A Kind Deception by Skye Von Triessen is a beautiful age-gap romance that proves one should never judge a book by its cover.
Laurel Culhane is struggling. She’s fed up with her corporate career and while she would love nothing more than to quit her job and write full-time, her family’s high expectations and lack of support leave her questioning everything. She’s outspoken about the younger generation but has for some unknown reason caught the eye of celebrity, Rayne, a decade her junior, and whom she has no desire to connect with. Or does she?
Rayne Ducasse has used life’s ups and downs to make herself into a highly successful entrepreneur. While she’s a celebrity with millions of followers, her true passion is writing, which is often a lonely process. She longs to connect with someone who will accept her for who she really is but unfortunately, the woman who has caught her eye seems dead set on ignoring her. Never one to back down from a challenge, Rayne continues to pursue her.
So what happens when they finally meet face-to-face at an awards ceremony? Will Laurel’s determination to not succumb to Rayne’s charms or will Rayne’s charisma and aura be enough to melt Laurel’s icy facade? Can Rayne prove they are meant to be together despite their backgrounds and social statuses?
Is it possible for two sapphic romance authors to come together to pen their own tale of happily ever after despite drama, conflicts, and preconceived notions?
Writing
It’s apparent that Skye Von Triessen wrote this book from the heart. She’s created a story that is so deeply layered and as each is revealed I found myself falling deeper and deeper in love with our main characters and their stories. Von Triessen has effortlessly woven in crucial topics such as refugees’ struggles with immigration, racism, objectification, homophobia, and stereotyping. While these are weighty topics, Von Triessen does a masterful job of infusing them into the story with the purpose of enlightenment. There are so many profound words of wisdom that I found myself constantly highlighting and I look forward to referring to them because I’ve learned so much and my life is better from reading this book.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
I loved absolutely everything about this book from Laurel’s prickly exterior to Rayne’s patience and understanding to the significant matters discussed. Everything works so well together to create a truly memorable book!
Laurel has always felt like she’s not enough and this struggle has shaped her relationships with her family, friends, coworkers, and partners. She’s isolated herself from everyone and her outspoken dislike for anything Gen Z has made her intimidating to nearly everyone except Rayne. It’s difficult to like Laurel for a small portion of the book because she’s just so judgy. Yet her character arc is truly compelling. She grows so much throughout her time in Rayne’s orbit and luckily for her, she learns from all of the circumstances she comes face to face with.
Rayne is like a breath of fresh air. She’s hot and knows it but she’s also humble, loyal, compassionate, and motivated. She’s been through a lot in her twenty-five years and has built quite an empire that is so deeply layered that it’s incredible.
On the surface, the only thing that Rayne and Laurel have in common is the fact that both write sapphic romance books but underneath there is so much more. Laurel is extremely outspoken about her dislike of anything Gen Z and isn’t afraid to let her opinions known. Rayne’s ability to process Laurel’s feelings and turn them into a learning process for her is amazing. Her intelligence and maturity really shine through in these instances. The depth of both of these characters and their evolution throughout the story is a definite highlight for me.
The relationship development between Rayne and Laurel is perfectly paced and downright scrumptious. Rayne knows that she and Laurel belong together and her patience in letting Laurel come to that conclusion herself is admirable. She never pushes, she just keeps being her incredibly brilliant and confident self and slowly melts Laurel’s icy facade. And when that facade melts and Laurel’s able to let Rayne in…I literally swooned. Oh! And their first kiss is one of the most delicious first kisses I’ve come across in a long time! I adore how Rayne is able to support Laurel and give her the boost of confidence she’s been struggling to find her entire life.
The supporting characters, especially Gianna and Qaori, are dynamic and I love the relationship that Rayne has with each of them and how they contribute to the overall story.
Heads Up
Heavy topics such as immigration issues, homophobia, racism, stereotyping, and objectification are all elements in this book. Also, Laurel’s parents and brother are ignorant, unsupportive, and disrespectful.
The Conclusion
A Kind Deception by Skye Von Triessen is a brilliantly written age gap, ice queen romance that honestly gave me all the feels. It’s filled with so much heart and emotion while providing readers with information about really important topics. Rayne and Laurel are multidimensional characters whose story is compelling. I had a difficult time putting this book down as I was gripped from the first page and needed to find out how it was all going to play out. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an intelligent, layered, and sexy tale with the main characters that you will fall in love with.
Excerpt from A Kind Deception by Skye Von Triessen
Rayne continued to lock her gaze with Laurel as she got up from her seat and glided to the stage. As Rayne drew closer, Laurel’s breath caught as she studied every detail—the ivory gown that hugged swaying hips in all the right places, the plunging neckline that provided a tantalizing view of honey-colored skin, curly hair pulled back from a face that could rival Aphrodite herself, full lips covered in nude lipstick smiling at her and smoky eyes so fiercely fixated on her, that Laurel wondered how Rayne didn’t trip over her feet. She swallowed hard, trying to moisturize her already dry throat.
As if the insatiable desire in her throat wasn’t bad enough, now her heart began to beat faster—increasing with each step Rayne took, eliminating the distance between them. Now that she allowed herself to really look at Rayne, Laurel realized that the videos and photos didn’t do the woman justice. It felt like an out-of-body affair as she watched the woman float toward her. Rayne carried herself with an air of elegance and self-assuredness that Laurel often noticed from her videos, but to be subjected to it firsthand was almost ethereal. Even if Laurel wanted to, she couldn’t stop staring as she lost control over her own body. So much so that she couldn’t stop herself from shivering as Rayne stepped into her personal space, strong arms wrapping around her, and pulling her into a hug. Neither could she stop her arms lifting of their own volition and draping themselves around Rayne’s waist. Ultimately, she couldn’t stop herself from inhaling a lung full of perfume she couldn’t place. And when soft lips touched her cheeks and lingered, Laurel’s body trembled even more as electricity shot from the tip of her toes, setting every part of her on fire. Places that had been dormant for over a year re-ignited as liquid heat pooled in her belly.
As reality seeped into Laurel, she froze in Rayne’s arms before slowly extracting herself from the embrace. She had no idea how long they’d held each other, but it felt far longer than was necessary for a greeting. She lifted her eyes to see Rayne gazing at her with a knowing smile on her face. Laurel narrowed her eyes, scowling at Rayne, who only smirked at her before turning her attention to the audience.
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Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 979-8850751142
Publisher: Indie Author
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