Official Review: Betrayal by Gillian Shields

[Alexandra Bayer]

When Evie returns to Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies for another term full of magic and danger, all she wants to do is save Sebastian, her love, from the fate he has brought on himself. On the way back, she meets Harriet, a young girl who clings to Evie innocently - except for her flashes of temper and dangerous sleepwalking habits. The Coven of Sisters, who are Sebastian's followers and helped him earn his fate, are determined to secure immortality, at any cost. Evie must suffer through danger, destruction, lost love and betrayal in order to save Sebastian.

Considering how unimpressed I was by Immortal, I really enjoyed Betrayal. I found the storyline to be much better. The fact that Sebastian and Evie were apart for most of the book made their love much more interesting, since it gave Evie something to strive for aside from pleasing him. As I also mentioned in my review of Immortal, I didn't think the way the teenagers spoke was very realistic; however, I found that the more I read it, the easier the language would flow, since I became used to it. It no longer distracted me from the storyline. These things combined added up to a very compelling sequel.

A new character was introduced in this book: Harriet, a new student in the younger division of Wyldcliffe. At first Harriet appears to be the pathetic, tag-along group member nobody wants to hang out with. However, as the story advances, Harriet's actions started to get increasingly disturbing. This character actually began to creep me out. When I finally found out what was going on with her, I was very surprised. I had suspicions and assumptions about Harriet, but not all - or even many - turned out to be correct. As I've said before, I like surprises and dislike predictability, so this was my type of character - seemingly innocent but secretly devious.

I found that this book got better the farther into it I read. Not all of a sudden, either - more gradual and indistinct. The beginning was slightly boring, what with all the introductions and explanations that had to be said, but once those were over with, Harriet was introduced, and Evie was back at Wyldcliffe, it began to capture my interest more. I found this storyline to be much more interesting than that of Immortal. It had more drama, more realistic romance (now that Evie was no longer pining after Sebastian like a lost puppy every day as she waited for the night when she could see him), and more danger. This combination created a better book than the first in this series.

This novel captured my interest much more than the first in the Immortal series. I found every part of this book, except for the slightly boring beginning, to be better. Therefore, I will give this book a better rating as well: four stars. Overall, I found it difficult to put this book down. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for curses, fate, and betrayal.