Series Review: The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson (Spoiler Free)

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“It can take years to mold a dream. It takes only a fraction of a second for it to be shattered.”

Synopsis for Book One:
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 neighbouring 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.

My Thoughts:
My faith in YA fantasy has been restored!
I bloody loved this trilogy! It was amazing from start until finish. I binged the whole trilogy, I was seriously hooked and obsessed. I haven’t been so dedicated to finish a whole series without a break in a long time. This series was seriously everything I expected and more! I am so glad I bought the whole trilogy at once. I had a feeling I’d like this series, based on reviews I’ve seen from people with similar taste as me, but I didn’t think I love it quite this much!

This was a slower pace than my usual preference but I was hooked! I usually like my fantasy fast-paced, as I tend to find a slower pace less gripping but it couldn’t be more wrong for this series. Everything was so well written and interesting that I couldn’t stop reading. There isn’t a huge amount of action but there is a huge amount of intrigue! I was instantly invested in Lia as a character and her life/safety and love interests!

The Worldbuilding:
The world is interesting but it’s slow world-building, especially in the first book. You don’t really get much insight into the world in the first book. It definitely got better as the books went on. I ended up loving this world. All three Kingdom mentioned/appeared were unique from each other and all fascinating!

This series features a lot of politics and religion – both of which are really well written and easy to understand and super interesting to learn about. The second book, in particular, is mostly political intrigue – if you aren’t a fan of political driven fantasy, this may not be for you.

The magic system isn’t the most ‘magical’ magic system but it was still cool and fascinating. It is very simple but well written – there’s no chance of being confused.

Characters:
I was instantly invested in all the characters and loved all their interactions. There aren’t many books where I don’t hate at least one character but I can honestly say I liked everyone.

Lia:
I LOVE LIA.
She is the strong, badass YA heroine I’ve been waiting for. My faith in YA fantasy has been restored. I loved everything about Lia and her character, journey, relationships, etc. She was just great. She is strong-willed, outspoken and a decent, caring person.

Rafe & Kaden: I’m not going to say who is who because of spoilers!! But both guys are really well written and great! I definitely preferred one over the other, won’t say who/why – it would give a lot away.
Both have a great but bumpy relationship with Lia and they have a kind of rivalry between each other.

Ratings:
The Kiss of Deception ★★★★.5
The Heart of Betrayal ★★★★
The Beauty of Darkness ★★★★.5

Series Rating: ★★★★.5