By: Erin Beatty

Traitor’s Circle # 1 | 352 Pages | Pub. 2018

The Traitor’s Kiss at a Glance

• Overall Rating: ★★★ 1/2
• Heroine: Matchmaker + Mulan vibes
• Dude: Oh, Captain, My Captain 😻😻
• Plot Twist:  I feel like I’ve been all over Gone Girl-ed again
• Brutality: J.K Rowling & Cassandra Clare would be proud

Pairs Well With

The Traitor Shot

• Gin
• Orange juice
• Dash of nutmeg and honey 

Our Review

I was pleasantly surprised by this book and thought it was an enjoyable read. I originally bought this book because the cover is simply gorgeous but after reading negative reviews that claim this book is anti-feminist I was a bit nervous. While I can see how some perceive this book as promoting girls hating other girls, I didn’t get those vibes when I read the book. I felt that the conflict between the female characters in this book centered around a class struggle not gender.

The Traitor’s Kiss was well-paced and engaging across all 352 pages. The plot was entertaining; a perfect balance of political intrigue, military tactics, and romance. Beatty managed to create a novel that perfectly corrals multiple character perspectives into a cohesive and suspenseful narrative. And she goes a step farther and adds in a layer of mystery and a plot twist that’ll complete knock you off your feet. I felt like I got Gone Girl-ed and I was impressed that I didn’t even see it coming.

And then I was like:

The characters were enjoyable and relatable. There’s a character for everyone here; wise, patriarchy smashing females, complex male characters to simultaneously swoon and sigh in exasperation over, and adorable little brothers who you just want to hug. Sage is a badass spy and problem solver and I loved that she outsmarted the men at every step of the way and was basically like:

The romance was so well-done, guys. Slow-burn and natural with some perfect swoon-worthy moments at the end. I was in book-relationship-heaven. I’m happy with the ending and swear to god if anything goes wrong in the next book I’ll revolt.

Have you read The Traitor’s Kiss? Let us know what you thought in the comments!

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