The Traitor's Kiss (Traitor's Trilogy, #1) by Erin Beaty Published by Imprint on May 9th 2017
Pages: 352
Goodreads
An obstinate girl who will not be married. A soldier desperate to prove himself. A kingdom on the brink of war.
With a sharp tongue and an unruly temper, Sage Fowler is not what they’d call a lady―which is perfectly fine with her. Deemed unfit for marriage, Sage is apprenticed to a matchmaker and tasked with wrangling other young ladies to be married off for political alliances. She spies on the girls―and on the soldiers escorting them.
As the girls' military escort senses a political uprising, Sage is recruited by a handsome soldier to infiltrate the enemy ranks. The more she discovers as a spy, the less certain she becomes about whom to trust―and Sage becomes caught in a dangerous balancing act that will determine the fate of her kingdom.
4 Nuts
Why is it that so many books in YA hinge on the deception and lies of the two love interests to one another? Had this book not had so much of it I probably would have given it a full 5 stars. Honestly, that trope gets a little old. But I suppose that is a discussion for another time. Today we’re here to talk about Traitor’s Kiss, a book that caught quite a bit of shit for having girl on girl hate and a few other things.
So let’s get the girl on girl hate thing out of the way. Yes its there, no its not a big deal. Honestly if you can handle the pettiness of The Selection series its practically nothing in comparison. That and it’s pretty real. I may get more into it another time but for now that’s all I’m going to say about that.
As for the rest of of the story, well its a cute fantasy romance with a bunch of badassery thrown in. The MC isn’t a born badass but she is incredibly intelligent and observant. God I love a smart female MC! Give me more of those and I’ll be a happy camper. She uses her wit and strategy to succeed, a lot like Kestral from the Winner’s Trilogy. If Kestral is one of your favorite characters you’ll probably love Sage.
Our love interest is probably one of my favorites I’ve seen in quite a while. Maybe not quite book boyfriend level. Yet. Honestly he’s so close I could see him becoming one. He’s proud but also has one heck of a soft side for his little brother and the people he cares about. He doesn’t enjoy sending people into danger but he does what he must for his people. I can’t help but love him for it.
Admittedly the world building is subtle, so much so that it seems a little lacking in places. However it does not ruin the enjoyment of the story, rather makes you want to know more. While I would have enjoyed a little more detail the story does quite well without it.
I really enjoyed Traitor’s Kiss and I’m incredibly excited to see where the next book goes. Even though this first book has a nice, tidy, satisfying ending I want to devour more stories in this world. After all, I read it in less than a day. I didn’t expect it to tug at my heart the way it did, I didn’t even expect to like it as much as I did. This book surprised me, and I’m all for stories that can do that for me.
If you like the Winner’s Trilogy I highly recommend this book for you.
What did you think of this one? Share your thoughts in the comments.
From my shelf yo yours,
Erin
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