Betrayals

Lili St. Crow

Published 2009

304 pages

Rating: A-

Synopsis (contains spoilers for those who haven't read Strange Angels)

She’s no angel . . .

Poor Dru Anderson. Her parents are long gone, her best friend is a werewolf, and she’s just learned that the blood flowing through her veins isn’t entirely human. (So what else is new?)

Now Dru is stuck at a secret New England School for other teens like her, and there’s a big problem— she’s the only girl in the place. A school full of cute boys wouldn’t be so bad, but Dru’s killer instinct says that one of them wants her dead. And with all eyes on her, discovering a traitor within the Order could mean a lot more than social suicide. . .

Can Dru survive long enough to find out who has betrayed her trust—and maybe even her heart?

My review

Betrayals starts right off where Strange Angels ended. Dru is now at the Schola, a school for teen dhampir and wulfen. She thinks she's safe from Sergei... but little does she know that she's even closer to danger than she was before. Someone in the "Order" wants her dead. Someone is working with Sergei. Many things are going on behind the walls of the Schola.. lies, tension, romance, danger and worse.. betrayals.

First off, I really loved Strange Angels so I was pretty excited to read this. If you liked the first book then you'll definitely love the second book in this chilling series. I must say that Betrayals was better than SA. It had more action, a better plot, etc. The book was just all around very good and entertaining.

The characters in the book were actually very enjoyable and awesome. I love Dru as the main character too. She's a strong female heroine with a soft side and a tendency to run headfirst into danger. Graves is interesting and totally different from any other book character. He's funny, sweet, charming. You gotta love him! And then there's Christophe. If you've read my SA review then you know that he's my ultimate favorite! He's so mysterious with so many different sides to him. I also really loved the new characters in this book.

To finish, this book kept me interested from page one and didn't disappoint. The plot was excellent, the characters were excellent, the action, the suspense, the drama... all excellent. I just wish that there was more romance and that the book's sentences were easier to understand. Some were very weird and didn't really make sense to me. Other than that, I completely recommend this book to everybody!

-Marisa

Cat the Vamp

Christina Martine

Published 2009

221 Pages

Rating: C+

As a child, Catherine Taylor never understood why her parents were so secretive and distant. After the death of her grandmother, Cat’s parents take her to a mysterious castle called Blacklune. They explain to her that they, and she, are vampires, part of a hidden community co-existing with humans. Now that she’s of age, Cat will be initiated into the community and undergo a period of training in its methods and morals, along with several other vampire students her own age.

At Blacklune, Cat meets a young man who had appeared to her in dreams, Morgan. She and Morgan form an instant bond, but success with their vampire lessons doesn’t come so easily. Tempted by the lure of blood and the powers they now have, Cat and Morgan push the limits over and over, ignoring the concerns of their classmates and the scolding of their teacher, River. As they become ever more reckless, Cat and Morgan risk going too far. It’s only when serious harm comes to someone else that they realize they have to control themselves--and it may be too late.

(from publishers website)

If I had to describe Cat the Vamp in three words, they would have to be: dangerous, sexy, but incomplete. I felt that there could have been more to the story. Martine could have expanded her characters greatly, but also the story line. Don’t get me wrong, her characters were established and their personalities were identifiable, but they fell flat at times. I wish that they were more three dimensional, instead of the two dimensional characters that most of them were. Her characters personal lives before they came to Blacklune were a little hazy and they could have been discussed more to make the story seem more intimate. Also, at moments in the book the writing seemed a bit choppy – example: the main character, Catherine, and her new found love interest, Morgan, would be eating breakfast in the ballroom and in the next paragraph they would be roaming around town at night. The story line didn’t seem to flow as well as it could have. I do feel the book could have been longer and have a little more plot included, but it really was enjoyable to read because it was a different kind of vampire novel, one that I think people might like reading. And it was a quick read, which was a plus.

Going back to what was said earlier, the book was also dangerous and sexy. It is not the average teen vampire novel. Cat the Vamp is something more dark and mysterious. Since most of the characters are merely bystanders, they are extremely mysterious. Especially the “head vampire”, River. He is very dark and sort of lurks in the corner throughout the whole book. Morgan seemed to be an all around good guy and a total sweetheart. His affection for Catherine was genuine and Martine shows that well. Catherine Taylor a.k.a Cat, the main character, could be rather moody and it was difficult to like her, but the idea of her is very well put out there. The characters were relatable, especially for those who remember their first love. Altogether, the story line greatly reflects the teenage world of today, you are faced with doing what is right and doing what makes you happy and learning from your experiences. Beware, at times it does get a little inappropriate between Morgan and Cat; and there is some use of crude language and also the presence of drug use, but that adds to the story as it evolves. I’d say that this book is most suitable for high schoolers, mainly anyone over 15 or 16 years old.

All in all, this story is enjoyable if you want a dangerous vampire book, but at times it lacked plot and character development. I rated a C+ because I feel that there could be a lot more put into the book, and if it had some more "oomph" to it, I would have rated it most likely a B.

-Arielle

For more information on Cat the Vamp or the author, Christina Martine, visit this website HERE.

Update!

Hey you guys!

I am not sure if you guys remember me since I have been gone for quite some time. Ha. And I will probably be gone for a while, but hopefully I will be able to make some appearances on the blog here and there. I just wanted to give you a update on whats going on with me! Lately, I havent been able to read..but yesterday I got a book in the mail called Cat the Vamp by Christina Martine and that has gotten my full attention! I will hopefully be finishing it within the next couple a days and I will then be reviewing it for you guys! It has been forever since I have reviewed a book!

Here is the synopsis for Cat the Vamp and its front cover.

They never imagined the temptations of power, love and blood...

As a child, Catherine Taylor never understood why her parents were so secretive and distant. After the death of her grandmother, Cat’s parents take her to a mysterious castle called Blacklune. They explain to her that they, and she, are vampires, part of a hidden community co-existing with humans. Now that she’s of age, Cat will be initiated into the community and undergo a period of training in its methods and morals, along with several other vampire students her own age.

At Blacklune, Cat meets a young man who had appeared to her in dreams, Morgan. She and Morgan form an instant bond, but success with their vampire lessons doesn’t come so easily. Tempted by the lure of blood and the powers they now have, Cat and Morgan push the limits over and over, ignoring the concerns of their classmates and the scolding of their teacher, River. As they become ever more reckless, Cat and Morgan risk going too far. It’s only when serious harm comes to someone else that they realize they have to control themselves--and it may be too late.

You can check out the website for the book HERE.

I miss you all!

-Arielle