Post by Charlynn on Sept 19, 2011 10:47:08 GMT -5
Betrayed: A House of Night Novel by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast
In their second installment of this series, the Casts still struggle with reigning in the cliches. Once more, though, there are aspects to Betrayed which counterbalance this: mainly its quick pace, an intriguing villain, and the fact that the authors proved with book two that there can and will be dire consequences for all and not just periphery characters. Like with any novel, though, at the center of Betrayed, are its relationships. Unlike everyone else in Zoey's life, Aphrodite doesn't treat her with kid gloves and rose tinted glasses. Thus, of all Zoey's relationships, her odd, tentative alliance with Aphrodite feels the most real, the most honest, and, consequently, it's also the most entertaining and compelling relationship featured in the series thus far. At the other end of the spectrum are Zoey's romantic entanglements. Firstly, the girl needs to stop excusing her two-timing actions, and, secondly, the men in her life need to stop making like doormats and allowing her to walk all over them. This is frustrating as a reader, and it undermines the very foundation of not only these relationships but also the characters of Eric, Heath, and Loren as well. For a series which is so focused on the elements, its authors are forgetting something essential when it comes to harnessing and controlling earth, wind, fire, water, and spirit: balance, of which their writing features a lack thereof.
3 out of 5 Stars
In their second installment of this series, the Casts still struggle with reigning in the cliches. Once more, though, there are aspects to Betrayed which counterbalance this: mainly its quick pace, an intriguing villain, and the fact that the authors proved with book two that there can and will be dire consequences for all and not just periphery characters. Like with any novel, though, at the center of Betrayed, are its relationships. Unlike everyone else in Zoey's life, Aphrodite doesn't treat her with kid gloves and rose tinted glasses. Thus, of all Zoey's relationships, her odd, tentative alliance with Aphrodite feels the most real, the most honest, and, consequently, it's also the most entertaining and compelling relationship featured in the series thus far. At the other end of the spectrum are Zoey's romantic entanglements. Firstly, the girl needs to stop excusing her two-timing actions, and, secondly, the men in her life need to stop making like doormats and allowing her to walk all over them. This is frustrating as a reader, and it undermines the very foundation of not only these relationships but also the characters of Eric, Heath, and Loren as well. For a series which is so focused on the elements, its authors are forgetting something essential when it comes to harnessing and controlling earth, wind, fire, water, and spirit: balance, of which their writing features a lack thereof.
3 out of 5 Stars