Book Review: A Heart's Deceit by Cege Smith {Bloodtruth 4}

A Heart's Deceit
Cege Smith
Bloodtruth book 4
Published March 4, 2014
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Source: I did receive this ebook in exchange for my honest opinion of it.

In the stunning conclusion of the Bloodtruth series, rules have been broken. Queen Angeline Robart must face the consequences of her actions if she ever hopes to keep the Alteran throne.
As Angeline’s abilities grow stronger, it quickly becomes apparent that uncovering the lineage of her wraith is the key to everything. To secure her throne and banish her enemies forever, Angeline must become a master manipulator to find the answers she needs to save herself and her people. But her past doesn’t intend to let her go that easily.
In order to escape a death sentence, Connor Radwin gave into his basest instincts. Now that the time has arrived to return to his former self, he finds it more of a struggle than he ever anticipated. But he is unwilling to leave Angeline’s side; despite the fact that he knows she has to marry someone else.
With old foes emerging at every turn, Angeline’s time is running out. She is about to find out how far she will go to save her people. In this high-stakes game of deceit, the loser pays in blood.
The complete Bloodtruth Series:Heiress of Lies (Bloodtruth #1)The Queen's Betrayal (Bloodtruth #2)Trials of Truth (Bloodtruth #3)A Heart's Deceit (Bloodtruth #4)

My Thoughts:

Is this really the last book?  We have been on such a tremendous journey with Connor and Angeline that I find myself not really wanting it to end.  But alas...all good things do come to end.  Right?

I know I enjoyed watching both of these characters to grow and emerge as stronger, more complex characters than they started out as before.  Angeline has been through hell and yet she still did everything as regal and lady like as she could; even when she had to kick ass and take names!   She is definitely what it means to be a Queen as she puts the people she loves before her desires and truly learns the meaning of sacrifice.  
I love that she learns to embrace her supernatural self and also learn to hold her own against those older and more "wiser".  
And then there is Connor.  I love that name so much (probably because one of my twins is named that too)!  Connor was the complement to Angeline's powerful self.  I enjoyed it immensely when these two worked together because they were that good together.  Their interactions were written superbly and made you love these characters even more.  
The plot of  the series has always been an interesting one involving vampires and magic and I love that we get many secrets revealed in the last book, A Heart's Deceit.  I may have suspected some of these secrets; but it was still nice to see them come alive in the book.  
We also have a lot of characters that seem to lose their heads....literally.  In some cases, I was sad because I would have liked to see them in a more positive way.  But it was a good way to tie up some loose ends.  But again, I would have liked to see more story lines with some of these characters.  
Overall though, I think this was an exceptional ending to a amazing series that kept me reading into the wee morning hours.  I know that if you like fantasy with vampires and magic mixed in , then you would really like the Bloodtruth Series.  You should definitely give it a try!

Book Review: Trials of Truth {The BloodTruth Series} by Cege Smith

Title: Trials of Truth
Author: Cege Smith
Series: The Bloodtruth Series# 3
Publisher/Date of Publication: Cege Smith Books/ Mar. 31, 2013
Source: received from author for my honest opinion of it.
Links to Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | 


Book Synopsis:

No one is safe in Altera as the lines between good and evil blur even further in this third installment of the Bloodtruth series…
Queen Angeline Robart left her kingdom in the hands of her betrayer to embark on a mission to find her cure. But each passing hour that the wraith remains part of her seems to make it even more difficult to banish. The mysterious and elusive Clan seems to have the answers, but Angeline can’t help but question their motives, and the price she will be required to pay for her freedom.
Connor is forced to make a decision between his fate and his love for Angeline. While his hope has always been that those two things would coincide, it seems that their ability to be together isn’t meant to be, at least if the Clan has anything to say about it.
Meanwhile, back in the capital city of Brebackerin, Malin finds that the enemies who have been lying in wait want revenge for Connor’s betrayal. He must find a way to hold them off, and keep the kingdom in one piece, until Angeline’s return.
The Bloodtruth series:Heiress of Lies (Bloodtruth #1)The Queen's Betrayal (Bloodtruth #2)Trials of Truth (Bloodtruth #3)

My Thoughts:
I have been a huge fan of this series ever since I found it!  Cege Smith is a very creative author that creates worlds that are very similar to ours with emotions that we can all relate to: fear,  betrayal, grief, and most importantly love.  
Trials of Truth basically picks up pretty much right where The Queen's Betrayal leaves off.  Connor and Angeline are finding themselves ensnared in a trap the Clan has been planning for a long time.  
The characters in this novel work good together.  Connor and Angeline are very smart and do not have the "insta-love" element to them that most young adult protagonists do.  They do, however, have the tragic love written all over them.  And it is interesting to see how they deal with the problems that arise from their love for each other.  

It seems like everyone in the story so far, has to choose how far they are willing to go to save people and in the process, maybe lose themselves too.  

I did find that the story seemed to go a little slow, especially where the Queen's Court drama pertained to.  And I am not a huge fan of Malin but I do think he will redeem himself in the end.  At least I hope he does.  

This book leaves off on a huge cliffhanger which had me a little shell shocked.  I was like, " What? Oh come on, just give me a little bit more!!"    I am not a huge fan of cliff hangers because I hate to wait but this one was pretty good at the abruptness of it.  But it served its purpose because now I am so intensely waiting for the next book!  

All in all, I am really digging this series as it takes us farther and farther into the lies, deceit, politics, and even the truth of the real histories of the Robart family.  I think in this story the truth may be the darkest part of all.  

So if you are interested in the High Court drama, with a mixture of the supernatural element such as witches, vampires and an all knowing cult  Clan then you should definitely grab these up.  
Four hearts.

Connect With Cege Smith:

I’m Cege, and I’m very pleased to meet you.
My absolute favorite genres are horror, paranormal romance, and thrillers for both reading and writing. I have to mention that because I’ll occasionally use bad puns that are directly correlated to that fascination. So if that’s not your cup of tea I understand.
I love to laugh, but I don’t always laugh at the current thing that is all the rage on YouTube. My husband says that means I don’t find the right stuff funny. I disagree. (He’s just not as funny as he thinks he is.) I am okay with that.
When it comes to this writing stuff, I’ve been writing as long as I can remember. In fact, when I’m not writing I’m usually thinking about writing. Which means I’ve always got a lot of different things jockeying for my attention at any given time.
When I’m not kicking it at the day job (I’m in sales), you’ll find me working on one of my new novels, blogging, tweeting, or reading when I’m not giving into my Netflix addiction. (I watch The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Ghost Adventures, and the occasional Gossip Girl episode.) I’m constantly learning new things, and believe that’s the key to keeping my content fresh.

I’d love to get to know you better! Please don’t hesitate to drop me a line at cege@cegesmith.com.   Taken from   Cege Smith's  About Me page.

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Book Review: The Queen's Betrayal by Cege Smith

Title: The Queen's Betrayal 
Series: Bloodtruth Book 2
Author: Cege Smith
Publisher: Self published
Date of Publication: Sept.3, 2012
Format: Kindle
Source: received from author for honest review
Get it: Amazon 
Goodreads Summary:
Newly crowned Queen Angeline Robart is in a world of trouble. With her father’s passing, enemies are rising from all sides. She needs allies, but doesn’t know who to trust. Connor, the handsome vampire who captured her heart, is caught in the middle when his coven’s death squad descends on the capital city unaware of his change in fealty. Malin, the man she is supposed to marry, is harboring his own secrets and seems to be eyeing a much bigger prize.

Angeline must save the capital city, control her own demon, and unravel the knotted threads of Altera’s bloody history before it’s too late. Somewhere in the past is the answer to her future.

My Thoughts:

I loved the first book in The Bloodtruth Series, Heiress of Lies, and you can find my review of it here.
I really enjoy period pieces, even if this is more of a fantasy of a different world sort, I would still consider it a historical fantasy fiction.  I know that is  a handfull but it is what it is. 
Let's look at the cover first: I love the drawing of the Queen on the cover with her long black hair. I think it represents Angeline perfectly.  This cover is very nice!
The Queen's Betrayal has a lot of different paranormal creatures involved including, vampires, witches, and even a few shifters too.   We even get to see a horror aspect to this story especially with the sick and twisted ways of some of the vampires in it.  But it isn't very gory; it is more the idea behind it.  
I do like our female heroine, Angeline, very much.  She is strong, smart, and loyal especially to her kingdom.  She is the perfect example of what a queen should be, but she also knows how to ask for help when things get entirely too rough.  Sure she has her failings, but if you was carrying the burdens she has, you would have failings too.  
I love our fellow gentlemen vampire, Connor.  He is one serious heartthrob in this book and I find myself praying for the cure he seems to hold out for.  I like the fact he wants to be good but he seems to have this inner struggle to find out what good really is.  He wants to protect Angeline but realizes he must make sacrifices to obtain this.  He is completely up front about how he is dedicated to Angeline yet there are times he tends to get a little sappy for my tastes.
The other lesser characters are helpful to get the plot twists underway.  Malin is still a puzzlement to me.  On one hand I want to like him but on the other he continuously ticks me off.  I think he crosses the ultimate line in this book and I don't see how he can come back from it this time.  
The  story and plot lines were creatively crafted to ensure we didn't get bored with the different twists and turns it took.  

I did. however, have a problem with some scenes tending to be repeated often.  For example, the telepathy scene was replayed from Angeline telling the story and Connor's side too.  There were other examples as well.  
It also seemed there was a lot of repeating the background information.  Which is fine to do that but lets' just do it once and not over and over again.  Sometimes I felt like I was reading a recap of the last book in a few pages each chapter.  
I also noticed many grammatical errors through out the story.  I did get a little confused at some of these mistakes but I was still able to enjoy the novel anyways.  
I think if you like the stories with Kings and Queens in them as well as vampires mixed in for added excitement you should give the Bloodtruth series a try.  There is a little bit of everything in it to make you happy.  
I give it four hearts!