The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

(Blurb taken from Goodreads)
 In this timeless new trilogy about love and sacrifice, a princess must find her place in a reborn world.

In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia’s life follows a preordained course. As First Daughter, she is expected to have the revered gift of sight—but she doesn’t—and she knows her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom—to a prince she has never met.

On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—even as she finds herself falling in love.

I was super excited to read this one. The Adoration of Jenna Fox was phenomenal so what could be better than a fantasy by the same author? This was really well done fantasy too. The characters were detailed and intricately created. Lia progressed so much in this book in such a believable way.

The way the assassin and the prince were kept hidden from the readers was clever and effective. I couldn't make up my mind which one was which. Fortunately it worked out the way it should have worked out. The ending was a cliff hanger, but I loved the gesture of protection and tenderness that one of the characters made.

I thought the beginning was slow and didn't really world build very well. The second half was much stronger in both of those areas. I would have liked to have seen more about the cultures and gods in the first half of the book.

There isn't really much to say without revealing some of the books secrets. Suffice to say, I think Lia and he who shall not be revealed are the ultimate couple. Their romance was sweet, pure and uncomplicated.

I definitely want to read the next book especially considering where the book left off. It was so well done with many elements that were perfect.

There were no sex scenes, but some of the characters did have sex.  It took place off the pages so there was no description.  There were a couple of minor curse words.