8 September 2011

REVIEW: BETRAYAL

Betrayal
Author: Lee Nichols
Series: Yes, #1
UK Publisher: Bloomsbury
UK Release date: September 2011
Genre: Paranormal
Kindly given by the publisher for an honest review

Following on from Deception, Emma must work with the Knell, a secret organisation of ghost keepers, to fight Neos a powerful wraith. With Bennett disappearing again, the Knell suffering some major setbacks, and a new team arriving to help Emma and Natalie, Emma must learn who she can trust before the dawn of battle.


Review: There are a number of interesting subplots in Betrayal such as Emma’s family contacting her, the development of new and unheard-of powers, and other ghostkeepers strangely having their powers drained. These keep the plot interesting and add in new elements of mystery that keep you questioning and wondering what’s going on.

Emma is one of the strongest ghostkeepers there is, and I really feel for her and the burden of trying to protect everyone around her. I can see how it must be tough for everyone to rely on you in the face of danger, yet still know so little about who you are and what you can do, especially when so many people have left her. One of whom is Bennett, who has disappeared yet again, so we don't get to see much of the relationship between them. Despite this Emma is resilient and admirably fights to protect those she loves.

Whilst her ghost family doesn’t feature as much as I would have liked (I just love all the ghost servants living at the museum!), Emma now has Simon and Lukas living with her. They have come from the Knell to work as a team with Emma and Natalie to train and defeat Neos, and they make a great new addition to the family. The subtle bond between Natalie and the rebellious Lukas is interesting, particularly with the threat of one losing their powers if they ever got together.

Unfortunately Betrayal did something that I’m not sure I can forgive - it took a character I adore and twisted them into something bad. Sure I wasn’t expecting it and it was a completely unseen plot twist, but I was not happy one bit about this development. I couldn’t believe and didn’t want to believe what they had done. Perhaps if more of an argument was made to show why they did it and their remorse afterwards, I wouldn’t have felt betrayed. But I did.

Betrayal features a lot of training and preparation to fight Neos, and feels like it is just the build up to some bigger fight or battle that is coming soon. A great continuation from Deception with lots of little plot twists, however the betrayal of one particular character leaves me with a sour taste.

Rating: 3*

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