A Lie So Pretty and Poisonous follows Aurora Alwine, "Rory", a young mother who fled from her mother's home and managed to build a happy life with her young daughter, Cora, in a new town where she works at an apothecary. When one of her mother's lackeys arrives to force Rory and Cora back to her mother's home, Rory's friends devise a way to get the mother and daughter to safety. While on the run though, Rory and Cora end up trapped in a land of demigods where they have been separated from humans on the other side of the continent. Now trapped, Rory has to curb her instincts and play a careful game of keeping up a facade of the delicate noblewoman all while trying to find any information on how to get back home. After forming an alliance with the demigod, Darragh, who has been assigned to protect her, Rory and Darragh's search for a way back home leads them to discoveries that threaten the safety of everyone.
First of all, the world-building is phenomenal. I was so impressed with every aspect of this other world where Rory and Cora ended up trapped. The way that the society was divided and how the religion was woven in made for a delicate situation that Rory found herself navigating. There were so many things that she needed to learn and I was grateful that it allowed the reader to, in turn, learn along with Rory everything that was needed to understand the world as the story progressed. There were a lot of things that kept the tension building for Rory and for Cora and Bronwyn handled each thread with ease, creating a world that glittered but had sharp edges underneath. Every new fact revealed worked in showing exactly what kind of place this really was and by the time everything came to light, I couldn't believe the book was over. Bronwyn has managed to bring readers through every point of this story, investing us in every aspect in a way that only the best romantasy books are able to do and that is an incredible feat.
Next, the characters were everything and more needed for a book like this. I was so happy to see an older FMC who was also a mother as a lead for book like this. The instinct that Cora had to sacrifice herself to keep her daughter safe was something I could identify with and her every thought being how to make sure her daughter would benefit made me love Rory. I thought Cora was an adorable and intelligent little girl, proving herself as the best motivating factor for her mother. Darragh was an interesting character, stoic and unsettling and yet quietly showing in little ways the way he had others interests at heart. I loved the tension between Darragh and Rory and I truly hope to see more development between them in the next book. Bronwyn built this incredible tension between these two characters but also managed to keep this necessary distance between them because of the circumstances of Rory being unable to go home. I also especially loved Anya, Rory's new friend and confidante, who quickly managed to prove herself trustworthy to the Alwines. I loved how she provided observations that Rory didn't have and how she helped Rory through the ups and downs she was going through in her new world. I hope to see much more of her and Rory being friends in the rest of the series.
As for the plot, I thought I had some things figured out but Bronwyn kept all the cards close until the right moments to reveal everything. The idea of trying to find a way home as a driving force was the perfect scenario to have in a story like this. There was enough of a threat hanging over Rory's head as a person in a foreign land to have Rory moving around the kingdom, learning about the world and trying to find a way back. At the same time though, slowly adding in a new threat for Rory to unearth helped with allowing readers become completely invested in figuring out exactly what was going on in this society. Suffice to say, after the way this book ended, I am completely on board for book 2.
In the end, Bronwyn has created one incredible lead and a world I can't wait to visit again. I desperately need to know some more about the reveals given and I really hope for a happy outcome for Rory and for Cora once the next books are released.
Rating on my Scale: 10 Stars. I want more, end of story. I'm still not over that last chapter. The next book is too far away but I will be patient, not because I want to be but because I have to be patient. So there.
My thanks to Rattle the Stars PR and Leah Bronwyn for the eARC of this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.
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