The Heart of Betrayal Book Review

 

Hey guys! 

Man, Wednesday’s just sneak up too fast. 

We’re smack dab in the middle of harvest right now, so I’m just going to keep shoving book reviews at you for now. Hopefully in a few weeks I’ll have time and brain cells to talk about other topics. 

Today is my five star review of The Heart of Betrayal, the second book in Mary E. Pearson’s Remnant Chronicles. 

I’m going to try to not include any big spoilers, but it is the second book so some spoilers are just going to be unavoidable. Proceed with caution. 

The Blurb:

Held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda, Lia and Rafe have little chance of escape. Desperate to save Lia's life, her erstwhile assassin, Kaden, has told the Vendan Komizar that she has the gift, and the Komizar's interest in Lia is greater than anyone could have foreseen.

Meanwhile, nothing is straightforward: There's Rafe, who lied to Lia but has sacrificed his freedom to protect her; Kaden, who meant to assassinate her but has now saved her life; and the Vendans, whom Lia always believed to be savages. Now that she lives among them, however, she realizes that may be far from the truth. Wrestling with her upbringing, her gift, and her sense of self, Lia must make powerful choices that will affect her country... and her own destiny.

The Plot: 

This book guys. I am notorious for hating the second/middle book in a series. But this one could very well be my favorite book in the entire series. The world building of Venda is fantastic. So often these dry “evil” kingdoms are painted in earth tones, but this one was such a fun colorful landscape. The Komizar is one of my favorite villains of all time, and he really made the plot. More about him later, but suffice to say, this book keeps you on your toes. There are so many twists and turns, and everyone is trying to outguess each other, and even though in this book, we know who everyone is, you still aren’t really sure who you can trust. 

The Characters:

I want to go on record saying I love Kaden, and always was and will be team Kaden. For good measure, the Kaden bookish candle I bought smells just like my husbands cologne. It’s pretty much a sign. 

Lia and Rafe continued to deliver fun, heartbreaking, mind numbing, infuriating fun. 

But my favorites (aside from my teddy bear, Kaden) are Rafe’s team of friends. These guys are such a motley crew of misfits, and absolutely hilarious. I love everything about them. 

The real star of the show in this book though , in my opinion,  is the Komizar. I love him. And not in an “oh I have a crush on the bad boy” way. No. He is just such an excellent villain. He’s bad. So bad. But he makes sense. And his people fear him. But his people also love him. The amount of control, and cunning he has is absolutely entrancing to read and I was so desperate to figure him out. I feel like I need to launch a full investigation on him so I can learn how to write a villain that compelling. This past year I’ve become really interested in mind games and physiological warfare (as a writer. I’m not a psycho), and he is such a master of it. It’s so refreshing to read a book where the villain really is a handful (stringer even) than the heroes. The stakes went through the roof. 

That’s all I have for you today! I’m off to make dinner for the harvest crew. I’ll try to be better about answering comments. Enjoy your week!