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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars. It's a little slow and confusing at times. I really don't like who she ended up with!!! I hope I the next book she falls in love with Kaden. I want to know how this all ends!
just going through, fixing old reviews. don't mind me. 2020 me might chime in with parentheses
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This book lost me at one part but it was so good!! Here are my favorite parts (lol since I quit the trilogy)
1. Love Triangle Gone. I was Team Rafe in the first book and I'm happy that Rafe and Lia escaped together. We read Rafe pretend to be an emissary to get into the castle, and Kaden has to fulfill his assassin duties. I just felt like Kaden was the "dark/dangerous" type and it was a pleasure to read that the nice boy had won in this love triangle. (the nice boy trope deserves to die. I said what I said.)
2. Plot. Now that the love triangle is gone, we can finally focus on Lia's legacy which developed well in this book. I'm happy she's finally learning to use her gift and how to navigate her talents. Also the Komizar freaked me out and geez when Lia killed him, I was surprised like go girl because he had killed Aster. But, now, who's the new Komizar?
3. Unanswered Questions. I'm pretty sure in the next book we will go to Lia's home and Rafe's home in addition to meeting up with Pauline. It was sad to have Pauline barely in the book. Also how is Kaden going to fit in now that the plans of takeover have gone awry. hmm
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This book lost me at one part but it was so good!! Here are my favorite parts (lol since I quit the trilogy)
1. Love Triangle Gone. I was Team Rafe in the first book and I'm happy that Rafe and Lia escaped together. We read Rafe pretend to be an emissary to get into the castle, and Kaden has to fulfill his assassin duties. I just felt like Kaden was the "dark/dangerous" type and it was a pleasure to read that the nice boy had won in this love triangle. (the nice boy trope deserves to die. I said what I said.)
2. Plot. Now that the love triangle is gone, we can finally focus on Lia's legacy which developed well in this book. I'm happy she's finally learning to use her gift and how to navigate her talents. Also the Komizar freaked me out and geez when Lia killed him, I was surprised like go girl because he had killed Aster. But, now, who's the new Komizar?
3. Unanswered Questions. I'm pretty sure in the next book we will go to Lia's home and Rafe's home in addition to meeting up with Pauline. It was sad to have Pauline barely in the book. Also how is Kaden going to fit in now that the plans of takeover have gone awry. hmm
3.5
I am really growing fond of this story, and I will note that the cheesy romance moments are seriously dialed down on this one.. my issue is that this book suffers from "middle book" or "second book" syndrome. The Heart of Betrayal follows Lia, Kaden, and Rafe as they arrive into Venda to deal with the consequences of their actions in the first book. And truthfully, in terms of plot, that's about it. There is a lot of setting up and world building happening that I'm sure will make the third book epic, but it made the action in this book a little lacking.
While the plot wasn't necessarily the strong point in this book, the character development is where The Heart of Betrayal really shines. Lia's character growth throughout the series thus far is one of my favorites of all time currently, while we see sides to Kaden and Rafe that we didn't have time to see while focusing on Lia in book 1. We also have a new villain in the Komizar. The Komizar is complex enough to make him interesting and keep us wondering how villainous he really is, but does not have one of those plot lines that suddenly make all of his bad actions okay (cough, cough Snape). And then there is sweet angel Aster. Don't. Just don't. I'm not ready.
Overall a solid second book to the series and I already have the third one on waitlist at the library, but nothing exceptional that I'm fangirling over yet.
I am really growing fond of this story, and I will note that the cheesy romance moments are seriously dialed down on this one.. my issue is that this book suffers from "middle book" or "second book" syndrome. The Heart of Betrayal follows Lia, Kaden, and Rafe as they arrive into Venda to deal with the consequences of their actions in the first book. And truthfully, in terms of plot, that's about it. There is a lot of setting up and world building happening that I'm sure will make the third book epic, but it made the action in this book a little lacking.
While the plot wasn't necessarily the strong point in this book, the character development is where The Heart of Betrayal really shines. Lia's character growth throughout the series thus far is one of my favorites of all time currently, while we see sides to Kaden and Rafe that we didn't have time to see while focusing on Lia in book 1. We also have a new villain in the Komizar. The Komizar is complex enough to make him interesting and keep us wondering how villainous he really is, but does not have one of those plot lines that suddenly make all of his bad actions okay (cough, cough Snape). And then there is sweet angel Aster. Don't. Just don't. I'm not ready.
Overall a solid second book to the series and I already have the third one on waitlist at the library, but nothing exceptional that I'm fangirling over yet.
Trigger warnings for physical/emotional/mild sexual abuse in this book.
Oh how i just love this series. I haven’t loved a series this much in so long, it’s so refreshing to read a fantasy with complex characters, rich world building, beautiful writing, and a thrilling plot. Mary E. Pearson hits every beat possible.
I talked about this in my review for the Kiss of Deception but i love the emphasis on language. I wish other fantasies expanded on the different languages this much and explored the linguistic aspect of culture. It makes the world feel so much more real.
The characters really make this story. The way girlhood is emulated in so many different ways—Lia, Pauline, Aster, Gwyneth, Calantha, Berdi—the deep rooted sisterhood in all the female characters is just beautiful to read about. Misogyny is very much prevalent in this fantasy world but it plays a role that allows a sweet message of girlhood to shine. The way they support each other, even when they don’t like one another, the way they understand each other, just by a look. The small moments of understanding and compassion between Lia and Calantha, despite the slight animosity.
I don’t know if anyone will agree with me but this almost doesn’t read like YA. It’s very much a more mature YA, it’s very dark and gory at times, and the themes have so much more depth than a typical YA. The emotional moments didn’t feel corny or out of place, and it felt like they came from a real place.
The ending was just insane. I saw just about nothing coming. This entire book went in so many directions I was not anticipating but they also weren’t half-assed random decisions the author made out of nowhere—she plants these seeds throughout the book without giving away too much to the reader, so by the time big reveals happen or some crazy plotlines start amping up, you’re surprised but you can see the clever storytelling.
I honestly feel like this series is underrated as hell. Why are yall not giving every book in this series five stars?
Oh how i just love this series. I haven’t loved a series this much in so long, it’s so refreshing to read a fantasy with complex characters, rich world building, beautiful writing, and a thrilling plot. Mary E. Pearson hits every beat possible.
I talked about this in my review for the Kiss of Deception but i love the emphasis on language. I wish other fantasies expanded on the different languages this much and explored the linguistic aspect of culture. It makes the world feel so much more real.
The characters really make this story. The way girlhood is emulated in so many different ways—Lia, Pauline, Aster, Gwyneth, Calantha, Berdi—the deep rooted sisterhood in all the female characters is just beautiful to read about. Misogyny is very much prevalent in this fantasy world but it plays a role that allows a sweet message of girlhood to shine. The way they support each other, even when they don’t like one another, the way they understand each other, just by a look. The small moments of understanding and compassion between Lia and Calantha, despite the slight animosity.
I don’t know if anyone will agree with me but this almost doesn’t read like YA. It’s very much a more mature YA, it’s very dark and gory at times, and the themes have so much more depth than a typical YA. The emotional moments didn’t feel corny or out of place, and it felt like they came from a real place.
The ending was just insane. I saw just about nothing coming. This entire book went in so many directions I was not anticipating but they also weren’t half-assed random decisions the author made out of nowhere—she plants these seeds throughout the book without giving away too much to the reader, so by the time big reveals happen or some crazy plotlines start amping up, you’re surprised but you can see the clever storytelling.
Spoiler
There’s also something so special to me about a woman killing her abuser :-)I honestly feel like this series is underrated as hell. Why are yall not giving every book in this series five stars?
adventurous
emotional
tense
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
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-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
slow-paced