sky and the audiobook version of The Adoration of Jenna Fox to one lucky winner. To enter, please just leave a comment on this post with a valid email address so I can contact you if you win. This giveaway is open to US residents only and will run through midnight EST on Friday, January 27th after which time a winner will be chosen and announced on the blog. Good luck everyone!