Reviews

Betrayed by P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast

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tanu_jellyfish's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad tense fast-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? No

4.5

bookdragon2406's review against another edition

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5.0

reading on kindle 86%
I will never get how Stevie rae can be dead and alive at the same time but I cried when she die
Update just finished it omg neferet is the bad guy no way but not surprised there is always a bad buy

jama_ann's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

charspages's review against another edition

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1.0

You might be asking yourself right now, Why are you doing this to yourself, Charlotte? Why would you continue reading a series after passionately hating the first book? Well, dear friends, the answer is very simply: spite.

I never finished these books when I first began reading them. I read up until book nine or ten, and then I just stopped. And it bugs me. I truly, deeply desire to know what new heights of stupidity are reached in the final novel. I will not let this series conquer me, bring me to my knees as I surrender and disregard them instead of finally solving the mystery of just how stupid Zoey Redbird can get.

Am I willing to make my way through ten more books I am most definitely enjoying because they are, quite frankly, nothing short of hilarious? Bet on it.

The good news about this book is: I was definitely entertained while reading, and I learned a lot about writing. (Like which things to avoid.)

The bad news is: I didn't enjoy it for its intended purpose - even if I'm not quite sure what the Casts were trying to achieve here, publishing a Grade-A-Twilight-parody probably wasn't it.

Let's roll, folks. I've got many things to say about this wondrous continuation of Zoey Redbird and Her Friends Are Dumb and Also Annoying for Twenty Chapters Straight.

PLOT: 0 / 5

I mean, the first novel, Marked, already offered an illogical and rushed plot, but at least something happened. Betrayed is about as thrilling as those pool games they play on the TVs at bowling alleys. Which means: nothing happens, but for some strange reason, you can't look away.

In this second book of the series, approximately three things happen:

1. Zoey drinks her human ex-boyfriend's blood after being explicitly told not to do that multiple times, then wonders about how she'll manage dating three men who are - inexplicably - interested in her at the same time and whether that means she can't call Aphrodite a "ho-bag" anymore.

2. Fledglings - including our beloved offspring of a cowboy hat and a lasso, Stevie Rae, - die violently but come back to life, except their eyes are red now.

3. Zoey pets her cat and thinks about how grumpy she is. (The cat, not Zoey.)

Amazing. My heart goes out to the poor trees that were turned into these 300 pages of absolute utter boredom and radical nonsense.

One thing that the Casts really nailed here is consistency: don't you dare come looking for even a shred of common sense in these novels. You will not find any.

I mean, the plot of this book is so boring that our favorite protagonist literally recounts everything that happens to her bestie immediately - in vivid detail. Zoeyboo. We were all there. We saw it happen. Why do you make me read over what you just did twenty seconds ago again.

My favorite part is the only part where some action takes place: Zoey, as in the first novel, saves her beer bottle turned human ex-boyfriend Heath from a group of fledglings with fairly loose morals, before she meets up with her homie Nyx so that her tattoo can spread even further over her body. It's a miracle. I'm currently wondering if Zoey is truly Nyx's best option or if she's just sending Zoeykins on missions for the laughs. I sincerely hope it's the latter.

CHARACTERS: 1 / 5

Man, every time I think I couldn't dislike ZOEY more she opens her mouth and spouts some nonsense like she's in any position to preach morals and values. Girl, you just wanted to hook up with your teacher and made out with your ex-boyfriend because your actual boyfriend is away for one week, but Aphrodite is a slut because she wears high heels and lipstick? What the fuck.

Also she keeps reiteriating that she's not quote-unquote "power hungry", then turns around and says things like:

"Grandma, I am the most powerful fledgling in the history of vampyres. I think I should be willing to get in a little trouble for something I feel strongly about."

I feel strongly about how stupidly overpowered Zoeykins is. What did she do to deserve all these powers? Was Nyx so impressed by her calling Aphrodite and literally every other girl in a tanktop a "ho"?

Or maybe it's her uncanny ability to make literally everything about herself: Aphrodite is talking to Neferet and Zoey decides to eavesdrop on the conversation, which is very clearly about one of Aphrodite's visions. Meanwhile, our little vampyre genius assumes that Aphrodite is running around talking about Zoey. Has she considered that she's not the center of everyone's life all the time?

As for the rest of the cast of supernaturally annoying kids, nothing much changes. STEVIE RAE listens to country music, laughs at Zoey's jokes because no one else does, and then repeats the whole thing, except she's dead now. DAMIEN has yet to develop an actual character trait, and I'm still not sure what ERIN and SHAUNEE are there for.

Add to that ERIK, who mildly impresses everyone in town by his absence and reciting Shakespeare, and LOREN BLAKE, some Ezra-Fitz-level creep who poses as an intellectual and emotionally mature teacher to take advantage of his underage students.

Oh, and NEFERET is a super evil mega villain now.

Surprisingly, it was Zoey herself who provided me with the perfect quote to sum up my feelings about her and this entire book:

"It was so bizarre it was making my head hurt."

Amen to that.

DIVERSITY: -10 000 / 5

Again, the Casts throw in a colorful mix of diverse characters. Again, they try to prove they're the most problematic writers out there through stereotyping and downright offensive portrayal of these characters. Add to that a bunch of nonsensical moral values that Zoey preaches more fiercely than the Pope, and you've got a hot mess.

Let's take Heath, for example, Zoey's football-playing ex-boyfriend. In one very memorable scene of the book, Heath tries to convince Zoey to get back together or at least drink his blood again - which, okay, is a little gross, but whatever sails your boat. Except Zoey, completely horrified, tells him explicitly to leave and that she doesn't want to drink his blood.

Heath, like your average rapist, ignores her completely - even though she's clearly terrified, sobbing and telling him no multiple times, and cuts himself, leading to Zoey sucking his blood after all. The rape culture is so strong in this one.

Or this lovely comment, when Zoey explains to him why they can't be together when she lives on for multiple hundred years and he dies after not even one century:

"I can think of worse things than having a hot, young vampyre chic when I'm, like, fifty."

Besides the fact that that literally says chic instead of chick, this portrayal of relationships the Casts are imposing is toxic and unhealthy. Old men getting their wrinkly hands on young, emotionally vulnerable and impressionable women isn't that uncommon in real life, and portraying it as some fun preference is straight up disgusting. But of course, it gets better:

NEXT UP ON "HOW PROBLEMATIC CAN THIS SERIES GET: STUDENT-TEACHER-ROMANCE!

Like Heath wasn't enough, we're also venturing into other problematic territory: Zoey having the hots for her teacher, Loren Blake. And Loren ignoring the rules that state very clearly that he's not allowed to have anything other than a professional relationship with the students, only to have Zoey strip for him so he can touch the tattoo on her back.

The forbidden part of their relationship is discussed, yes - however, the discussion goes somewhat like this:

Stevie Rae: "OMG, Zo, I can't believe you're crushing on Loren Blake, your teacher. That's so romantic and totally forbidden!"
Zoeykins: "I know, Cowboy Boot, me either. He's so sexy, though, and I haven't mentioned I'm the most powerful fledgling in all of history for a couple pages, so let me throw that in."
Stevie Rae: "Shit, you're right. I guess you can ignore the rules because you're super special, Zoeyboo."
Zoeykins: "Thanks, Cowboy Boot. Talking to you always cheers me up."

So, yeah, they acknowledge that a relationship that is anything other than your regular student-teacher-relationship is explicitly prohibited and that Loren is way older than Zoey, but it's okay because Zoey is special. First and foremost, however, Zoey is still sixteen, and the Casts should take a moment or two to think next time before they plan on writing some Pretty Little Liars homage that excuses pedophilia and portrays relationships where the man holds an obvious amount of power over the younger, vulnerable woman as romantic.

Add to all of this the continued food-terms in which they describe Shaunee, the one black character in the book, plus a bunch of weird "jokes" that poke fun at pretty much everyone who's not cis, straight, white, and able-bodied, and you've got a good overall picture of how diverse this book is.

WORLD BUILDING: 1 / 5

Since there aren't a lot of new places in this novel, save for some gross dungeon were Cowboy Boot and her evil Bootlings reside after her tragic death, I have nothing much to say about the world building, except that I was very glad to leave this world as soon as I possibly could.

WRITING STYLE: 0 / 5

It is still my honest opinion that there should be a TV-series dedicated solely to unfathomably horrible quotes from books, because there's just so many. This book alone is ripe with them, so let me present to you my top three worst quotes:

3. "'Yeah, it's true. She actually sat on my lap while we watched TV last night,' Stevie Rae said laughingly."

Pure gold. Thanks for amusing me, Cowboy Boot, I think, laughingly typing my review.

2. "Instead, I whispered, 'You look really young,' to my reflection, and pulled on my jeans and a black sweater. Then I rummaged (quietly - if I woke up Stevie Rae or Nala no way would I get out of there alone) through my dresser drawers until I found my old Borg Invasion 4D hoodie and put it on, along with my comfy black Pumas, and with my OSU trucker's hat securely on my head and my cool Maui Jim sunglasses I was ready. Before I could (wisely) change my mind, I grabbed my purse and tiptoed out of the room."

I (wisely) decided to leave it at that because trust me, that monstrosity of a run-on sentence was not a singular instance.

My all time fave, however, is for sure this absolute gem:

1. "'Tell them what's happening here. You know. I know you do.'
Stevie Rae's face contorted, and the words sounded like they were being wrenched from her throat. 'Humanity! They're showing their humanity.' The creatures snarled like she'd just thrown holy water on them (and please, that's such an untrue cliché about vampyres)."

Beautiful. A true literary masterpiece.

OVERALL RATING: 0 / 5

Y'all, here's what I've learned so far: Cowboy Boot is still boring and annoying. Zoeykins is not only stupidly overpowered, but also stupid in general. I'm also a better writer than I thought.

afterplague's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

This is the best book in the series, but honestly that's not saying much. Some decent emotional beats and a semi-resolution to the red fledgling plotline from Marked is probably enough to keep most readers reading.