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 | Betrayed (House of Night, Book 2)
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 2008-09-07 - Great Series for teens and up!
Betrayed is book 2 of the "House of Night" series. It is freshly written about teens that become marked to potentially become vampires. This is not your run of the mill series about vampires. It is more about teens who feel they don't fit in either at school or at home and have not had someone to help them realize their full potential in life. The metaphor of "the change" from human to vampire is subtle but easily grasped by teens that everyone has great potential even if they may not see it at a point in time of their life. The series is full of wonderful characters both good and evil and some who may have lived a life of evil and truly want to change if only someone showed them they could. There is great light comedy throughout and perfectly used when things get too serious. I would highly recommend this book for mothers and daughters to read and talk about. While it is completely entertaining you can't help but see the underlying messages which are all positive!
 2008-08-22 - Surprisingly better than Marked...
I wasn't a very huge fan of Marked because it started painfully boring for me. My review for that book was very brutal. For redemption, though, I think that this book is a good light read. Ohhhh~ I like.
 2008-08-19 - Mediocre writing, somewhat engaging plot
This is the 2nd book in the House of Night series by the Casts. It follows in the same vein as the 1st book. The writing is mediocre but the plot is fairly engrossing.
Zoey has only been at the House of Night for a little while yet she is taking over the most prestigious group in the school; the Dark Daughters and Sons. While she struggles to figure out how to make this group a positive one, she is still being haunted by vampire ghosts. She is starting to think things are not what they seem and something deeper and darker may be happening at school. Then there is her ex-boyfriend Heath to deal with and a super-hottie vampire that seems to have an attraction to Zoey; of course she is supposedly dating the drop-dead fledgling Erik, but how is Zoey to deal with all the love problems and the more life threatening ones?
This book just isn't written that well, and neither was the previous one. There is lots of teenage drama and a fair amount of action. Despite the poor writing the story is engaging and interesting to read. I really find myself wondering what will happen to Zoey next. Some of the drama with her boyfriends gets bit old and some of the plot is pretty predictable. Still, it kept my attention so I guess it must be an okay book.
Will I read the next one? Again, maybe if I can find it somewhere for cheap, used.
karissabooks.blogspot.com
 2008-07-30 - Put me to sleep
I had problems with the first book - mainly the anti-organized religion message & the high level of sexuality for the teen readers' age group. However, it was a fun story. I enjoyed it.
I read Betrayed hoping that the story would get better and the other stuff disappear. The opposite happened. More church-people-are-evil, and now Zoey is interested in a teacher. And there is a lot less story.
I mean a LOT less story. I kept putting the book down because it was so BORING. The characters who were cute in the first book are now just annoying. ("Easy" "Peasy" "Japanesy") Zoey is behaving out of character (how could she be interested in Heath again?). And all our understanding of who is a good guy/bad guy is thrown up in the air.
On the last, if that had been well done, it would have worked. The problem was it was badly done, obvious, and seemed like it was more for the effect than anything else.
I wouldn't recommend this book. I'm done with the series.
2008-07-29 - Good sequel...
Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird is adjusting to her new life as a vampyre fledging at the House of Night. She's also learning the ropes on being a nurturing leader of the Dark Daughters. She is still dealing with Aphrodite, her biggest competitor and nemesis at the academy, but she soon learns that there is more to this rogue teen than meets the eye. However, things take a turn for the worse when a couple of football players from her old high school turn out dead. Who could be causing this? It is rumored that they are vampire killings, but neither Zoey nor her friends would do such a thing. If that wasn't bad enough, Zoey is happy with her boyfriend Erik, but is drawn to her ex-boyfriend Heath and intrigued with a hottie teacher with a knack for haiku. Oh, and is Neferet -- Zoey's beautiful and wise mentor -- all she appears to be? And what is happening to Stevie Ray, Zoey's best friend? Someone very close to Zoey will betray her. As the leader of the Dark Daughters, she will have to handle the situation on her own...
Betrayed, like Marked, is a dark and compelling teen paranormal novel. Zoey is a believable character, and her friends -- with the possible exception of the very caricatured "twins," Erin and Shaunee -- are three-dimensional and wonderful. The story takes a few steps away from the storyline in Marked. The most noticeable one is Erik as the main male character. Somehow it seems that the story will shift more toward Loren's direction as Zoey's possible male lead in her life. He does sound pretty hot, though the older teacher thing kind of creeps me out in a teen novel, even if it's one centered on vampires. I have no attachment to any of the male characters so far, so this is sort of a weak link for me in this series. The twists and turns are interesting, but I'm not thrilled with the cliffhanger type of ending. I do look forward to reading Chosen, but I probably won't crack it open for a while. If you're looking for a compelling YA vampire series (especially now that Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series is coming to an end), then this one's worth a try.
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