Betrayal (The Descendants, #1) (Volume 1)

Oh My Gods, this book was great! It was a massive read, but worth every second.
Loved it!


*won from Goodreads
( )

Oh My Gods, this book was great! It was a massive read, but worth every second.
Loved it! ( )

Gods, Goddesses, shifters, vampires.. Betrayal had it all. Forbidden love, scandal, secrets. Michel paints both beautiful and grotesque imagery in the first installment of her freshman series The Descendants. The beginning drags a bit, not gonna lie, but some disturbing, and life changing events grab you by the shoulders and you realize what a gem you’re holding in your hands. There’s a wealth if information in this book, and nothing is lacking. From character building to world building, there were no small parts in this book. Everyone had a purpose, every place described was an integral part of the story. No one was simply a prop in this story, and I found myself wanting to know more about the characters described in this book. The fight scenes, which can often end up lame, were beautifully choreographed and gripping. Michel istruly a master of her craft. The must-read of the year, hands down. ( )

I have been planning to read Betrayal since I spotted it on GoodReads. So I was excited when this blog was accepted to be part of Mayandree Michel's blog tour. I would like to thank Mayandree once again for letting me review her book, Betrayal.

The cover of Betrayal is what initially drew me to this book. Take a look. It is stunning. From the lush, gorgeous dress to the swirl of scenery surrounding Cordelia, the symbolism is prevalent. Once I started reading Betrayal and was able to tie different elements of the story to the visual elements of the cover, I loved it even more.

Once I got past the cover of Betrayal, I found myself quickly drawn into Cordelia's world. From the suffocating dessert heat and unforgiving sun, to the lush garden's surrounding the homes, the dank creepiness of an abandoned home, Michel was able to lay out the surroundings of Cordelia's life perfectly, without becoming to "wordy". I found the author's writing style (most of the time) to be smooth and melodical. I felt the love that she put into these characters and their world. She was able to convey a sense of the characters emotions and personality with a simple gesture or reaction. I was able to quickly become familiar with them and anticipate how they may react to any given situation.

What I loved most about Betrayal was the way the main character, Cordelia, was written. Like many books of this genre, Cordelia is a young woman who must face a brutal reality and determine her course. While many of these young women seem to be able to instantly adapt to their new situation and always seem to know what to do next, Cordelia does not. Cordelia's responses seem true to how a person would react if faced with a reality they thought was a myth. She goes through phases with her emotions, confusion, shock, betrayal and reluctant acceptance. Upon being thrust into a new life, Cordelia doesn't blindly accept any portion of "truth" given to her, she digs for the truth, only accepting what she can verify herself. And while Cordelia is finding her own truth, she undergoes a metamorphosis from a scared, unsure girl to a confident, in-charge Empress. Joining Cordelia on her journey of self-awareness was painful and fascinating. I loved learning the facts about her life as she did.

So...while I loved reading Betrayal, I did have a problem with this book. Errors. I try, so hard, not to let them bug me. But at a certain point you have to ask "What's going on here?" There were problems with word useage, punctuation mistakes, spelling errors. If not for these errors, I would have given Betrayal 5 stars. I don't mean to be harsh. Ever. But they just kept coming, all the way to the end. There may be readers out there who do not mind these mistakes. But I feel that I owe it to readers, like me, who do care, and point this out.

Having said that, I REALLY enjoyed this book. I loved Cordelia and all the other characters. I loved the world Michel has built. Almost all of the really big questions in the plot were answered. Enough to leave me satisfied with the ending. And exceedingly curious to read the next book in the series, Sacrifice, due out in December.

Favorite passage from Betrayal:

"His eyes were closed. It was if he wanted me to believe that he was snoozing. Strangely, I could hear his heartbeat. I knew it wasn't my own because it seemed to be coming from the leather tufted chair which Evan lounged in. I placed my hand on my chest, and the rhythm of our heartbeats was the same-exactly the same-fast; a beat that reminded me of a ticking time-bomb prepared to explode at any second." ( )

Please check out a guest post by Mayandree Michel and an interview with the BETRAYAL cover designer on my blog, http://abackwardsstory.blogspot.com!

I always have certain expectations going into novels. Sometimes I’m let down, and other times, I’m stunned beyond my wildest expectations, as was the case with BETRAYAL by Mayandree Michel, the first in THE DESCENDANTS trilogy. I didn’t have many expectations for this book beyond salivating over Greek mythology and being caught up in an epic adventure. I wasn’t expecting historical elements such as the fact that the majority of the book takes place during the Victorian era or the inclusion of various paranormal beings. I also wasn’t expecting to like this independently-published novel more than much-buzzed about traditionally published novels such as THE GODDESS TEST and STARCROSSED. The story, however, completely blew me away and I can’t wait to continue my journey through the next two books.

BETRAYAL centers around Cordelia, a seemingly-ordinary teen living in our world. One day, she accidentally creates lightning and discovers that someone is after her. After living in fear without realizing the secrets lying within her, she is killed by an evil man bent on claiming her power. As a Greek descendant, or Ischeros, however, she still has 24 hours to be brought back to life, which occurs in stunning fashion as she’s brought back to 1891, her own era. Cordelia finds out she was sent to the future two years prior in order to protect her from the man trying to kill her. All her memories were wiped out, replaced with false ones of a childhood that never existed. In her own world once more with no memory of who she really is, Cordelia struggles to reclaim her identity and tap into her vast array of powers before someone attempts to kill her again. As heiress to a vast empire, if she dies, the hopes of all the Ischeros go with her. Without her memories, however, Cordelia has no idea how to be the powerful woman she once was.

Full of intrigue, mystery, suspense, and, of course, betrayal, Michel’s debut novel hits every sweet spot in a compelling way. Characters you thought you knew will completely surprise you. Michel is deft at building intricate layers; things that don’t seem important are thrown into the story, coming back to haunt readers later on. The climax is powerful and captivating, unlike some books where authors are unable to uphold what they’d promised to deliver. The final scenes are rendered in such a way that readers will want to continue on to book two and find out what happens next, especially in regards to events they never saw coming. I read a first-edition, who had a lot of grammatical errors, but BETRAYAL has since been edited and the second-edition promises to deliver a cleaner read. At times, the descriptions got to be overwhelming and bogged the action down, but for the most part, pacing was even and the storyline was captivating enough to keep me eagerly turning pages.

Book Two in THE DESCENDANTS trilogy, SACRIFICE, is expected to be released in December 2011. ( )