A princess must find her place in a reborn world.
She flees on her wedding day.
She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.
She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.
She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.
The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Liar can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance. Fed up and ready for a new life, Liar flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive-and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Liar finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets-secrets that may unravel her world-even as she feels herself falling in love.
My initial expectations...
Though the promise of romance made me wary, the bigger promise of a high fantasy from friends who had previously read this pushed me to pick it up. (I also was kind of pressured into reading it by the book club I attend, haha.) No one likes to be that odd one out in a group, the only one who hasn't read a certain book or series.
What I didn't like about this book...
I'm going to tell you what I didn't like first before I tell you what I did like. This is because I honestly didn't enjoy the book as a whole, so there isn't many positive things I have to say.
To start, I had a lot of trouble sympathizing with the main character Lia. I just couldn't support her decision to run from her responsibilities, especially when she knew that by leaving she could possibly trigger a war between the two Houses. I get that she didn't want to be stuck in an arranged marriage, but that still doesn't mean your life is more important than the thousands of others that could be lost in a war. That's not just reckless and selfish, but stupid. I was actually hoping she'd get caught.
Not being able to connect with the main character made the rest of the book really difficult to read. I was detached and just waiting for it to end.
What I liked about this book...
Almost the entirety of the rating I'm giving this book is due to the amazing and unexpected plot twist near the end. I was so taken aback that I spent about an hour going back through the book trying to figure out how on earth I could have missed such an important detail. Something like that takes a lot of skill to pull off; bravo, Pearson. Bravo.
My overall views...
The romance was tolerable. A bit rushed if you ask me, but tolerable. The elements of fantasy were a bit underdeveloped, but they have so much potential I'm going to push myself to read the next book. Hopefully things will be worked out by then.
I give this 3.5 /5 stars on Goodreads.
Would I re-read this? No, probably not.
Would I recommend this? Surprisingly, yes. While it may not be my cup of tea, I think it may be for others.
What do you guys think? Did you see the twist coming? What are your views on Lia's decision to flee?
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