Author: P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Series: #2 - House of Night
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: September 29th, 2009
My Rating: 2.5 out of 5.0
Fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird has managed to settle in at the House of Night. She's come to terms with the vast powers the vampyre goddess, Nyx, has given her, and is getting a handle on being the new Leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite group. Best of all, Zoey made some new friend and she finally feels like she belongs - like she really fits in. She actually has a boyfriend...or two.
Then the unthinkable happens: human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the House of Night, straining human-vamp tensions in Tulsa to a breaking point. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey's old life, she finds herself drawn into an intoxicating forbidden flirtation that threatens to distract her from the growing crisis. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night. Too late, Zoey begins to realize that the very powers that make her so unique might also threaten those she loves, and she must find the courage to face a betrayal that could break her heart, her soul, and jeopardize the very fabric of her world. Betrayed, the second installment in the bestselling House of Night series, is dark and sexy, and as thrilling as it is utterly shocking.
Then the unthinkable happens: human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the House of Night, straining human-vamp tensions in Tulsa to a breaking point. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey's old life, she finds herself drawn into an intoxicating forbidden flirtation that threatens to distract her from the growing crisis. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night. Too late, Zoey begins to realize that the very powers that make her so unique might also threaten those she loves, and she must find the courage to face a betrayal that could break her heart, her soul, and jeopardize the very fabric of her world. Betrayed, the second installment in the bestselling House of Night series, is dark and sexy, and as thrilling as it is utterly shocking.
My Review:
I am going to take and assume if you are reading this you have some idea of what happened in the first novel.
So I am making my way through this high school House of Night series. I am just not sure how much more of the whining and complaining I can take before I send the book through the shredder. Zoey is just always in over her head. and it just happens to always be the notorious Neferet that is on the other end. I was expecting a better betrayal in this book, and while it is more of a somber tone, it just fell way short in my expectations. The book was just so mediocre I couldn't give it much higher.
Zoey in this novel is reeling from the loss of her friend, Stevie Ray. Her other friends are trying to fill in the gap and make sure that Zoey is okay. However, what bothered me the most is high the other friends are around, they don't seem to feel the loss at all. It's like they all just immediately felt the loss than when Zoey collapsed they seemed to move on and fill the gap. I just found it tasteless and almost insulting. I mean friends tend to get together and talk and comfort each other, not try to fill a hole and whatnot.
However the whole whiny Zoey continues and with the loss it only gets worse. In the beginning it's near Christmas and Zoey's birthday, they come close and she hates the Birth-mas gifts, but doesn't tell anyone other than Stevie Ray. Now when the other friends give their gifts they have that Birth-mas theme and it upsets her. I'm sorry don't hold them accountable if you never mentioned your feelings on the topic. It's not their fault entirely, and the more the novel goes on it's a wonder why her friends even stick around.
Aphrodite is back with a vengeance. I thought she would be more of an annoyance or just a straight up bitch. However, there is more than meets the eye to Aphrodite, and that's the part of her character that I found more realistic. It gives her character depth and personality. She was one of the few characters that grew on me as the novel went on, while the others seemed to hover and dance around the pampered annoying Zoey.
Now the Betrayal, gives a lot of story away, and I'm going to try to explain it without trying to get give it away. You would think it'd be Neferet or Aphorodite, because they are the obvious picks and with Aphrodite getting so close to Zoey. I was rather shocked at the whole revelation and the plot twist that surrounded the Betrayal. However, after it was revealed the rest of the story seemed to follow a straight line to the end. I don't understand the story writing, it's beginning to twist to end. There is little room left for imagination and letting the story simmer and grow, or twisting to let the reader get more immersed in the story.
This is a rather large review for such a mediocre to poor book. I wanted to see more world-building or a better character growth, but that came at the cost of the plot. I like Aphrodite more so than Zoey in this novel and it makes her more realistic and believable in this novel. However Aphrodite just seemed to steal the spotlight from Zoey and it was well deserved. If you made it past the first book, I would be weary about diving into this novel. Take some time, and read some more reviews, I already had it on my shelf so I went on, but I would think twice.
So I am making my way through this high school House of Night series. I am just not sure how much more of the whining and complaining I can take before I send the book through the shredder. Zoey is just always in over her head. and it just happens to always be the notorious Neferet that is on the other end. I was expecting a better betrayal in this book, and while it is more of a somber tone, it just fell way short in my expectations. The book was just so mediocre I couldn't give it much higher.
Zoey in this novel is reeling from the loss of her friend, Stevie Ray. Her other friends are trying to fill in the gap and make sure that Zoey is okay. However, what bothered me the most is high the other friends are around, they don't seem to feel the loss at all. It's like they all just immediately felt the loss than when Zoey collapsed they seemed to move on and fill the gap. I just found it tasteless and almost insulting. I mean friends tend to get together and talk and comfort each other, not try to fill a hole and whatnot.
However the whole whiny Zoey continues and with the loss it only gets worse. In the beginning it's near Christmas and Zoey's birthday, they come close and she hates the Birth-mas gifts, but doesn't tell anyone other than Stevie Ray. Now when the other friends give their gifts they have that Birth-mas theme and it upsets her. I'm sorry don't hold them accountable if you never mentioned your feelings on the topic. It's not their fault entirely, and the more the novel goes on it's a wonder why her friends even stick around.
Aphrodite is back with a vengeance. I thought she would be more of an annoyance or just a straight up bitch. However, there is more than meets the eye to Aphrodite, and that's the part of her character that I found more realistic. It gives her character depth and personality. She was one of the few characters that grew on me as the novel went on, while the others seemed to hover and dance around the pampered annoying Zoey.
Now the Betrayal, gives a lot of story away, and I'm going to try to explain it without trying to get give it away. You would think it'd be Neferet or Aphorodite, because they are the obvious picks and with Aphrodite getting so close to Zoey. I was rather shocked at the whole revelation and the plot twist that surrounded the Betrayal. However, after it was revealed the rest of the story seemed to follow a straight line to the end. I don't understand the story writing, it's beginning to twist to end. There is little room left for imagination and letting the story simmer and grow, or twisting to let the reader get more immersed in the story.
This is a rather large review for such a mediocre to poor book. I wanted to see more world-building or a better character growth, but that came at the cost of the plot. I like Aphrodite more so than Zoey in this novel and it makes her more realistic and believable in this novel. However Aphrodite just seemed to steal the spotlight from Zoey and it was well deserved. If you made it past the first book, I would be weary about diving into this novel. Take some time, and read some more reviews, I already had it on my shelf so I went on, but I would think twice.
