Kiss of the Traitor

The Traitor's Kiss

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She'd never be able to match his color even if she stayed outdoors all summer.

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As you can see, the word choice sounds mocking, if not condescending. I would have given this book a higher rating if the colored characters had other distinguishing characteristics worth mentioning. Whether we like it or not, political correctness is imperative nowadays. Sadly, it wasn't consistently shown in this novel. I wasn't personally triggered, but I was bothered by how the descriptions made me want to laugh. It does fall short in regards to its emphasis on skin tone, but it really doesn't deserve to be hated.

Gleaning upon the strengths I mentioned, I can honestly say that Erin Beaty is a promising author. I look forward to reading her future works. View all 26 comments. The Traitor's Kiss was overall extremely disappointing and discouraging. My journey from learning of this book to finishing it has been a tumultuous one, but one that nevertheless left me wishing I hadn't wasted time in it from the first place.

This book was first brought to my attention in being a Mulan retelling, which made me extremely excited. Mulan is one of my favorite Disney princesses - or, er, generals - and also celebrates my own culture. Although it uses minor elements in terms of plo The Traitor's Kiss was overall extremely disappointing and discouraging. Although it uses minor elements in terms of plot and character description similar to ones in Mulan, The Traitor's Kiss had no other resemblance.

The biggest thing that made me pause was it being advertised as a Mulan retelling Now it's marketed as "Jane Austen meets espionage," which is much more fitting since it's a very-much white fantasy where POC are described as having "darker" skins - making white skin the norm and maintaining an ambiguous air about what the "darker" characters look like in general.

Seriously, it's like the author's vocabulary in describing characters was terribly limited. The plot itself was an absolute snooze-fest for me. The pacing is horrendously slow, which I'm okay with. However, it was slow to the point where when it started picking up in the latter quarter, I simply stopped caring about the characters and story. Let's backtrack to the beginning.

Sage Farrow is not like the other girls. She makes this exceptionally clear from the very start, where she's seen teaching her cousins. She's so intelligent, she doesn't need to be matched. She also has a fierce temper that makes her unsuitable to the matchmaker she was foisted on. All is not lost though, because the matchmaker isn't a bad guy and decides to take Sage as an apprentice to help make matches. This gives Sage, the unwanted orphan relative with no prospects, the perfect opportunity to live life. This also gives Sage, the skinny, flat-chested girl with freckles, the distinction against the other girls who are obsessed with make-up and catching boys under matchmaking.

It sounds like the author has something against girls with cleavage, because they're all supercilious and extra. Sage isolates herself from the other girls waiting to have a match made because they are superficial and dumb and care about make-up. This behavior is further reinforced as the author writes in several male POV scenes where the male's thoughts create a distinction between Sage's sage scent and the other girl's stifling perfume.

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I'm really tired of reading girl-on-girl hate and the reasoning that in order to create a special heroine, she must be pitted - and won - against other girls. There's a way to write characters unique to themselves without having to carry about prejudice against others, and I wish more authors would incorporate that into their works. Sage makes only one female friendship in this story that fulfills more of a "checkbox" than anything.

Instead, Sage is the epitome of tomboy and gets along with every soldier she comes into contact with really well.

All the guys love her and most of the girls hate her - do you see why I'm upset with this characterization? A heroine can still be a tomboy and carry out unorthodox ways without diminishing the power of make-up and feminine wiles. Her aunt rolled her eyes.

What do you think? While Sage is gathering information about the soldiers in the chances of pairing them off with prospective girls, the Captain is suspicious that she's spying for the enemy. The situation is that there is a traitor who is trying to help the Kimisar, the enemy nation that Crescera is currently fighting. Which brings me up to another point: Swirling tattoos on his exposed forearms added to the shapeless effect.

I have no clue what it means by "darker" than another race that's described as "dark. And truth be told, the world is written with such ambiguity that I'm really not sure why the nations are fighting in the first place - nor do I really care. I do recall that the Kimisar are undergoing a famine and the traitor in the court holds the prize of food over their head to ensure that they continue following his orders. Apparently the Kimisar also really like holding hostages as well like every country at war doesn't?

Sure, I can't see the racist undertones of their characterization at all. Honestly, the espionage in this book was one of the largest snooze-fest I've ever read as well. You would think that Red Queen's "Anyone can betray anyone" adage would remain true to a book titled The Traitor's Kiss , but the only momentous betrayal this book conveyed was the fact I was actually excited about it in the first place.

There is a lot of boring dialogue where you get to read how Sage is so fierce, so intelligent, so worldly that the soldiers actually use her as their own spy to uncover the traitor in their midst. The captain of the soldier escorts also take a liking to her, all the while pretending to be another undercover soldier to ascertain information. Cue clandestine meetings of two tiresome characters that deserve each other. Captain Quinn is super loyal to the crown and wants to use Sage's spying abilities, all the while keeping her in the dark about important information for the purpose of plot.

On the other hand, Sage is ascertaining things left and right and charging forward towards danger anyhow. Throughout it all, Sage proves herself "different from the other girls" by hanging out with the guys, wearing breeches while riding horses, and reading books in different languages. Also, she can manipulate others but they can't do the same because that's not how things work, even if the other party loves her. Sage also never makes mistakes because everything she discovers, learns, and does is picture perfect.

I cared almost nothing for the romance in this book, which is pretty momentous considering I love romance. This is a kind of unequal romance that reinforces unbalanced ideals, constant undermining of the other party, and overall an imbalance between characters that, no matter how important it is for the whole "espionage" portion of the plot, I could not get behind. By the end of the book, I was practically counting down the pages. The sad thing is that I think I would have genuinely liked the book, if Sage weren't such a snowflake that isolated herself from other girls, sans one cardboard character and the writing didn't extend towards such racist undertones in world-building and characterization.

Nevertheless, I'm surprised at all the star raving reviews, no one caught the offensive writing and equally disappointing characterization that showed minimal character growth and empathy. There are numerous fantasies out there with more down-to-earth characters even if they are special snowflakes and non-offensive writing. Also if you're looking for a Mulan retelling, do yourself a favor and skip this one. If you choose to pick this book up, consider the implications of having the mostly white main characters fighting against a black nation that adorn themselves with tattoos and have no other description.

Also think to yourself if you would be a friend to Sage, because with her obvious prejudice against other "superficial" girls who wear make-up, I know I wouldn't. Also check out the romance, which is built on distrust and keeping the other party in the dark about important information - no matter how intelligent Sage is advertised as. If those sounds unappealing to you as they should, being a reader in the twenty-first century , then I would advise you to not waste your time on this one. View all 16 comments. So before I review a book, I read some reviews of the people that I follow to see the points that people have on the book and see where my views are in comparison.

With that being said, apparently there is a lot of hate for this book because it is anti-feminism and encourages girls to hate on girls? You are correct in saying that some of the girls Sage our heroine was trying to match WrensReads Review: She was basically a commoner compared to the ladies she was assigned to match. She played the part of a lady in order to encourage the men to pick whom she wanted them to which is a tactic used by the matchmaker , which upset the girls; which, I will admit, was super petty because she was trying to help them, but it had nothing to do with her gender.

It had everything to do with her class. I mean, even when she pretended to be a maid she was treated as a next bang by the guards. So if you are reading this review, and you are hesitant to read this book because of all the hate, just know I had no idea that was a thing people were saying and completely and utterly enjoyed this book. The plot was driven and unique. So many people were spies and had layers of different faces they used. Sage pretended to be a lady, and then a maid, and then another maid, and then a soldier. I do have one complaint: That was a little off to me.

There was no instalove in this and that was a strong reason I loved this book. It could have swung in the direction of instalove so easily, but it was a gradual and bumpy ride before we got there. This was a really entertaining read and I hope people will read it and form their own opinions on it, instead of just assuming its content. This pretty much concluded itself, so I have no idea where the next book is going to go.

Why aren't more people reading this? I could totally get on board with that. View all 11 comments. Nov 18, Candace Robinson added it. So, I actually listened to the audio the second time around and found myself loving the book. Now, not sure why people keep saying Mulan because I have never seen anywhere that this was a Mulan retelling. It definitely reads more li So, I actually listened to the audio the second time around and found myself loving the book. It definitely reads more like a society type book? I was never friends with all girls in high school, at my job or in real life??

If anything it felt real. I actually felt the book was pretty diverse. Granted, there could have been different adjectives sprinkled in. Now, the only thing I was super weirded out about, which should have had more attention than the skin color situation, was a side character named Claire. She was 15, and the soldier she liked was 21! It just had me cringing. The romance was great, and one of my favorite parts of the book, and the author writes extremely well! View all 14 comments. Oct 21, Laurie rated it it was amazing. Fiery Sage and soldier Ash have some serious leap-off-the-page blazing chemistry which is often attempted in books, and rarely achieved.

And as an aside, I do have to mention how much I enjoyed the Machiavellian matchmaker, Darnessa Rodelle. She's one of my favorite characters. View all 3 comments. May 05, Attack Salmon rated it did not like it Shelves: Buddy read with My Awesome Rant Buddy I couldn't write a coherent review on this considering I have spaced out on this more than I can count. The world building is not good at all.

I have many questions like What does the Concordium does? Why is it absolutely important for girls to be matchmake? And why does the dowry from the girls go to Duk Buddy read with My Awesome Rant Buddy I couldn't write a coherent review on this considering I have spaced out on this more than I can count. And why does the dowry from the girls go to Duke A'miran??? Ermmmm perhaps its been there but I was too busy sleeping on this book. I like main character Sage. She is clever and actually come up with some ideas to help Quinn the army solve their military dilemmas.

I mean these are only the very few part of the story that I felt enjoyable. But sadly I feel like all those military operations being put on hold for all the stupid Ash and Quinn and Sage drama. A lot of things are all telling instead of showing. I can't take out an example bcuz I rmb very little of this book. But there is too much of talking in there. Beaty also try to pull a trick on the readers. It got me confused. If Quinn is pretending to be Ash then who is pretending to be Quinn?

Also the characters have some spy or code names. Yes that trick is old and take me by surprise but it also has backfire and make me further lose interest. View all 13 comments. Feb 22, Jaime Two Chicks on Books rated it it was amazing. Omg I'm so happy this is a series! And no there wasn't a cliffhanger I just need more of this world! I am in love with Sage, Alex, Ash, and all the amazing characters! I normally don't love fantasies that don't have magic but I loved this!

The world building was amazing and like I said the characters were fantastic! Book 2 now please!!! Nowhere did I rate this book one star or attack anyone for reading. So why, exactly, did this review get popular? Because a certain user chose to be racist - and yes, I do mean racist - and derogatory in the comments.

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This culminated in said user going through my twitter and harassing me and multiple friends about a completely unpolitical and irrelevant thread. That hey guys, newsflash: So apparently this "Mulan retelling" is actually about white people? I don't give a crap about this book and you know what?

Neither does anyone getting all butthurt over my one line prereview! But apparently, some people cared enough to drag out the drama. Go take a nap and let go of your bitterness. And your victim complex over how hard it is being white in America, because I swear, some of y'all have no concept of reality. Again, I haven't read this, but since this review has somehow gotten popular - it's worth noting that villain-coding for black characters is a long-standing trope built off racism.

View all comments. Mar 21, Aneta Bak rated it really liked it Shelves: The Traitor's Kiss has a captivating story line, a fearless main character and enough action to keep you reading until the AM. Yes, I know this book is getting a ton of backlash from many reviewers for offending POC more about this later in my review. While I don't support this at all, taking colour out of the story, this book was actually really good.

The main character is very relatable, and she's the type of independent and tough character that I absolutely love, the romance is ship-worthy a The Traitor's Kiss has a captivating story line, a fearless main character and enough action to keep you reading until the AM. The main character is very relatable, and she's the type of independent and tough character that I absolutely love, the romance is ship-worthy and there is tons of action.

Sage Fowler is force to reckon with. She is the exact opposite of what a girl in her society should look and act like. She doesn't like make-up and acting like a helpless girl who needs the help of man. Sage would rather read books or spend time outdoors, she is not afraid to get down and dirty and work for her living. Sage is intelligent, sassy and caring to those who care about her.

I absolutely loved her as a main character. The romance in this story is great. The two main character are able to relate to one another, teach each other new things, and they just compliment each other so well. I was so happy that this book didn't have an insta-love romance, or a love-triangle. I found myself shipping the couple early on in the book and I still do.

It was a very well written romance. The antagonists of the story is where the author made a lot of big mistakes. The author chose to describe the antagonists as "dark" and "darker" which is already offensive enough, but she also went on to say things like "they faded into the shadows" and a lot of stereotyping when it comes to tattoos and such. I was really surprised by reading some of these lines in the story. I feel like the editing team going through this book during its first stages should have pointed it out and changed it.

I'm just hoping that Erin has learned from her mistakes since this is her first published book , and won't do this again in the future. Overall, it was such an amazing book. I really recommend it, as long as you're able to put colour aside when you read this book. View all 12 comments. Mar 09, Lala BooksandLala rated it did not like it Shelves: This was really not good.

Feb 11, mith rated it liked it Shelves: View all 10 comments. Feb 26, Angie rated it did not like it Shelves: Originally posted in my blog! I was over the moon after receiving an arc because I have heard such phenomenal reviews of this book. All 5 stars on Goodreads and a lot of big bloggers I look up to raved about it, so I thought it must be amazing! Oh boy was I in for a surprise.

The first half of the book dragged on for waaaaay too long in my opinion and pulled a Kiss of Deception move that made me have to reread some chapters to understand what was h Originally posted in my blog! The first half of the book dragged on for waaaaay too long in my opinion and pulled a Kiss of Deception move that made me have to reread some chapters to understand what was happening. First, we meet Sage Farrow, an orphan living with her Aunt, Uncle, and their kids. Within the first chapter, we are told that she is exceptionally smart and has a sharp temper that makes her stand out among all the other prim and proper girls of her age.

A matchmaker takes Sage in as an apprentice to help form matches. Every single girl who was mentioned throughout this book, but one, was criticized in such a derogatory manner. The overwhelming girl-on-girl hate is really upsetting in my opinion. She constantly reasons that Clare is only being nice because she had ulterior motives to take advantage of her.

Plus, Clare is such a minor character and has no effect over the plot or anything in the book at all. Throughout the story, it is emphasized that Sage is so special and not like all the others girls. This kind of description have gone on far too long, when will it ever end?! Who are all described as being catty and guy-crazy.

Do not make her a special snowflake. Sage leaned back and made a face. She is spoiled, rude, and overbearing. Have you learned nothing? During the journey to the capital, Sage and the girls are accompanied by soldiers for security. Here, she meets a handsome young soldier named Ash Carter, the romantic interest. Sage, on the hunt for more information about the soldiers so she can make matches, is instantly seen as a threat and spy to Captain Quinn after he notices the numerous questions she asks about them.

Here is where we learn more about the political conflict. Every time they appear, the Kimisar are described as dark. Characters of color should not just be written as dark repeatedly. The man nodded once from under his hood but said nothing. Ash drew his brows together.

When buddy reading with Aila from One Way Or An Author, we talked about how yet again, the enemies, Kimisar, resemble the ones from other disappointing novels. Aila then shared a link with me that I would like to share with you guys about the dark skinned aggressor trope that is seen often in problematic books like The Continent and more. Anywho, the action and plot finally started to pick up near the end but by then, I was pretty much done with this book and was about to just DNF it.

It was such a crazy ride and the plot was really confusing in the middle but it ended up okay. Thank you to Macmillian for the ARC! View all 7 comments. The Traitor's Kiss was easily one of my most anticipated releases of Pitched as Jane Austen with an espionage twist, this book delivers just that and more. Pearson will likely enjoy this book too!

I'd like to start by addressing the fact that this book's early stages of branding were rocky Comparing this book to Mulan in a pitch is a bold statement to make. Especially when this book is decidedly very different from Mulan. I see The Traitor's Kiss was easily one of my most anticipated releases of I see some vague similarities the idea of matchmaking and the protagonist deemed unsuitable but I'd say that's where the similarities end. I did get much more of a Jane Austen feel from this story, the idea of pride and prejudices and all that jazz.

As a fan of Austen I'm a sucker for these tales Now overall I really enjoyed this book. Sadly it's one of those books where I can't coherently and cohesively explain why I loved it so much. This book has plenty of deception and spying which I really liked. The stakes are so high throughout, and I couldn't help but speed through the pages to find out what happened next. If I'm not mistaken Erin Beaty has a military background and that definitely was seen in the novel by the military tactical strategies. I'll admit she has plenty of prejudices though.

Sage assumes many things and judges people at times, as a matchmaker she makes observations on all that she sees but that part of her personality still bugged me at times. I do love her fierce loyalty to her country and her mission though. Speaking of country, the world building was severely lacking. I felt I was in the middle of the most mundane kingdom ever. Actually this book could've been a historical piece for all the details it gave. I hope that in the next books Erin explores the world a bit more by fleshing out the history, introducing the culture, and overall just expanding on everything.

This book was clearly character-driven above all else, but I would like these mistakes to be remedied in the future. Also a map would be nice! In a fantasy setting I feel like those modern elements wouldn't be included. I really loved the characters in this book, especially the soldiers we got to know. I don't want to give too much away, but I really liked the ensemble and I hope to see them more in the next books! My one qualm is that this book isn't as diverse as I'd hoped it would be.

Some characters have darker complexions, but besides that I don't see much in that way. On to the romance, once again I don't want to give anything away but it is adorable and slowly developed and basically the cutest. The pacing was leisurely yet spread replete with crumbs along the way. There are many revelations in this book, and Erin did a great job blowing my mind on multiple occasions. This book has more strategy and espionage and a budding romance in its focus than action.

There's more suspense and buildup and scheming which I liked, but others might tire from that. Erin's writing was great, and I loved the style of dialogue she swept into her tale. The alternating points of view really rounded out the story too and worked well. Overall I really enjoyed this book despite its flaws, and I will definitely read the next book!

Way too many elements just weren't working for me Forget the Mortal Instruments and Twilight.

This book is seriously sexy and badass. I really found the characters in this book so amusing. This is an adorable book that has a good amount of adventure and romance. It was actually humorous to read because so many of the characters are lying and deceiving yet the basically quickly give themselves away or admit to their deceit. Until one big unrevealing in which you will be like whoa! It was a fun read and I am excited to continue this series. May 20, Lona rated it did not like it. You know when you have a bowl of cheerios in front of you and you are all excited until you take your first bite and realize it's not Honey Nut flavored like you expected, but that plain, cardboard tasting kind that only old people eat??

Yeah, well reading this book was like that. The Traitor's Kiss had such a cool premise! I really liked the idea of our heroine, Sage, assisting the matchmaker by posing as a fake option for suitors to give them a false choice and ultimately get them to choose the woman the matchmaker had decided. I thought this sounded so cool and was excited to see women utilizing what powers they had in this fictional, chauvinistic society to create power. However, this is not at all what happened.

I don't even know what Sage was doing the majority of this book. She was just weirdly taking notes on all of the soldier who were escorting herself, the matchmaker, and the potential brides to this ball thing. But why would she need to observe the soldiers if the point of the matchmaking was to align the ladies with nobility???

It literally made no sense and the entire premise of this book was tossed aside. So yeah, the one thing that this book had me hyped about didn't even freaking happen Aside from the confusing reasoning behind why Sage was keeping a matchmaking ledger on all of the soldiers, the reasoning behind this supposed war was confusing and vague too. Like I get why this other guy wanted to take over and get revenge, but that doesn't explain why all these lands were feuding.

Again, here's another example of a YA "fantasy" that is basically a romance with an unexplained war backdrop. Speaking of the romance, I legit just did not care about it. Both the guy and the girl were super, duper against love at the start of the nove. They both swore they would never marry for very stereotypical YA reasons , yet they suddenly forget about all that when they meet each other. It was all too fast and they became vulnerable with one another way too easily for people who were supposed to be "private and secretive. I am not going to even really mention the side characters in this review since the book doesn't seem to flesh them out anyways, they basically just serve to make the main guy and girl look better which means a lot of girl hate and it was the WORST.

But yeah, Alex and Sage were such flat characters and so unoriginal. They were the typical born-and-raised soldier guy and the not-girly-girl who loves the outdoors and scorns dresses and makeup and anything slightly "girly. I mean they kind of backstories but they are super unoriginal and are only used to make you pity them and its hecka annoying. Also, again to mention that "plot twist", I literally thought that was general knowledge for the majority of the book.

Like Sage was supposed to be this super smart and intuitive girl! That's why the matchmaker chose her as her assistant. So I assumed that she knew this "secret" the whole time. It wasn't until halfway in that I realized she didn't and that's when I lost all respect for this heroine. So yeah, the whole big plot twist that this book was basically centered on was painfully obvious and was just a plain dumb thing to cause drama over.

All in all, this book was the most basic YA fantasy novel ever. Very little originality and I am crushed. I had such high expectations and it feel so incredibly flat for me as flat as these characters and plot! And guys, I just have to mention again, the girl hate was terrible in this book! Like even at one point, the main guy rants for a whole page about the other girls wearing makeup and doing their hair.

Like heaven forbid a girl can do those things and not be portrayed as a spoiled brat or seen as "fake. Oct 22, Breeana Shields rated it it was amazing.

The Traitor's Kingdom

This is perfect for fans of Mary Pearson and Marie Rutkoski. Mar 19, Ann Elise Monte rated it did not like it Shelves: A whitewashed Mulan story that makes use of the dark-skinned aggressor trope and a whole lotta girl hate see here and here? Nov 04, ak rated it did not like it Shelves: I will not be reading this book because Erin has made it clear she does not care about POC. I'd rather be dead.

Although it's definitely not the most diverse or feminist book out there, it didn't have any glaring problems to it either. It was just slightly standerd-ish fun YA story, nothing more for me, nothing less.

The Traitor's Kiss (Traitor's Trilogy, book 1) by Erin Beaty

I did like the characters for the most part, but I wasn't really connected them. They just seemed slightly run of the mill to me. And the romance was likeable enough, but also quite avarage.

I may start liking them more later on in the series, who knows. But the more she discovers, the more uncertain she is of who to trust, until Sage becomes caught in a dangerous balancing act that will ignite or crush a rebellion. Once a spy and counselor to the throne, Sage Fowler has secured victory for her kingdom at a terrible cost. Now an ambassador representing Demora, Sage is about to face her greatest challenge to avoid a war with a rival kingdom. But the stakes are higher than ever, and in the game of traitors, betrayal is the only certainty.

The paperback of The Traitor's Kiss will be available May 18! It will include the first two chapters of The Traitor's Ruin. Trade Reviews are coming in! There are only 99 days until The Traitor's Kiss is on the shelves, and. I've been selected for the Fierce Reads Spring Tour! Details to follow as they become available. The series will be called The Traitor's Trilogy. The Traitor's Kiss is available for preorder on Amazon and also has a new release date of May 9th, !

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