Betrayed

For those that read my review of the first book in the House of Night series, Marked, you will know that I had high expectations for the second book, Betrayed.

P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast did a wonderful job with this second installment! In some ways, it definitely lived up to my expectation, but in other ways, it didn’t.

Let me explain.

Let’s start with the not-so-positives first. Mainly, the love interests.

So Zoey is with Erik now. Great! He’s the hottie of the school and is treating her wonderfully. Buying her a gorgeous new dress, hanging with her friends, not pressuring her into anything she isn’t ready to do. You would think that would be enough right? Well, apparently not. Zoey can’t let go of her ex-boyfriend Heath. Okay, so she didn’t go off to meet him. She just happened to run into him. No big deal. But she should have just left. And she definitely should NOT have sucked his blood. Forget about it being against the rules, it’s very sexual for them. So she’s essentially cheating on Erik. Not okay! And then, there is the teacher. No. Just no. Age gap, authority, position of power. Enough said. If it was the real world, lawsuit waiting to happen. Zoey, pick one guy. Don’t play games. It’s not fair to the guys. And it is going to mentally destroy you as well. Man I hope the rest of the series doesn’t continue along this path.

Okay, now on to the positives.

Zoey is making nice with Aphrodite. Good. Even though Aphrodite is a jerk and bully, she is hitting rock bottom. I love that they are portraying Zoey as the bigger person and that she is willing to give Aphrodite the benefit of the doubt. I love the character depth that is being shown.

Most people would view Stevie Rae dying as a negative. And it is. But I think she is going to end up playing a large part still. I think this is simply forecasting into the rest of the series. Maybe it’s hopeful wishing, but we will see. That’s just my thoughts.

I love watching Zoey develop into her new role as a leader. I also like that Neferet is turning out to be her nemesis. I think this will be enjoyable to watch how their interactions develop from now on now that the truth is coming out for Zoey.

Overall, I enjoyed this book as well! Great character development, great writing, great story line. As long as it focuses on the plot and not on the love interests, I will be a very happy girl.