4.0⭐ ( )

I'm having a lot of fun with this trilogy. I love reading about a bad a** female ( )

Things I have learned from my recent YA reads: Reunions are dangerous. SO SO DANGEROUS.

Also I'll state this upfront - that whole love triangle thing? Resolved. Done. Lia chose and she doesn't waver. That doesn't mean she doesn't mislead, misdirect and lie through her teeth to survive, but her heart belongs to one person. And there's no way to go into this without spoiling that choice so read at your peril. I mean it. Seriously. LOTS OF SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST BOOK.

Lia chose Rafe, aka the Prince she was being forced to marry who she ran away from who pretended to be a farmer who thought shew as a barmaid. Maybe they would have come to this decision if she hadn't run away, or maybe its a matter of fate as she later contemplates (based on what Dahira said to her at the vagabond camp) that she had to run away in order to be where she needed to be. doesn't matter she chose him and though they both grow irritated because they have to act as if the other doesn't matter to them (their enemies are damned perceptive).

Kaden, having lived under the most magnificent Cloud of Denial this side of ANY fantasy or romance novel (seriously normally they leave this sort of denial to the female characters, not to the male), perceives things how he wants to see them. Maybe he truly did believe, in his heart of hearts, that if he brought Lia to Vendan land she'd be safe. Maybe he thought she really did feel betrayed by Rafe and she'd see that Kaden--despite being WORST then Rafe in a lot of ways that have nothing to do with him being the Assassin of Venda--could make her happy.

But you have to wonder about the guy when everyone under the bloody sun is like "Dude the Komizar does what he likes." and Kaden, for all his vaunted love for Lia and belief they were meant for each other and dreams of such, would (and did) say the same exact thing. Whether Lia was useful or not was not up to Kaden to decide, it was up to the Komizar and quite frankly Lia by herself wasn't terribly useful to him.

So the love triangle was done before the end of the first book and quite frankly whatever lingering affection Lia may have had for Kaden was turned to dust pretty quickly.

Lia, my friends, becomes a lady on a mission. The book is about 75% told from her point of view with two or three chapters dedicated to Pauline and the rest spread equally between Rafe and Kaden (there's over 60 chapters/400pages). Its interesting to watch some of the events the three witness together unfold across their perspectives. I'm thinking of the card game in particular, but there's a couple dinners that apply. All three are playing the other in some manner. Lia is playing Kaden to protect herself and to protect Rafe's real identity. Rafe is playing Kaden to protect his identity and Lia's real feelings. Kaden is playing Rafe to learn who he is and is unintentionally manipulating Lia in a game he isn't even controlling.

And in the center is the Komizar. The leader of the Vendan people by show of strength (which is pretty much how any position of power is attained in those misbegotten lands), Kaden and he have a strong bond that goes back over a decade. A man who is consumed with his quest for power, but is also determined to bring his people to glory.

I had some trouble with him, with pinning him exactly down. Part of it was that Kaden saw him with severely blinded eyes--or I shouldn't say that exactly. Kaden believed in him and trusted him because for a VERY long time the Komizar was the ONLY person who believed in Kaden or trusted him. If Lia had been the fluff-headed spoiled royal brat everyone expected. If she hadn't understood that words said and sacrifices made now were to bring her closer to that future she so desperately wanted...if she hadn't played Kaden the way she did...there wouldn't have ever been a question for him.

What made the Komizar dangerous wasn't his ability to weild a weapon or his willingness to sacrifice thousands in his quest. What made him dangerous was that he understood how to get loyalty. How to make others look at him and remember "He did THIS for me". He knew when to take an opportunity and run with it.

What made him was weak was not understanding how fickle humans are, even in their undying loyalty.

Oh this book. Guys I could go on and on about it. There was some discordent moments. Lia found out more in regards to some traitors in her father's court, and while I appreciated the updates on Pauline they were far less interesting to me then Lia/Rafe/Kaden's struggles. Also I would have liked to "see" from the Komizar's view. Its easy to make a man seem twenty steps ahead of everyone when you're only seeing the aftermath. Harder to justify it when you don't see how he knew.

Still the end was a WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU EVEN DOING TO ME RIGHT NOW ending, which while less people Lia loves die its no less heart breaking. I want to hope for the best. With my only other guidance in how Pearson may complete this series being the Jenna Fox Chronicles (which are, at best, bittersweet endings really) I AM VERY WORRIED FOR MY HEART.

( )

I want to start off by saying that I loved the first book and had high expectations of this one.

One of my favorite quotes in this book, and there were many, is "You're a terrible liar."
"And I used to be so good at it. You're my downfall" (417).

These books have many short chapters that make the book fly by, which is a plus for me. As someone that likes to finish her chapter before closing a book, this is convenient for random reading throughout the day.

In the last book, I was never sure which guy was which and ended up being completely wrong about how the assassin was. Even after I learned who Kaden and Rafe were, I was still unsure of who I liked.

I quickly learned that I love Rafe in this book. He is so sarcastic and optimistic and great at lying.
An example on pages 28 and 29 of why I love him is:
Rafe: I have help coming.
Lia: How many?
Rafe: Four.
Lia: Four thousand?
Rafe: No. Four.
Lia: You mean four hundred?
Rafe: these four- they're the best.

How many people actually think they can escape an isolated kingdom with only four people? Even more, I love that when Lia asks a similar question, he replies that including them, there are 6 people.

I love this guy!

Lia was so determined and had clearly grown. In my opinion, in the last book, she was not an ignorant princess who couldn't take care of herself. She was always smart and cunning, partly thanks to her brothers. But she became more so in this book, she also became more aware of what she was risking and how quickly life can change. I enjoyed reading about her.

Another high point for me was the atmosphere in Venda. The kingdom is so creepy and maze-like. The setting is much darker and reminiscent of a fantasy than in the previous book.

Kaden just got on my nerves as the story went on. He was so demanding and smug. Not in an attractive way, either. Like when he would make suggestive comments about things that never once happened, and even is they had happened, he should have kept it to himself. Just saying.

The ending of this book was satisfying for me and I would have been happy if this was a duology, but I do have a few more questions, so I will read the third book shortly.

I highly recommend this trilogy. ( )

2.5 Stars ( )