Publishers Weekly
07/09/2018
Set in the same fantasy world as her acclaimed Remnant Chronicles series (and featuring guest appearances and politics from those books), Pearson takes up the story of Kazi, a fierce Rahtan warrior and talented thief, and Jase, the head of a ruling family in the kingdom’s outer regions. The two, thrown together in dire circumstances, find themselves in a star-crossed romance. Kazi and Jase’s relationship is layered, with intriguing and difficult pasts that provide necessary character-building and enough momentum to compel readers forward. Told in alternating chapters by Kazi and Jase, the lovers’ tale is set amid a larger political story about competing kingdoms, warring territories, and changing loyalties, the threads of which can become difficult to follow. Nevertheless, Pearson is a gifted storyteller and spinner of eminently satisfying romances and fantasy. Fans will thrill at these newest protagonists, especially the women warriors, who are equal partners in the play for power. Ages 14–up.Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
The Beauty of Darkness:
"Pearson has created such a dynamic and inspiring heroine. . . . Fantasy fans will love this marvelous, high-action conclusion to the trilogy." —School Library Journal
"Full and rich." —Booklist
"Pearson is an excellent storyteller . . . . She brings an ambitious trilogy to a rousing conclusion." —The Horn Book
The Heart of Betrayal:
A New York Times Bestseller
"It's rare that the second book in a series is as good–or perhaps better–than the first, but that's the case here. . . . Anticipation for the next volume will start as soon as this one is put down." —Booklist, starred review
The Kiss of Deception:
"Pearson (the Jenna Fox Chronicles) is off to an extraordinary start with her fantasy series, creating an alluring world and romance that's ideal for fans of Kristin Cashore and Megan Whalen Turner." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Pearson offers readers a wonderfully full-bodied story: harrowing, romantic, and full of myth and memory, fate and hope." —Booklist, starred review
"Romance, adventure, mysticism–this book has it all and it just may be the next YA blockbuster." —School Library Journal, starred review
School Library Journal
07/01/2018
Gr 8 Up—Set in the same universe as "The Remnant Chronicles," but well after the fall of the Komizar, the region is now under the control of Queen Zezelia. When it is discovered that the Ballengers, an outlaw family that claims to be the first among nations and doesn't recognize the sovereignty of the Queen, has forcibly removed people from their land and is trading with known enemies and slavers, three soldiers, led by Kazimyrah (an orphan and former street urchin), are dispatched to investigate. They arrive at Hell's Mouth only to find that Ballenger senior has recently passed away and his irrepressible oldest son, Jase, is now in charge. When both Jase and Kazi are snatched by slavers, they are forced to set their animosity aside and work together to escape. Unwillingly, they find themselves drawn to each other despite their disparate loyalties. This novel has it all—romance, conflict, danger, and humor. VERDICT A must-have for all fantasy YA shelves.—Jane Henriksen Baird, formerly at Anchorage Public Library, AK
Kirkus Reviews
2018-05-28
An elite soldier and the head of an unacknowledged dynasty fall in love while telling each other lie after lie.Six years after the war described in The Beauty of Darkness (2016), the queen of Venda sends three top soldiers to hunt down a war criminal. One soldier is 17-year-old Kazi, formerly "an invisible street rat" of Venda, who honed her consummate thieving skills after her mother was kidnapped into (probable) sex slavery. The war criminal may be hiding at Tor's Watch, where the ancient Ballenger Dynasty is newly led by 19-year-old Jase Ballenger. Tor's Watch is politically unrecognized by the other kingdoms, and although the Ballengers refuse to demarcate their borders, they're fiercely territorial. There are ongoing, possibly rogue, threats to their home, city, and trade arena. Kazi and Jase's meet-cute is a meet-slam (her knife at his throat), and, of course, while chained together by kidnappers and deceiving each other incessantly, they fall in love. The action and reveals have strong content but little punch, and the romance is overwritten ("I was dancing with fire and hoping not to get burned"). However, Pearson's plotting is solid, and the last section picks up steam, ending on a cryptic cliffhanger that begs the sequel to hurry. Kazi and Jase seem white by default; a few characters are noted as brown-skinned.Questions of trust, trauma, loyalty, and territory, for readers who enjoy lie-infused romance. (Fantasy/romance. 14-17)
