![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/TraitorsKiss.jpg?resize=202%2C300&ssl=1\")
(Traitor\u2019s Trilogy, Book 1)\nby Erin Beaty
\nImprint, \u00a92017
\nISBN 978-1-250-11794-6
\nHardback, 352 pages\n
<\/p>(Traitor\u2019s Trilogy, Book 1)
\nby Erin Beaty
\nImprint, \u00a92017
\nISBN 978-1-250-11794-6
\nHardback, 352 pages\n
Sixteen-year-old Sage Fowler would rather live off the land than submit to a traditional arranged marriage, despite her uncle\u2019s wishes. After she is apprenticed as an assistant\u2014and part-time spy\u2014to the head matchmaker, the two of them set out across Demora with a group of young women toward the king\u2019s stronghold, where the young brides-to-be will be paired with appropriate husbands, and wed at mid-summer. Sage is just happy she\u2019s not one of them.<\/p>\n
Newly promoted Captain Alex Quinn must prove he\u2019s worthy to lead by escorting the women on the months-long journey. Frustrated at what he considers a babysitting job, Quinn soon notices signs that all is not well in Demora. Barbarian squads filter across the borders, moving in strategic directions. Quinn knows something is very wrong, but with a whole caravan of women and the crown prince under his protection, his options are limited.<\/p>\n
Sage finds the Captain cold, aloof. Quinn finds Sage rebellious, and far too curious in a suspicious way. As the secrets and lies pile up, neither knows who to trust. When assassins and traitors close the trap around them, they must make hard choices with the lives of others, and Demora will never be the same.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot going on in this young adult fantasy. Within the layout of a strange land and a well-developed, intricate social structure lie all the familiar landmarks we might expect: landed lords and commoners, far-flung strongholds connected by dangerous roads where horse-and-wagon travel is the norm, arranged marriages that cement political alliances and secure dowries. Old-world traditions regarding the roles of men and woman rule here, which has drawn criticism from some readers.<\/p>\n
But The Traitor\u2019s Kiss<\/em> also offers a strong female protagonist who isn\u2019t afraid to speak her mind or show her strength in the face of opposition, no small goal for a YA novel. Sage\u2019s intelligence and curiosity make her an oddball to her fellow female travelers and occasionally get her into trouble; but these characteristics also make her an asset to the main plot. No few number of young readers (of any\/all genders) will relate to Sage\u2019s difference, and surely find inspiration and hope in her good use of it. Quinn, too, offers a good role-model for young readers with his paladin-like qualities: honor, chivalrous leadership, devotion to duty, refusal to surrender to what seems inevitable.<\/p>\n With more than a few steamy romance and fast-paced battle scenes, it was sometimes easy to forget that Traitor\u2019s Kiss<\/em> is intended for younger readers. Still, the author balanced the intensity well, I think; there\u2019s nothing in here I wouldn\u2019t want my own teens to read. As for descriptive detail, Beaty spends more time in the characters\u2019 heads, exploring their thoughts and personalities, than she does describing scenery or frippery or architecture. Personally, I find it easier to \u201csee\u201d a scene with a bit more detail, but that\u2019s just me. Even so, it didn\u2019t matter. I was quickly too wrapped in Sage\u2019s and Quinn\u2019s struggles to notice any lack.<\/p>\n I truly enjoyed this story. Even if you aren\u2019t a young adult (I\u2019m certainly not!), this is a good fantasy set in a believable world. Traitor\u2019s Kiss<\/em> is the first book in the Traitor\u2019s Trilogy. The second book, The Traitor\u2019s Ruin<\/em>, is due to be released in May of 2018. The third book\u2019s release is scheduled for one year after that, but I can easily see how Beaty could carry this tale on for years, far beyond the current Sage-Quinn drama. I sincerely hope she does. It would be fun to watch how Demora and its people grow, evolve, change. But even if the Traitor\u2019s Trilogy is all we see of this land and these characters, I\u2019ll be watching for more fiction from Erin Beaty.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (Traitor\u2019s Trilogy, Book 1) by Erin Beaty Imprint, \u00a92017 ISBN 978-1-250-11794-6 Hardback, 352 pages Sixteen-year-old Sage Fowler would rather live off the land than submit to a traditional arranged marriage, despite her uncle\u2019s wishes. After she is apprenticed as an assistant\u2014and part-time spy\u2014to the head matchmaker, the two of them set out across Demora with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-6m","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3079,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/06\/the-limits-of-enchantment-a-novel\/","url_meta":{"origin":394,"position":0},"title":"The Limits of Enchantment: A Novel","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"February 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Graham Joyce \u00a9 2013, Black Dust Creations Ltd ASIN: B00F66Q8TK Kindle version; file size 1104 KB In every way that matters, Fern Cullen is daughter to Mammy Cullen, who sees to the needs of village women in rural England around 1960. 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