May Read: The Traitor’s Kiss

Hey everyone! This post is a week late, I know, but last week was crazy due to some family things. Hopefully I’ll be getting back on track from here on out, though!

Anyway. I know my original reading list said a different book for May, however I got this book in March and it looked really good, so I decided to do it for my review instead. So, without further ado, here is my content and personal review for The Traitor’s Kiss by Erin Beaty.

The Synopsis (Taken from Goodreads)

An obstinate girl who will not be married.
A soldier desperate to prove himself.
A kingdom on the brink of war.

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 The Traitor’s Kiss is full of intrigue, espionage, and lies.

Content Review:

Positive Messages: As in most books, the positive messages are wrapped up in the main characters. Sage, despite her headstrong character, really wants to help others, and enjoys teaching them. While sometimes she says things she doesn’t mean, she usually apologizes for them afterwards if she noticed they hurt someone. She also really honors and respects her late father, often thinking about doing the things that would make him proud.

The other major characters are also pretty honorable. The main male character loves and honors his father, wanting his approval, and listens to him when he corrects him. He sees his parents’ loving relationship, and wants one like theirs. He also cares for his little brother and cousins, and tries to protect his friends as much as he can, seeing as he’s their captain in the military.

A couple girls are said to be unmarried because their standards are too high. A girl helps another girl find a good home after her parents lie about her age in order to force her into a political marriage.

A boy stands up to bullies and despite getting beaten in a fight he continued to stand up to them.

An unmarried couple hug and kiss. However the man clearly wants to stay honorable and not go further until marriage, using self-control.

Rating: 4.5/5

Spiritual Messages: Men do something equivalent to crossing themselves and say “Spirit shield me” and “sweet Spirit” throughout the book. I believe it’s mentioned that someone prays.

Rating: 3/5

Romantic Content: As this is a romantic fantasy, there is plenty of this content. I found it to be pretty appropriate, although sometimes a little more descriptive than I am used to. However, there were no explicit scenes and mostly nothing more than descriptions of hugs and kisses, though there was a few touches too.

A man is mentioned to be unfaithful, and there is talk of a girl being a whore. A character’s birth is the result of a royal’s liaison with a maid. A man threatens a woman by cutting open her bodice.

A girl has to take her clothes off for a dressmaker and is described as having a flat chest, and good hips, shoulders and curves. During the process, she feels like a horse meant for breeding.

A girl says her father told her how babies were made. A girl describes another girl as thinking any man will fall in love with her if she makes eyes at them. She also sees the girl’s tightened bodice and remarks that she looks like she’d spill out of it if she bent over.

It’s hinted that a guy’s parents had him before they were married in order to secure their marriage and a man says he will do the same if his parents don’t allow him to marry the girl he loves. His father tells him to calm down as he likes the girl.

Some of the soldiers sent to escort the women talk of the “improved scenery”.

The more physical descriptions include:

A girl becomes conscious of a guy’s touch when she starts liking him.

A drunk guy grabs a maid and forces her into his lap, squeezing her rear and kissing her.

A guy and girl who are spying are forced to look like they’re hiding to have an affair in order to deceive the soldiers who find them. This includes hiking the girl’s skirt up and loosening her bodice and kissing.

A couple kiss 5-6 times(semi described).

A guy touches a girl’s (clothed) back, hips and thighs but doesn’t go further, although the two sleep (as in actual sleep) together. 

A guy and girl kiss and the girl thinks if he pressured her for more she’d prob give in but he’s honorable and stops only at kissing and asks her to marry him.

A guy kisses a girl’s arm and neck and clearly wants more but refrains.

A guy’s father wants to make sure his son’s girlfriend is not pregnant so he knows what to tell the guy’s mother.

Rating: 3.5/5

Violence: Due to the political nature of the book, and the fact that the main male character is a soldier, lots of battles happen. Generally, light descriptions are given of what happens, including mentions of blood and injuries, and men die.

A prisoner commits suicide so he won’t tell information. A man slits another’s neck, and a girl stabs a man as he tries to choke her. A girl also hits a man with an iron bar, and he shoves her against a tree and kicks her. Men are killed with stabs to the kidneys, hearts, necks, etc. Men burn to death in a fire, and one man falls off a wall to his death. A place is blown up, killing those inside.

In probably the most traumatic and saddest scene in the book, the villain slices a kid’s throat.

Lesser violence includes a girl telling about how she tricked a guy into accidentally hitting himself. A man recalls the first time he killed someone and talks about how he got some scars. A girl slaps a guy. A message bottle is hidden inside a gutted rabbit.

Rating: 4/5

Language: There was actually more language in this book than I thought there would be, which was a little disappointing. However, four of the times the ba-word was used, it was used in the literal sense of the word. Four other times, it was used as a curse word. Different variations of the d-word were used a dozen times, and the h-word was used half as much. The s-word was used twice, and the a-word, bi-word, and p-word each used once.

Rating: 2/5

Other Negative Content: With lying being in the synopsis, there is quite a bit of it that goes on, although most of it is rather what’s not being said rather than outright lies. Although there are several of those too, even though they’re meant to protect and not harm people. (In the story’s defense, the characters are shown to suffer for some of their lies and regret saying them).

When a girl learns a man lied to her, she reacts (in my opinion) really extreme, and treats him rottenly for awhile, making him think she hates him. Elsewhere, a man lies about not being able to read in order to spy. A girl’s parents force her to lie and find a spouse at fifteen when the law says nobody younger than sixteen can marry. Men intend to lie to a girl so she will unintentionally spy for them without knowing what she’s doing.

A woman is said to be abused by her husband, to the extent that she miscarried a child. Women are taught to do whatever their husbands want no matter what. They also are told to apologize if they give birth to a daughter and not a son. A matchmaker wants to pair a girl who doesn’t want to marry.

A commoner is looked down upon and made fun of. A girl mocks her uncle who sincerely cares for her, although they don’t see eye-to-eye. A man tells a man who supposedly raped a girl that they “wouldn’t hesitate to cut his balls off”.

Rating: 3/5

Total Content Rating: 3.33/5 Stars

Personal Review:

As someone who doesn’t want to get married due to extremely high standards like Sage, the back of the book totally caught my interest. Even though since it’s a romance book, I knew she’d get with the main male character.

I really enjoyed the espionage side of things. The spying and the twist in one character’s identity was cool, although because of the romance, I suspected it. I also liked Charlie, his father, and the side characters. I would’ve liked maybe a little more scenes with these characters interacting with the main male character and developing their relationships a tiny bit more. Especially between the cousins. But I understand why it wasn’t done, since Sage is the main character.

I also like the setting–it is a fantasy world, but there was no magic and no strange mythical creatures. That’s one of my favorite settings to read in, so that was a huge bonus.

The romance was okay, I liked both characters but I didn’t really super connect with either of them. It was appropriate, but did get a little detailed and suggestive at a couple of places, which may make some readers who prefer lighter romance uncomfortable. The cursing was another negative about the book. It didn’t seem like that much was in the book because the language was so spread out, but when I compiled it for this review, I was a little surprised with how much language this actually had.

Also, towards the end, one scene which was supposed to be really sad just… like, was glossed over in favor of the romance? Like, no emotional things seen whatsoever, just “oh this terribly sad thing happened–and the other important this is now we like each other so give us your blessing”. Sort of disappointing there. But maybe the character in question had taught himself not to show emotions outwardly so that was my saving mental argument.

In all, I’d say this was a unique read for me, and while not my favorite, I probably will continue on in the series at some point or another. I recommend this for readers fourteen and older who enjoy romance, spies, and political intrigue set in a fantasy world.

Personal Rating: 3.5/5 Stars