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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm very confused.
Any sense of what the politics were about eluded me aside from *just* misogyny, I guess. Also, the worldbuiding is extremely vague. It's practically nonexistent.
Really, most of what I enjoyed were the events that took place in the past far more than anything in the present day. The relationship read more believable in those chapters whereas any romance in the present lacked a lot. For the most part I didn't really care about any of the characters, not even their younger selves. With their past selves I felt more a sense of intrigue rather than care.
The disallowing of Christianity was odd, too, because a reason as to why was never established. It reminded me a lot of how Church would say non-christians are out to get those who practice faith and how they'll try to drag you out of it. As a Christian myself, it rubbed me the wrong way quite a bit. It was a very weird inclusion and ultimately, I don't think it mattered at all or added anything story-wise except for one scene near the end which took place in a POV whose chapters could have been cut from the book altogether and nothing would really change except for the villain's fate—which I will leave unspoiled.
This same villain, mind you, was lackluster and barely present throughout the entire book minus the very beginning and the last chapters. Yikes.
Honestly, I don't think a lot of what happened in this book needed to happen. I don't think it was a waste of my time, but it certainly was a VERY confusing one. Also, I've now heard certain problematic things about the author since regrettably purchasing the book years back, so I will not be reading more from them (not that I ever intended to in the first place).
Any sense of what the politics were about eluded me aside from *just* misogyny, I guess. Also, the worldbuiding is extremely vague. It's practically nonexistent.
Really, most of what I enjoyed were the events that took place in the past far more than anything in the present day. The relationship read more believable in those chapters whereas any romance in the present lacked a lot. For the most part I didn't really care about any of the characters, not even their younger selves. With their past selves I felt more a sense of intrigue rather than care.
The disallowing of Christianity was odd, too, because a reason as to why was never established. It reminded me a lot of how Church would say non-christians are out to get those who practice faith and how they'll try to drag you out of it. As a Christian myself, it rubbed me the wrong way quite a bit. It was a very weird inclusion and ultimately, I don't think it mattered at all or added anything story-wise except for one scene near the end which took place in a POV whose chapters could have been cut from the book altogether and nothing would really change except for the villain's fate—which I will leave unspoiled.
This same villain, mind you, was lackluster and barely present throughout the entire book minus the very beginning and the last chapters. Yikes.
Honestly, I don't think a lot of what happened in this book needed to happen. I don't think it was a waste of my time, but it certainly was a VERY confusing one. Also, I've now heard certain problematic things about the author since regrettably purchasing the book years back, so I will not be reading more from them (not that I ever intended to in the first place).
I DNFed this at 20%. Ummm I don’t think I have ever been more confused reading a book before?? The book is all about this “grand jeu” which is never explained what it actually is and apparently after looking over some other reviews will never be explained…. Then there is all this talk about God and Christianity which I couldn’t figure out if the book is for or against it? Either way I wasn’t jazzed with how the book and the characters were talking about Christians. The final straw for me was when one of the main characters, Claire, gets her period. Bro the way she described it??? You’d think she lost a whole pint of blood. She was talking like she’s never gotten a period before and it makes her so *different and special* because she’s a *woman.* Idk the whole book felt so vague and abstract and I just had no idea what was going on.
emotional
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is written beautifully. Great depth to the characters, and fantastic world building. But I still finished it wondering WTF the grand jeu actually was.
i think the best parts were the flashbacks to 10 years prior when leo and carfax were in school. i felt they had so much chemistry and then the chemistry between present time leo and claire was just non existent until the last 50 pages of the book. claire having been carfax the entire time i didn’t completely see coming which was great but also i don’t get how claire got away with being carfax when she was attending montverre
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Read my review on my blog: https://booknerdreviews.home.blog/2021/04/11/the-betrayals-review/
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very different to anything else I have read, and that may be one of the main reasons I remained intrigued rather than the story itself.
It is beautifully written, with the second half of the book picking up the pace slightly.
It is beautifully written, with the second half of the book picking up the pace slightly.