"Deception" Review

"Deception"
by Kris Kennedy

Publisher: Pocket
Release Date: July 31, 2012
Source: sent by publisher

My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Summary from goodreads.com:

A beautiful silk merchant and a dashing con man join forces in the second scorching medieval romance from Kris Kennedy.

Breaking and entering to reclaim her corrupt late father's ledger comes surprisingly easily to Sophia Darnly. But is it mere coincidence that her misdeed unexpectedly reunites her with Kier, the outlaw lover who abandoned her years ago? Time has not erased Sophia from Kier's heart, nor tamed her fiery spirit. She boldly insinuates herself into Kier's plan for revenge, believing the ledger will ensure her survival. But Kier knows that with or without the ledger, she's as good as dead.

Kier is a dangerous, intoxicating potion for Sophia, but he's on a mission of revenge, and can't allow even the woman he once loved to stop him. The danger mounts as they take on the leader of a powerful consortium who needs the fabled Darnly ledger—and all its damning details about the wealthiest merchants of England—to execute his nefarious plan. He also needs Sophia—the last witness to his scheme—dead.

The coals of their rekindled passion burn hot as Sophia and Kier set their trap. But when the duo discovers they too are the targets of a deadly deception, the fate of their love, and of England itself, lies in the balance.

My Review:

I was really impressed with this medieval historical romance. It was quite different from the norm, and didn't really follow the regular formula of historical romances. The writing style was very different, almost lyrical in some places which made for a really romantic read.

Kier wasn't totally my type of hero, he was a little too alpha for me, but I still liked him. His alpha personality was balanced well with Sophia's strength, so he never seemed too overbearing or anything. She had too much strength in her own right to let him turn her into a pushover. There were still a lot of really romantic lines that were positively swoon-worthy, and showed that they were both mushy romantics underneath their armor.

The beginning focused a lot on the setting and setting up the mystery, so I thought the book would be slow, but once the romance started, the pages just flew by and it was a really quick and addictive read. I enjoyed this one a lot more than the author's first book, Defiant, in which I felt the romance never really started going at full steam. I think in this book, the language and story were much more relatable instead of going for the over the top medieval language and feel like the first book did. I'm looking forward to her next book after enjoying this one so much.

Main Characters: 5/5
Supporting Characters: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 4/5
Uniqueness: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 4/5

Bottom Line:  Fans of medieval romance, alpha heroes, and strong heroines are going to love this book! Can't wait to read her next romance!

If you think this book sounds interesting, you may like my review of her first book:

Defiant Review