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katiev 's review for:
The Ultimate Betrayal
by Michelle Reid
Michelle Reid is one of my favorite HP authors. She knows how to bring some genuine emotion even when working with very common tropes, but this story was different in that it was less tropey and more realistic in scope. There was no private island, no amnesia, no blackmail, etc.
This story isn't my usual taste. I waffled on reading it and tbqh it won't be a re-read for me simply because it's not my cuppa and not a "fun" sort of angst. But, I have to give credit to Reid for her ability to bring the angst in a way that feels real and had to rate it accordingly.
I've never been through what the heroine went through, but I could see myself reacting in many of the same ways. I particularly identified with one part, because I had to turn the page to get to it and it was so crazy that I was thinking the EXACT same thing the h was thinking.
She'd just struck out angrily and bitterly at her cheating H in a way that she was ashamed of and, while understandable given how utterly devastated she was, it didn't put her in the greatest light.
I was thinking 'damn girl! Why'd you have to go there?! You had him where you wanted him!' I turned the page to find that her thoughts were:
She felt ashamed of herself, and angry, too, because in lashing out at Daniel like that she had given him the right to attack her when, until that moment, she'd had everything stacked her way.
Petty, huh? But that's exactly how I'd have felt. Like her, I wanted her behavior to remain above reproach so that he felt even worse about what he'd done.
Problem is, there were children involved. It wasn't just about the heroine scoring points off the hero. They had twin 6-year-olds and a 6 mo old. The book also dealt with how children are affected by this sort of adult drama. Both the H/h tried to hide their problems from the kids, but the 6-year-olds were more attuned than they expected. That part was painful, because it's hard to enjoy any point scoring (no matter how well deserved) that ultimately hurts innocent children.
So, not an easy read, but effective for what she was trying to accomplish.
A few spoilery observations:
I was impressed that the unplanned pregnancy toward the end did not magically heal the relationship. I think pregnancy is often used as a magic wand in romance and sadly, people try to use it to solve problems in real life too.
I was a little disappointed that Reid pulled her punch in the end and revealed that the H never actually slept with the other woman. It turned out that he got drunk and passed out at the other woman's apt, but nothing happened. She just let him believe it did out of spite since he told her it was over after that. They did have an emotional affair and he was leading toward sleeping with her, no doubt, but it didn't actually happen.
Perhaps Reid felt like she couldn't achieve a believable HEA in the short format of a HP if the H had gone all the way. Honestly, she may have been right. I know if I were the heroine I'd have preferred the way it turned out, but I think the plot choice took a chink out of the realism Reid had achieved. Then again, we don't come to HP for reality...
This story isn't my usual taste. I waffled on reading it and tbqh it won't be a re-read for me simply because it's not my cuppa and not a "fun" sort of angst. But, I have to give credit to Reid for her ability to bring the angst in a way that feels real and had to rate it accordingly.
I've never been through what the heroine went through, but I could see myself reacting in many of the same ways. I particularly identified with one part, because I had to turn the page to get to it and it was so crazy that I was thinking the EXACT same thing the h was thinking.
She'd just struck out angrily and bitterly at her cheating H in a way that she was ashamed of and, while understandable given how utterly devastated she was, it didn't put her in the greatest light.
I was thinking 'damn girl! Why'd you have to go there?! You had him where you wanted him!' I turned the page to find that her thoughts were:
She felt ashamed of herself, and angry, too, because in lashing out at Daniel like that she had given him the right to attack her when, until that moment, she'd had everything stacked her way.
Petty, huh? But that's exactly how I'd have felt. Like her, I wanted her behavior to remain above reproach so that he felt even worse about what he'd done.
Problem is, there were children involved. It wasn't just about the heroine scoring points off the hero. They had twin 6-year-olds and a 6 mo old. The book also dealt with how children are affected by this sort of adult drama. Both the H/h tried to hide their problems from the kids, but the 6-year-olds were more attuned than they expected. That part was painful, because it's hard to enjoy any point scoring (no matter how well deserved) that ultimately hurts innocent children.
So, not an easy read, but effective for what she was trying to accomplish.
A few spoilery observations:
I was a little disappointed that Reid pulled her punch in the end and revealed that the H never actually slept with the other woman. It turned out that he got drunk and passed out at the other woman's apt, but nothing happened. She just let him believe it did out of spite since he told her it was over after that. They did have an emotional affair and he was leading toward sleeping with her, no doubt, but it didn't actually happen.
Perhaps Reid felt like she couldn't achieve a believable HEA in the short format of a HP if the H had gone all the way. Honestly, she may have been right. I know if I were the heroine I'd have preferred the way it turned out, but I think the plot choice took a chink out of the realism Reid had achieved. Then again, we don't come to HP for reality...