The Traitor’s Kiss | Spoiler-Free Book Review

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.

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

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