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lilacwine17's review against another edition
4.0
This book keeps you on edge till the very end Natalie and Mike are dating and their dream is to become King and Queen the only thing in their way is Justin Balmer an Ex boyfriend and rival but is it worth it? Do they have to really get rid of the competition and yet risking their own lives and causing skeletons in the closet you may say? Well you never know unless you read the book :)
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
Het boek leest niet supermakkelijk weg, het is niet al te eenvoudig geschreven, maar het is bijzonder intrigerend en bijzonder interessant. Het boek grijpt je vast en laat je niet los tot je bij het einde bent en eigenlijk bijven er aan het einde nog steeds meer vragen dan antwoorden over. Een echte aanrader en elk woord wat ik er verder over zeg, gaat je eigen onbevangenheid doen vervagen. Ga het boek gewoon kopen en lezen en oordeel zelf!
note for my friends: Dit boek is helemaal niet suikerzoet en romantisch, in tegenstelling tot veel andere zooi die ik veel sterren geef. Ga het maar gewoon lezen!
note for my friends: Dit boek is helemaal niet suikerzoet en romantisch, in tegenstelling tot veel andere zooi die ik veel sterren geef. Ga het maar gewoon lezen!
carladelgado's review against another edition
5.0
It was a good book. The plot was nice and entirely possible. It also ended well. I didn't think I'd like it but I did. Lauren Kate made a good job. I love the Fallen Series more than this but it's also worth a 5-star rating. :)
shhchar's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 Stars
Wow, this book was creepy. . . sinister to say the least. Natalie Hargrove was a character of constant mixed emotions--with stuff obviously hidden deep within her.
I still don't know how I feel about this book. I felt like we (the readers) never got close enough to Natalie to actually know her. The flashback at the very end was probably helped me understand her the most, and her 'relationship' with J.B. (Not Justin Bieber.)
I guess I recommend it to fans of Lauren Kate, sinister-fans, and fans of twisted YA books. It is raunchy, so beware of that.
Wow, this book was creepy. . . sinister to say the least. Natalie Hargrove was a character of constant mixed emotions--with stuff obviously hidden deep within her.
I still don't know how I feel about this book. I felt like we (the readers) never got close enough to Natalie to actually know her. The flashback at the very end was probably helped me understand her the most, and her 'relationship' with J.B. (Not Justin Bieber.)
I guess I recommend it to fans of Lauren Kate, sinister-fans, and fans of twisted YA books. It is raunchy, so beware of that.
stephxsu's review against another edition
3.0
THE BETRAYAL OF NATALIE HARGROVE is an unapologetically guilty-pleasure read that will make your insides squirm with half-pleasure, half-horror. With a wonderful voice, tantalizing characters, and a steady plot, this book seems tailor-made for teen girls looking for a fast and furious read.
Natalie reminds me of many unapologetically bitchy and manipulative queens of high school society. Her voice is spot-on and full of judgment against those who cross her path as well as the constant fear that she will be exposed as a fraud. She is the girl you love to hate, and yet can’t read enough about. Though definitely callous at times, Natalie is also simultaneously the desperate, lost girl struggling to gain footing on a suspicious land. Her actions may be despicable, but she is also wonderfully justified in doing what she did, which is a remarkable achievement on Lauren Kate’s part.
Indeed, I found almost all of the characters fascinating with their complicatedly bad sides. Here, there are no perfect characters, and it’s almost like watching a CW drama, the way you can’t look away from these train wrecks of characters. (On a side note, I believe I also have a bit of a bad-boy crush on Justin.) Nobody really changes much throughout the story, but they are interesting enough that you just might overlook that and focus on the drama itself.
The story slowly unfurls Natalie’s past, as well as what happened between her and Justin. It can be an infuriating process, the way hints are dropped sporadically, unhelpfully. However—and it may be my slightly masochistic side saying this—I found the ending satisfying, in all its shock and, yes, even unexpected sweetness.
THE BETRAYAL OF NATALIE HARGROVE may not be for everyone, but if you’re willing to overlook the fact that all of these characters and the entire situation itself are far from admirable, you’re in for an enjoyable ride.
Natalie reminds me of many unapologetically bitchy and manipulative queens of high school society. Her voice is spot-on and full of judgment against those who cross her path as well as the constant fear that she will be exposed as a fraud. She is the girl you love to hate, and yet can’t read enough about. Though definitely callous at times, Natalie is also simultaneously the desperate, lost girl struggling to gain footing on a suspicious land. Her actions may be despicable, but she is also wonderfully justified in doing what she did, which is a remarkable achievement on Lauren Kate’s part.
Indeed, I found almost all of the characters fascinating with their complicatedly bad sides. Here, there are no perfect characters, and it’s almost like watching a CW drama, the way you can’t look away from these train wrecks of characters. (On a side note, I believe I also have a bit of a bad-boy crush on Justin.) Nobody really changes much throughout the story, but they are interesting enough that you just might overlook that and focus on the drama itself.
The story slowly unfurls Natalie’s past, as well as what happened between her and Justin. It can be an infuriating process, the way hints are dropped sporadically, unhelpfully. However—and it may be my slightly masochistic side saying this—I found the ending satisfying, in all its shock and, yes, even unexpected sweetness.
THE BETRAYAL OF NATALIE HARGROVE may not be for everyone, but if you’re willing to overlook the fact that all of these characters and the entire situation itself are far from admirable, you’re in for an enjoyable ride.
shirleymak's review against another edition
5.0
omg. okay first off, Nat and Mike are cute and all, but SHE IS TOTALLY MEANT WITH J.B. THEY WOULD BE SOOO CUTE TOGETHER SERIOUSLY. BOTTOM LIIINE: READ THIS BOOK.
Spoiler
I can't believe J.B. died though =( and that Nat died too. like. the main character died. that's cray cray. But the fact that Justin remembers Nat from that flashback at the end!?!?!??!??!?!! AND WHEN HE WAS LIKE "CAN'T A GUY CHANGE?" I WAS SCREAMING THEY DESERVE TO BE TOGETHER J.B. SEEMS SO CUTE :'( i'm sad. this was such a sad book..and during the flashback when he was kissing Nat and he started talking to her. =((((((((( they would have been so perfect together. & OMG THAT END. when they cleared out his locker and found those pictures of Nat inside starting from freshman year HOOOLYYY COOW. I dont even know why I didnt cry. this is so sad and I want to cry, maybe that's why I'm so sad. cause i didnt let out my emotions ahhaha. but seriously =( SO SAD J.B. WAS SO CUTE AND PERFECTalyshadeshae's review against another edition
1.0
My full review is here on my personal website. I'll post a few excerpts here, though:
0.5 out of 5.0 stars
The very worst thing about this book is the writing, the characters, the headache it gave me, the stupidity it encourages, the fact that Lauren Kate seems to think that high school students/teenagers can be placed into neat little boxes and labeled accordingly only to be repackaged just as neatly when they enter the next grade, the… Well, I could go on and on. This book single-handedly killed off at least 10% of my brain cells.
The very best thing about this book is the cover. *sigh* This is a recurring theme with her books.
0.5 out of 5.0 stars
The very worst thing about this book is the writing, the characters, the headache it gave me, the stupidity it encourages, the fact that Lauren Kate seems to think that high school students/teenagers can be placed into neat little boxes and labeled accordingly only to be repackaged just as neatly when they enter the next grade, the… Well, I could go on and on. This book single-handedly killed off at least 10% of my brain cells.
The very best thing about this book is the cover. *sigh* This is a recurring theme with her books.
breysreviews's review against another edition
challenging
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Natalie is about to be crowned Princess of her small town. Risen up from being poor, her only goal is to get her and her boyfriend crowned royalty. But when things go south, they are left with secrets.
Natalie was our main character and my god was she insufferable. You’re very lucky I needed these page reads, because holy shit was this not good.
We are left with only questions, not answers. A main character who loses her shit. A love interest who isn’t all that interesting, and a romance that is quite literally dead, that I was honestly rooting for.
I liked no one in this book. The plot was so dull and overdone and the ending was pointless. The ending made zero sense and gave zero answers.
Not worth the read, not even less than 300 pages. Final answer. 2 stars because you gotta give a rage read a bonus point for being that bad.
postitsandpens's review against another edition
2.0
This book leaves me in a sort of quandary, because ultimately I'm not sure how I feel about it. There were times while reading it that I was gripped with a variety of emotions; there were some funny moments, some sweet moments, and a nice sense of atmosphere and intrigue. But all of that was overwhelmed by the fact that I ... really didn't like the main character, Natalie, at all. I knew I'd have some trouble with her literally from the first time she appears on the page, and it just went downhill from there as she made consistently worse and worse mistakes, including treating those she felt "below" her like absolute garbage. To put it bluntly, Natalie is not a nice person, and while you come to understand her motivations as the book goes on, none of the revelations did anything to me personally to help bring me around to her.
It's difficult to even discuss the plot of this book because I don't want to give away spoilers. While you can sort of grasp what happens from the summary, there were plenty of twists and turns that come out during the narrative to leave you sort of on the edge of your seat. While Natalie is one of those girls who picked herself up from a bad childhood and remade herself into something completely different, I don't think she really honestly learned anything. She was conniving, a definite slut-shamer, and all-around terrible person. You can only listen to her pretend to be fake to someone's face and then badmouth them behind their backs for so long; considering I don't have a tolerance for that on the best of days, I'm certainly not going to like that quality in a fictional character.
The other thing that got me was this very weird high school that Natalie attended. The idea of a prom queen - or Palmetto Princess - is certainly understandable, but the weird social cliques, the group of sophomore girls who "service" the football players, the strange rumor mill via passed notes, the morning meetings via bean bag chair circles in the girls' bathroom, all of that was just odd and - for lack of a better word - unbelievable. I was IN high school once, and while cliques are a definite part of the high school experience, all of that other stuff was just too over the top for me to fully comprehend or believe. Then again, I don't live in a world of trust funds and country club memberships, so perhaps that really is how schools like that work? Regardless, I was never able to place myself in the world she was describing, which just further alienated me from Natalie and the plot of the book.
Ultimately, the only thing that kept me reading was seeing how Natalie might get her comeuppance, and that definitely caught me by surprise. There are so many sleazy characters in this book that it's hard to pinpoint the worst one. When you come out far more sympathetic for the book's victim - who was no prince himself - than its exceedingly popular narrator, you know the story probably just didn't work for you at all.
***
To see more of my reviews, please visit me @ Read and Reviewed!
It's difficult to even discuss the plot of this book because I don't want to give away spoilers. While you can sort of grasp what happens from the summary, there were plenty of twists and turns that come out during the narrative to leave you sort of on the edge of your seat. While Natalie is one of those girls who picked herself up from a bad childhood and remade herself into something completely different, I don't think she really honestly learned anything. She was conniving, a definite slut-shamer, and all-around terrible person. You can only listen to her pretend to be fake to someone's face and then badmouth them behind their backs for so long; considering I don't have a tolerance for that on the best of days, I'm certainly not going to like that quality in a fictional character.
The other thing that got me was this very weird high school that Natalie attended. The idea of a prom queen - or Palmetto Princess - is certainly understandable, but the weird social cliques, the group of sophomore girls who "service" the football players, the strange rumor mill via passed notes, the morning meetings via bean bag chair circles in the girls' bathroom, all of that was just odd and - for lack of a better word - unbelievable. I was IN high school once, and while cliques are a definite part of the high school experience, all of that other stuff was just too over the top for me to fully comprehend or believe. Then again, I don't live in a world of trust funds and country club memberships, so perhaps that really is how schools like that work? Regardless, I was never able to place myself in the world she was describing, which just further alienated me from Natalie and the plot of the book.
Ultimately, the only thing that kept me reading was seeing how Natalie might get her comeuppance, and that definitely caught me by surprise. There are so many sleazy characters in this book that it's hard to pinpoint the worst one. When you come out far more sympathetic for the book's victim - who was no prince himself - than its exceedingly popular narrator, you know the story probably just didn't work for you at all.
***
To see more of my reviews, please visit me @ Read and Reviewed!