World Famous Comics: Betrayed (House of Night, Book 2)
Betrayed (House of Night, Book 2)
By: PC Cast, Kristin Cast Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: St. Martin's Griffin Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 320 Publication Date: October 02, 2007 Reading Level: Young Adult Release Date: October 02, 2007
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. Best of all, Zoey 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. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey’s old life, she begins to realize that the very powers that make her so unique might also threaten those she loves. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night, and Zoey must find the courage to face a betrayal that could break her heart, her soul, and jeopardize the very fabric of her world.
The Compulsive Reader's Reviews Even after her first month as a fledgling at The House of Night, Zoey Redbird's life still is as fast paced and hectic as ever. As the new leader of the Dark Daughters, she's responsible for turning it into a respectable and admirable club. Also, she seems to find herself with two boyfriends...with another guy sending her some mixed signals. On top of all of that, Zoey has been seeing some dark and mysterious creatures on the east wall. She wonders if it's all a trick of the mind, until human teenagers start disappearing...and winding up dead. Zoey will have to start facing the facts, especially after a shocking death in their midst reveals that what she has seen is no figment of her imagination...and what's truly horrifying is the identity of the person behind it all.
Betrayed picks up on all the suspense and thrill right where Marked left off. Full of twists and turns that flow fluidly and a continuation of excellent character development, Betrayed reveals more sinister plots and dastardly deeds that will leave readers reeling. The many normal teenager issues and feelings are melded with the supernatural happenings to create an adventurous and believable story. Though the world in which Zoey lives is unfamiliar, the Casts make the reader right at home with their smooth and inimitable writing style.
Interesting Sequel Betrayed, the second book in the House of Night series, picks up where Marked left off--Zoey, newly Marked as a vampyre fledgling, must take up her new duties as Leader of the Dark Daughters. Along with her good friends Stevie Rae, Erin, Shaunee, and Damien, Zoey wants to find a new direction for the group after the ouster of nemesis Aphrodite. Amid all the stress of drama of perfecting a circle casting, Zoey's love life is also in turmoil. She finds herself attracted to not just two boys, but also a very sexy young professor who seems to be attracted to her as well. What will Zoey do about obsessed ex-boyfriend Heath, whose friends are disappearing at an alarming rate? And what about the fledgling vampyre Erik, who is everything Zoey should want? Betrayed is indeed quite dark in tone, and the story takes a tragic turn just when Zoey should be celebrating.
After a bit of a slow start, Betrayed picks up nicely around fifty pages in or so. The storyline takes place over just a few days, and it is action-packed. Zoey's grief and shock are well written, and her boyfriend dilemma is believable as long as it's between Heath and Erik. But Betrayed is not without fault. The idea of a professor, even a young one, flirting shamelessly with a sixteen year old is just icky. The "Twins" are so superfluous that I feel they are forced into scenes. And if teens actually continuously used language the way these teens do, I'd be very, very surprised. Not over the cursing itself, but just the general conversation seems so stilted.
While I did enjoy Betrayed more than I initially thought I would, it could do with a bit of housecleaning to rid itself of too much coincidence and too little realistic interaction among the teens. I also think that much of the "vampyre" rituals seem to be more "witch-like" than they should be. But in general I did enjoy the story and I still like the whole idea of The House of Night and creepy undead creatures and people who aren't what they seem to be. I'd love to give this one 3.5 stars for general entertainment.
Witches posing as 'vampyres' This book was much better than the first one. Lots more twists and turns and less predictable. I have gotten used to the writting so it wasn't so annoying the 2nd time around. The author toned down the pop culture references(thank God). It bothers me that they are labeled 'vampyres'..come on now, they're witches with a teeny bit of bloodlust thrown in. It's silly we're pretending otherwise.
Something that was super annoying is how perfect all the boys are who fall over Raven, give me a break. The character Eric flatlined, Loren seemed like an afterthought, and her human ex-bf is uninteresting. The big mystery is what those undead creatures are so I can't wait to read Chosen haha
2 for 2 This might have been my favorite book of the series (as I have read the first 3 so far). It definatley flows better in this book, and although it ends with a lot left unanswered (have your book 3 handy) you end up feeling better about the characters.
Why do people like this? I have read 100's of books but this series by far has been one of the worst wastes of time I have had. I read Chosen, thought it was a cool concept. However, nothing is done with the concept. The characters fall flat, each feels no different than any other and by the end I realized that I couldn't even remember half of their names. To include Zoey!! I had to go back and look. The ending was so juvenile and cliche that it felt like the other didn't even know how to end it. Now, I am aware that sometimes first books can't develop characters in a series well so I decided to read Betrayed. What a colossal steamer that turned out to be. The characters once again were flat and I could careless about any of them. Erik wasn't even in the first quarter of the book, completely pointless and uninteresting character we know nothing about. Too many love interests/attractions and not enough relationship development between characters. Juvenile writing style that is insulting to read. I love this genre of YA fiction but I would point you towards series like Twilight, Vampire Academy, Tithe, Great and Terrible Beauty and the Sweep Series which are all well written and creative stories with strong and interesting characters. I finished this book two days ago and now can barely remember anything specific about it. Not a good sign...
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