The Heart of Betrayal (The Remnant Chronicles, #2) by Mary E. Pearson | Book Review

Title: The Heart of Betrayal
Series: The Remnant Chronicles, #2
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Published: July 7, 2015
Edition: ebook
Pages: 480
My Rating: 3/5
Goodreads page

WARNING: This review has spoilers from the first book of the series, The Kiss of Deception.

Synopsis

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.

(This synopsis is from Goodreads.)

Plot

One word: lies.

Everyone is lying to each other. It gets annoying after a while. WHY CAN’T THEY JUST GET ALONG!?!

Oh wait.

They freaking killing Lia’s people and keeping Lia “captive”.

Right.

Haha. Never mind then.

I thought Lia was smarter, but she took some very unnecessary risks. She was kind of like Tris from Divergent, taking stupid risks to help those she loves.

The first 3/4 of the book was slow. It was basically a little chess battle between Lia and the Komizar. The last quarter of the book, however, was so suspenseful.

Like most royals, Lia believed that anyone else outside her land were savages, especially the Vendens. As she lives with them, she realizes that that is untrue. The Vendens are just living a really harsh life. She befriends some Vendens while making enemies of many others.

Rafe is trying his best to get Lia and himself out of Venda before they both get killed. Lia doesn’t have any hope (with reason), but Rafe keeps on telling her to be patient. He sent word to his four best men (who also happens to be his best friends) to silently infiltrate Venda and try to get them out.

Yeah. That’s why Lia was skeptical.

In a land where there are brute soldiers and the Komizar, I would be quite skeptical on how four men could get me out of that land.

There are a lot of unexpected plot twists. I knew there were going to be plot twists, but I just never expected them in the places that they appeared.

Characters

Jezelia “Lia”

I liked Lia in the first book. She was hardworking, determined, and independent. Plus, she wasn’t whiny like most princesses in fantasy books. However, in this book, she has become that stereotypical complaining, whiny princess. On the other hand, she sacrifices a lot to save those she loves. To be honest, I have no idea how the heck she managed to stay sane with all the pressure on her.

She has the mysterious power/gift that sporadically pop up. When it does, it shows her vision of the past and future.

On top of that, the Komizar likes torturing her, and some of the scholars in her home kingdom wants her dead.

Seriously, how does she deal with all this?

Kaden

Kaden is under the impression that Lia loves him and not Rafe. She has to make a show that she loves Kaden instead of Rafe to ensure that the Komizar won’t harm Rafe. Kaden is hopeful that they’ll have a future together, while Lia doesn’t care less.

Prince Rafferty “Rafe”

Rafe is trying to get Lia and himself out of Venda. He genuinely cares for Lia, but he has to pretend that he doesn’t when in from of the people of Venda. He’s a good actor. A little too good of an actor.

the Komizar

He’s one mean SOB. End of story.

Calantha

I didn’t like her in the beginning, but as the story progressed, I understood why she did the things she did. Calantha is kind of in a pickle with her position near the Komizar.

Conclusion

I give this book 3 / 5 BBC Sherlock heads. It was okay, but Lia’s constant complaining was annoying.

Until next time….