Blog Tour: Betrayal by Mayandree Michel

Where there is love and power, there is always... betrayal.

At seventeen, Cordelia is an ordinary teen with an extraordinary and frightening secret. A secret that induces vivid dreams which she not only experiences true love, but crippling fear while barely escaping with her life each night.

After a life altering event, Cordelia has an unexpected encounter with Evan, the mysterious boy from her dreams, who reveals who and what she is, a descendant of the Greek gods. At that moment everything she knows of her world is a lie, and she must leave the present and go into the past to assume the role she was put on this earth for, safeguarding her ancient empire amidst evil forces that toil hastily to destroy it.

In a race against time, Cordelia must decide if she is truly a part of this dangerous world, or risk defying the gods, and ultimately lose the boy who has put a claim on her heart.

Betrayal is the debut novel by Mayandree Michel. She is currently hard at work on the second installment of the Descendants series. Learn more about Mayandree at http://www.mayandreemichel.blogspot.com/. ~From GoodReads

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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. 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."

Websites: http://mayandreemichel.blogspot.com
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