Book Review: Betrayals by Lili St. Crow

Published November 17th, 2009
Razorbill
304 pages (Paperback)

She’s no angel...

Poor Dru Anderson. Her parents are long gone, her best friend is a werewolf, and she’s just learned that the blood flowing through her veins isn’t entirely human. (So what else is new?)

Now Dru is stuck at a secret New England Schola for other teens like her, and there’s a big problem—she’s the only girl in the place. A school full of cute boys wouldn’t be so bad, but Dru’s killer instinct says that one of them wants her dead. And with all eyes on her, discovering a traitor within the Order could mean a lot more than social suicide...

Can Dru survive long enough to find out who has betrayed her trust—and maybe even her heart? (From Goodreads)

I read this book as part of an omnibus of books one and two.  You can read my review of Strange Angels here.

This is one of those book where I wanted o know what happened, without having to actually read it.

I really to like the blunt, to-the-point, snarky writing style.  If Dru and I were having a conversation, that is how it would sound.  However, if she refers to Christophe as smelling like apple pie one more f**king time...  That was almost enough to make me never look at the book again.  I get it.  Move on.  Geez.

Then there is the romance.  Okay, it's starting to build, but I'm still not impressed.  The love triangle feels weak, and is going nowhere fast.  Let's just pick Graves and move along.

Somehow, despite how many little things irritated me, I still wanted to know what would happen.  The premise of the book is interesting to me, but the less exciting scenes really drag on and on.  I want to read the next book, and find out what happens, but I don't want to actually read it.  Congrats Betrayals, you have successfully frustrated me.

Much love, Samantha

Book Review: Strange Angels by Lili St.Crow

Published May 14th, 2009
Razorbill
293 pages (Paperback)

In Strange Angels, Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called “the touch.” (Comes in handy when you’re traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.) Then her dad turns up dead—but still walking—and Dru knows she’s next. Even worse, she’s got two guys hungry for her affections, and they’re not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever—or whoever— is hunting her? (From Goodreads)

I honestly knew nothing about this series before I started reading it.  I saw it.  It had Richelle Mead's endorsement on the cover.  It was less than $10 for the omnibus of books one and two (review for book two, Betrayals, coming soon).  That's pretty much how my brain worked.  However, because of school, which has slowed my reading, I am going to review them separately.  For publication information regarding the omnibus, click here.

Strange Angels started really slowly, so it took a long time for me to get into the book.  The characters just weren't doing it for me.  In all honesty, did Dru need to start dry heaving over everything?  And did Christophe need to be described as smelling like apple pie on pretty much every page?  All that was doing was annoying me, and making me hungry.  And Grave is way too wimpy for my liking.  As you can see, I was having issues reading this.

The plot has potential.  There is the potential for serious action and a good love triangle.  You've got vampires, werewolves, zombies, and a world that Dru thought she understood, but truly knows little about.  You've also got two guys going through the book with Dru.  Yet, the book seemed to be headed nowhere fast, and the potential romance was virtually non-existent.

By the time I reached the end of Strange Angels, I was releaved.  Based on the description on the back cover, the end of Strange Angels is where I wanted to be about of a third of the way through it.  Because of this, I'm sitting it down for a bit before pressing on through Betrayals.  Please tell me it gets better...

Much love, Samantha