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breezy610's review against another edition
4.0
As I continue to read this series, it seems the book keep getting better and better
kathydavie's review against another edition
3.0
Second in the Strange Angels urban-fantasy series for young adults revolving around a svetocha, a very rare female djamphir with powers greatly desired by both the good and the evil.
The Story
In this installment, Dru and Grant have just arrived at the Schola where Christophe said she would be safe but nothing else is as Christophe said. And it soon becomes apparent that Dru isn't safe here either.
No one will teach her anything. No one will tell her anything. No one wants her here. Oh, they say they do. They say she is a treasure. And Dru certainly doesn't feel like one. Instead, she feels stalked, watched. Then she learns that this is not the Schola Christophe had intended for her. She should have tutors and bodyguards. And she has nothing. No one in their world outside this school even knows she exists.
What Christophe does know is that there is a traitor in their midst.
The Characters
Admittedly, Dru Anderson is in a bad state. Her father was captured and destroyed. First by this Sergej and then by Dru (Strange Angels). She has nothing and no one in this world except the boy she met at school, Grant. The one who helped her survive after her father died and the one who was rewarded by a bite from a werewulf, turning him into a loupe-garou.
Christophe. The elusive djamphir who rescued her from Sergej's trap in North Dakota. Who sent her to this Schola. Who believes she is now in danger. Sergej's son.
Dylan is the headmaster at the Schola. A Schola it turns out that is a dumping ground for all the bad little djamphirs and werewulves.
Samuel "Dibs", Bobby "Shanks", Peter, and Andy at whose family farm the runaways hide out are fellow students and weres...not a djamphir in the bunch...hmmm, think that says something???
My Take
Well, Dru is consistent. She's still just as stupid as the last story. Thinks she knows it all and instead of attempting to learn more about this world she's now inhabiting, learning more about who/what she is, learning the geography of the Schola itself and its grounds, she's sulking in her bedroom. Whining, whimpering, whinging. She talks a great game about how she knows so much after spending those years hunting evil with her dad. And she's constantly whining, whimpering, and whinging about wanting her dad back so he can make the decisions, he can tell her what to do, and he can make her feel safe. Yes. I agree. She's perfectly entitled to want these things. If only she would take to heart the lessons he taught her and that she keeps whining about how good she was at them.
Even when Grant tells her some of the stuff he's learning, Dru still can't be bothered to learn the new things he's discovering. Then she wonders why no one wants to be friends with her when she keeps blowing everyone off. Well. Duuuhhhhh.
She's a boiling cauldron of stubborn and stupid, pushing everyone and everything without attempting to understand. She knows there's a traitor. Christophe told her before she ever got on the chopper. And it takes weeks at the Schola, before he reminds her and then has to assign her the task of trying to find the traitor. What? With "all her vast experience", Dru can't think of this on her own?? Miss I'm-too-cocky-to-live? Then there's the fourth attack on the school, that she knows of, and "no one has come to get her". I mean, every other time, a teacher or Dylan have shown up to take her back to her room. So she just stands there. Miss I-know-everything.Thank god the owl is around to lead her to safety this time...because obviously Miss Experience hasn't a clue. Then she gets pissy because she finds out that Christophe is not a "half-breed", he's a sixteenth!! Ooh, lordy! He's much less of a djamphir than she thought!! Ooooh. And here I thought she knew everything. What, she doesn't know that "half-breed" is a rather generic term and not a scientific one??!
I gotta confess, when St. Crow builds up the tension where Dru's life is in danger...I'm not sure which side I'm rooting for…
St. Crow really tries to up the drama/tension with Dru trying to figure out if she's attracted to Christophe/Grant but it's so half-hearted that it's almost embarassing.
Okay, no more whinging on my part. I like the story even if I can't stand Dru. And note that Betrayals is a bridge novel giving us a taste of the Schola; a hint of the tensions between werewulves and djamphirs; an extra sideplot when Dru rescues Ash, the werewulf who bit Grant and is a servant to Sergej; and, more of a glimpse of the greater issues amongst the Order as Dru and Grant segue from a small town in the Dakotas to the main Schola in New York City.
The Cover
The cover is appropriate. Dru has her hair pulled back, one wavy strand dangling on the side of her face leaning forward as though tense or moving stealthily as she looks back over her shoulder. In the background, under a metallic coral sheen, are two boys possibly representing either side of the Order, the werewulf and the djamphir.
The title is also appropriate as Dru and Christophe are attempting to cope with many, unknown Betrayals.
The Story
In this installment, Dru and Grant have just arrived at the Schola where Christophe said she would be safe but nothing else is as Christophe said. And it soon becomes apparent that Dru isn't safe here either.
No one will teach her anything. No one will tell her anything. No one wants her here. Oh, they say they do. They say she is a treasure. And Dru certainly doesn't feel like one. Instead, she feels stalked, watched. Then she learns that this is not the Schola Christophe had intended for her. She should have tutors and bodyguards. And she has nothing. No one in their world outside this school even knows she exists.
What Christophe does know is that there is a traitor in their midst.
The Characters
Admittedly, Dru Anderson is in a bad state. Her father was captured and destroyed. First by this Sergej and then by Dru (Strange Angels). She has nothing and no one in this world except the boy she met at school, Grant. The one who helped her survive after her father died and the one who was rewarded by a bite from a werewulf, turning him into a loupe-garou.
Christophe. The elusive djamphir who rescued her from Sergej's trap in North Dakota. Who sent her to this Schola. Who believes she is now in danger. Sergej's son.
Dylan is the headmaster at the Schola. A Schola it turns out that is a dumping ground for all the bad little djamphirs and werewulves.
Samuel "Dibs", Bobby "Shanks", Peter, and Andy at whose family farm the runaways hide out are fellow students and weres...not a djamphir in the bunch...hmmm, think that says something???
My Take
Well, Dru is consistent. She's still just as stupid as the last story. Thinks she knows it all and instead of attempting to learn more about this world she's now inhabiting, learning more about who/what she is, learning the geography of the Schola itself and its grounds, she's sulking in her bedroom. Whining, whimpering, whinging. She talks a great game about how she knows so much after spending those years hunting evil with her dad. And she's constantly whining, whimpering, and whinging about wanting her dad back so he can make the decisions, he can tell her what to do, and he can make her feel safe. Yes. I agree. She's perfectly entitled to want these things. If only she would take to heart the lessons he taught her and that she keeps whining about how good she was at them.
Even when Grant tells her some of the stuff he's learning, Dru still can't be bothered to learn the new things he's discovering. Then she wonders why no one wants to be friends with her when she keeps blowing everyone off. Well. Duuuhhhhh.
She's a boiling cauldron of stubborn and stupid, pushing everyone and everything without attempting to understand. She knows there's a traitor. Christophe told her before she ever got on the chopper. And it takes weeks at the Schola, before he reminds her and then has to assign her the task of trying to find the traitor. What? With "all her vast experience", Dru can't think of this on her own?? Miss I'm-too-cocky-to-live? Then there's the fourth attack on the school, that she knows of, and "no one has come to get her". I mean, every other time, a teacher or Dylan have shown up to take her back to her room. So she just stands there. Miss I-know-everything.Thank god the owl is around to lead her to safety this time...because obviously Miss Experience hasn't a clue. Then she gets pissy because she finds out that Christophe is not a "half-breed", he's a sixteenth!! Ooh, lordy! He's much less of a djamphir than she thought!! Ooooh. And here I thought she knew everything. What, she doesn't know that "half-breed" is a rather generic term and not a scientific one??!
I gotta confess, when St. Crow builds up the tension where Dru's life is in danger...I'm not sure which side I'm rooting for…
St. Crow really tries to up the drama/tension with Dru trying to figure out if she's attracted to Christophe/Grant but it's so half-hearted that it's almost embarassing.
Okay, no more whinging on my part. I like the story even if I can't stand Dru. And note that Betrayals is a bridge novel giving us a taste of the Schola; a hint of the tensions between werewulves and djamphirs; an extra sideplot when Dru rescues Ash, the werewulf who bit Grant and is a servant to Sergej; and, more of a glimpse of the greater issues amongst the Order as Dru and Grant segue from a small town in the Dakotas to the main Schola in New York City.
The Cover
The cover is appropriate. Dru has her hair pulled back, one wavy strand dangling on the side of her face leaning forward as though tense or moving stealthily as she looks back over her shoulder. In the background, under a metallic coral sheen, are two boys possibly representing either side of the Order, the werewulf and the djamphir.
The title is also appropriate as Dru and Christophe are attempting to cope with many, unknown Betrayals.
ec_newman's review against another edition
4.0
I love this series. We've got a heroine (who does less probably in this book than the first 'Strange Angels') who acts and reacts like a teen does. Two guys, yes, which seems to be the formula, but I buy it more in this because, she is actually quite special. I cannot wait for the third book.
There's action and a different world...it's just good YA fiction.
Thanks the maker.
There's action and a different world...it's just good YA fiction.
Thanks the maker.
silreadsalot's review against another edition
4.0
I'm on page 58, chapter 5. It's a slow go so far. I have hope that it will pick up. Well it did pick up. There is a lot action in this book. I was expecting a little romance between the main character and the one of the two guys. I was disappointed that there was non. It looks like there will definitely be some in the next book.
steph01924's review against another edition
3.0
I was really excited to read this next book. For the first half, I was really into it, couldn't put it down, eagerly waited until I could read it again. Then it started to get a bit repetitive.
The concept of the book was fine, but Dru--awesome, kick-ass Dru from the first book--she got depressing. Uber depressing. Why? Because SHE was depressed. The entire book, I swear at least once a chapter, Dru ran through her mind about all the people she lost: Dad, Gram, Mom. Gram, Mom, Dad. She missed the simpler days of 'normal' hunting and her Gram's cabin.
And you know what? I totally feel her. I mean, look, it's been about two weeks since the end of the last book, in which she was pretty messed up already and learning about all this crazy stuff about her background. I'd be homesick for a nice quiet house in the mountains too if I was stuck at a dingy school with testosterone drenched dudes and vampires prowling outside waiting to kill her. But, unfortunately, what Dru longs for doesn't make a good book. Good life, bad book.
She also didn't have much to do as she was basically a sitting duck stuck in a boring building. This made me sad, because while Graves and Christophe are both badasses, we aren't IN their mind for this book. We're stuck with Dru as our protagonist. Give her something to do!
The other gripe I had was the backstabbing stuff. Is he bad, is she bad, etc. etc.. I get that Dru didn't know who to trust, and if I were in her shoes, I would have no freakin' clue either. But, once again, she obsessed about it in her head too much. I didn't need a recap of what lies/truths she'd been told ever few pages. And if the author felt I did, well, then, maybe she should've gone back and cleaned that up.
There were less references to Graves' half-Asian-ness, thankfully. And it no longer reminds me of the TV show, Supernatural, which...can be a good or bad thing, depending (but that's just because I love that show with a passion).
I'm still interested to read the next ones, so obviously Saintcrow is doing something right. I hope we don't get another Schola-centric book 3 though.
The concept of the book was fine, but Dru--awesome, kick-ass Dru from the first book--she got depressing. Uber depressing. Why? Because SHE was depressed. The entire book, I swear at least once a chapter, Dru ran through her mind about all the people she lost: Dad, Gram, Mom. Gram, Mom, Dad. She missed the simpler days of 'normal' hunting and her Gram's cabin.
And you know what? I totally feel her. I mean, look, it's been about two weeks since the end of the last book, in which she was pretty messed up already and learning about all this crazy stuff about her background. I'd be homesick for a nice quiet house in the mountains too if I was stuck at a dingy school with testosterone drenched dudes and vampires prowling outside waiting to kill her. But, unfortunately, what Dru longs for doesn't make a good book. Good life, bad book.
She also didn't have much to do as she was basically a sitting duck stuck in a boring building. This made me sad, because while Graves and Christophe are both badasses, we aren't IN their mind for this book. We're stuck with Dru as our protagonist. Give her something to do!
The other gripe I had was the backstabbing stuff. Is he bad, is she bad, etc. etc.. I get that Dru didn't know who to trust, and if I were in her shoes, I would have no freakin' clue either. But, once again, she obsessed about it in her head too much. I didn't need a recap of what lies/truths she'd been told ever few pages. And if the author felt I did, well, then, maybe she should've gone back and cleaned that up.
There were less references to Graves' half-Asian-ness, thankfully. And it no longer reminds me of the TV show, Supernatural, which...can be a good or bad thing, depending (but that's just because I love that show with a passion).
I'm still interested to read the next ones, so obviously Saintcrow is doing something right. I hope we don't get another Schola-centric book 3 though.
izzyfizzy20's review against another edition
5.0
Awesome. Love the love triangle between Graves, Christophe and Dru
shirleymak's review against another edition
4.0
sigh. she got kind of annoying and I kind of screamed at her a lot. NEXT BOOK BETTER BE BETTER
sofyy1102's review against another edition
3.0
Reading this while listening to old-school rock is the shit! Perfect soundtrack for this series.
Betrayals was good but not as enjoyable as the first book of the series, it was very action-packed, the story solid and interesting. However, I have to admit, that every time there was something romantic happening between Dru and Graves all I could think of was his UNI EYEBROW.
WHY?! The uni eyebrow thing is so fucking unnecessary, why couldn't his "fatal "flaw be something like crooked teeth or a scar on his face? Why a UNIBROW?! I seriously don't get it. I hope Dru gives him wax or a tweezer on the next book!
Ughhhh, I feel so childish because of my obssession over ungroomed hair get in the way of a good book!
Person:"So, why didn't you give Betrayals more than 3 starts?"
Me:"Hum... because... unibrows?"
Person"Does that mean you have something against unibrows?"
Me:"No! It's just that... you see, they get in the way..."
Person:"In the way of what,exactly?"
Me:"In the way of two eyebrows?"
Betrayals was good but not as enjoyable as the first book of the series, it was very action-packed, the story solid and interesting. However, I have to admit, that every time there was something romantic happening between Dru and Graves all I could think of was his UNI EYEBROW.
WHY?! The uni eyebrow thing is so fucking unnecessary, why couldn't his "fatal "flaw be something like crooked teeth or a scar on his face? Why a UNIBROW?! I seriously don't get it. I hope Dru gives him wax or a tweezer on the next book!
Ughhhh, I feel so childish because of my obssession over ungroomed hair get in the way of a good book!
Person:"So, why didn't you give Betrayals more than 3 starts?"
Me:"Hum... because... unibrows?"
Person"Does that mean you have something against unibrows?"
Me:"No! It's just that... you see, they get in the way..."
Person:"In the way of what,exactly?"
Me:"In the way of two eyebrows?"
erazonasarah's review against another edition
4.0
Overall this was a good read, and better than the first book, but there's so many moments in this book that are just... odd? The overuse of metaphors was annoying, but I think that's probably a continuous thing throughout the whole series.
papidoc's review against another edition
3.0
Betrayals brings the continued adventures of Dru, slayer of suckers and other supernatural evildoers, and friend of the djamphir and werewulfen (or at least some of them). This second book in the series begins to introduce some of Dru's backstory, and her own special powers begin to emerge. Seems like a fairly decent YA series so far, if you like fantasy stuff.