Review: The Traitor's Kiss by Erin Beaty

Collaborative feature with Alexa. We read ARCs together and post our reviews on the same date.

The Traitor's Kiss by Erin Beaty
pub 5/9/17 by Imprint
YA - Fantasy
Received ARC from pub

Plot • The last thing Sage Fowler wants is to be married off to some lord who won't appreciate her thirst for knowledge or her fiesty nature. Yet somehow she ends up becoming the apprentice to a matchmaker who helps families pair their daughters with men who will provide the best political alliances. As Sage spies on on both the women and the soldiers escorting them, one said solider realizes the advantage of having her on their side and tasks her with infiltrating the enemy to find out if their fears of a political uprising are true. It becomes a balancing act for Sage as she tries to determine who to trust, who she can help and which side she wants to be on.

Characters • From the start I loved how Sage was so unapologetically herself. She tried to do right by her family by grudgingly seeing the matchmaker but instead of leaving that meeting with a husband, she leaves with a job. A chance for freedom. (My kind of gal!) But it's really once the soldiers enter the picture and she gets entangled with them that my attention was truly peaked. There are a few soldiers in particular that I adored (if you read this – and you should – you'll know exactly who I mean). Plus despite Sage distancing herself from the girls she's spying on, she finds herself befriending one of them. After being so secluded for so long, I enjoyed seeing the relationships Sage developed with every character introduced.

Writing • It's a slow build at first but once it hit its stride, the story was off and running. I thought the spying aspect of the book was very well-done, not to mention clever, and I was certainly intrigued by how everything would unfold.

Overall feelings • It's always a good sign when I finish a book for FWA and my two first reactions are to pre-order the book and text Alexa. And that's exactly what happened here.

What's your favorite spy movie? • Mr. and Mrs. Smith because it's just so damn entertaining but also, Brangelina. (I'm still hoping they'll get back together!)