The Traitor's Kiss (Traitor's Trilogy Series #1)

by Erin Beaty

Overview

An obstinate girl who will not be married.

A soldier desperate to prove himself.

A kingdom on the brink of war.

"An action-packed, expertly plotted story, drenched in double crosses and intrigue, with an irresistible heroine and a sweet and sexy romance.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

What makes her unfit to be a lady, makes her a brilliant spy—but can she spot another?

With a sharp tongue and an unruly temper, Sage Fowler is not what they’d call a lady—which is perfectly fine with her. Deemed unfit for marriage, Sage is apprenticed to a matchmaker and tasked with wrangling other young ladies to be married off for political alliances. She spies on the girls—and on the soldiers escorting them.

As the girls' military escort senses a political uprising, Sage is recruited by a handsome soldier to infiltrate the enemy ranks. The more she discovers as a spy, the less certain she becomes about whom to trust—and Sage becomes caught in a dangerous balancing act that will determine the fate of her kingdom.

With secret identities and a tempestuous romance, Erin Beaty's novel, The Traitor’s Kiss, is a classic story with an espionage twist.

An Imprint Book

"Marital and martial matters collide when brides and spies become ensnared in a treasonous plot. . . . Sage is a clever, contrary female protagonist who remains realistic and likable, while her fellow protagonist Ash is enigmatic enough to require a second read. . . . Both epic and intimate, a semi–old-fashioned alternative to the wave of inexplicably lethal superheroines and their smoldering love triangles." —Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250158840
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	05/08/2018
Series:	Traitor's Trilogy Series , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 5.30(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Erin Beaty was born and raised in Indianapolis. She graduated from the US Naval Academy with a degree in rocket science and served in the fleet as a weapons officer and a leadership instructor. She and her husband have five children, and live wherever the navy tells them to go—currently Kansas. She is the author of the Traitor's Trilogy and the Blood and Moonlight duology.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Traitor's Kiss:

"One of the most hotly anticipated young adult fantasy reads of 2017.” —Bustle

"Marital and martial matters collide when brides and spies become ensnared in a treasonous plot. . . . Sage is a clever, contrary female protagonist who remains realistic and likable, while her fellow protagonist Ash is enigmatic enough to require a second read. . . . Both epic and intimate, a semi–old-fashioned alternative to the wave of inexplicably lethal superheroines and their smoldering love triangles." —Kirkus Reviews

"This is an action-packed, expertly plotted story, drenched in double crosses and intrigue, with an irresistible heroine and a sweet and sexy romance. A late-breaking twist gives way to a final act that will leave readers eager for subsequent books in this planned trilogy." —Publishers Weekly , starred review

"Complex characterization, deftly layered adventure story, and [a] balanced blend of political maneuvering, romantic interludes, and action scenes." —Kirkus Reviews

"Beaty balances a taut web of deceit . . . readers will be carried away by the mystery." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (BCCB)

"A debut novel that blends fantasy, romance, and battlefield action. . . . A slow burn YA fantasy with clever genre mixing." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

2017-03-20
Marital and martial matters collide when brides and spies become ensnared in a treasonous plot. A matchmaker's apprentice, 16-year-old Sage Fowler accompanies a bevy of noble brides on their way to the quinquennial Concordium. Not a bastard—despite her botanical name—but an orphaned poor relation, the unmarriageable, white Sage cannily observes servants and ladies until her spycraft catches the attention of the military and the mysterious, "dusky"-complexioned Ash Carter. The brides' escort of royal soldiers (and incognito royalty) provides protection…and also seeks to stop an impending revolt by disgruntled nobles and a raid by desperate—if one-dimensionally barbaric—Kimisar bandits. Soon, Sage and the soldiers must save the brides, the prince, and the kingdom. As indicated by cuisine and clothing, Demora is a pre-industrial, vaguely European nation bound by marriage and divided by class. Sage is a clever, contrary female protagonist who remains realistic and likable, while her fellow protagonist Ash is enigmatic enough to require a second read. Debut author Beaty overcomes a pedestrian fantasy premise and built world through her complex characterization, deftly layered adventure story, and balanced blend of political maneuvering, romantic interludes, and action scenes. This is one series opener that really merits a sequel. Both epic and intimate, a semi-old-fashioned alternative to the wave of inexplicably lethal superheroines and their smoldering love triangles. (Adventure. 14-adult)

Kirkus Reviews