The time it was about The Beauty of Darkness

When I got the invite to be part of the blog tour for The Beauty of Darkness, I couldn’t respond fast enough.  In fact, I was so stupidly excited about it, I failed to read the entire set of instructions on how to respond properly and just emailed back with general flailing about and an abundance of shouty caps.

Thankfully, the lovely ladies at Macmillan generally overlook my spastic behavior don’t mind and I was able to get one of the top choices I wanted for the tour.

Before we get any further, let’s check out the final book. {As if you even need a refresher.}

Lia and Rafe have escaped Venda and the path before them is winding and dangerous – what will happen now? This third and final book in The Remnant Chronicles is not to be missed.

Bestselling author Mary E. Pearson’s combination of intrigue, suspense, romance and action make this a riveting page turner for teens.
Pre-Order from: Macmillan | IndieBound | B&N | Amazon

I don’t normally include quote graphics, but this quote? Yeah…is it August yet? Mary has promised more kissing, and this is a good start. I can’t wait to get this book in my greedy hands.

And now, my question for Mary: You wrote the series in several POVs. Was Kaden easy or hard to work with? Why or why not? 

[Warning: Spoilers ahead.]

He was fascinating to me so I guess that made him easy to work with. I loved writing in his voice.  He was complex with many opposing traits. But it was the undertow of Kaden, his motivations that really drew me in to his world.  Kaden was really two different people. One that was raised by a kind, sensitive mother who loved him very much.  And the other Kaden was rescued by a power-hungry ruler after his father had beaten and thrown him out. He had one foundation, and another upbringing. Kindness and cruelty were the extremes that had ruled his life.

His fierce loyalty to his mother shifted to someone else who protected him—the Komizar—even if the Komizar’s motives were tainted.  So I feel a lot for Kaden.  I feel all the ways he is torn and conflicted.  How could any of us say we wouldn’t be just like him, ready to kill others for someone who saved us? Kaden feels an enormous debt to the Komizar, but he also feels other things, everyday normal things that he tries to deny. He is human and a young man in need of love. When Lia shows him the sort kindness he craves but didn’t expect from her, it shakes his world. Suddenly he is not just the Assassin, but his mother’s son again, the one who remembers another way of life.  And he wonders if it is too late for him to live any other way.

I loved exploring this conflict in him, and actually I just plain loved him : ) I wanted him to have a fullness in his life, a genuine love he deserved.

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Mary E. Pearson is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of ten novels.  Her works include her latest trilogy, The Kiss of Deception, The Heart of Betrayal, and the forthcoming The Beauty of Darkness which will be published in August. The Adoration of Jenna Fox, and the other books in the series have been optioned for film, and A Room on Lorelei Street was a Golden Kite Award Winner.

She writes full-time from her home office in California where she lives with her husband.

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Huge thanks to Fierce Reads for the invite and to Mary for taking the time!! Make sure you’re checking out Mary’s website, following her on Twitter, liking her Facebook page, and adding all of her books to your Goodreads TBR shelf.

And definitely check out the rest of the blog tour because this thing is massive and there will be all sorts of goodies and giveaways!!

Have you read this series? Are you Team Lia, Team Rafe, or Team Kaden?