Betrayals: Lili St. Crow

SUMMARY (Courtesy of borders.com):

Dru Anderson's parents are gone, her best friend is a werewolf, and she's just learned that she's not entirely human. Now Dru is stuck at a secret New England school for other teens like her, and she's the only girl. A school full of cute boys wouldn't be so bad, but Dru's killer instinct says that one of them wants her dead.

OPINION: 5 STARS

Throughout much of this book, Dru is playing up the pity party. She is mopey, depressed, and walking around with a constant cloud over her heard. A few times, I admit it annoyed me but in truth, in this story line it was almost nice to see it. In Strange Angels, for the most part, Dru was strong, could handle herself, and even when things were horrible she pressed forward. This was actually a refreshing switch from the usual starts out weak but gets strong development scene in numerous novels. Because how strong Dru really can be was shown so well in the first installment of this series, her weakness and vulnerability actually made sense, as it generally revolves around losing her grandmother, mother and most recently her father. The teenage girl who just needs her parents that she had to hide in the first book comes out in this book and I actually really enjoyed that aspect.

The cast of characters covers a wide range, from vampires to wolves to mixes of both, each with their own different personalities and caveats. The name of the book, obviously, hints at what kind of content the plot could hold but even at the end of this book, I am still left with a ton of questions and few answers- many relating to different characters. I have to admit, however, the names of the different wulfen are fantastic; they have a given name- Robert, Samuel- and then a pack type name from Dibs to Shanks.

The writing is on the same level as with Strange Angels- I don't feel like St. Crow improved too much in that area but she does have a unique style that appeals to me. Some of the descriptions she uses- especially with imagery- draws me in, painting things perfectly and making me feel and see what Dru does. The way she explains the skinchangers and the wulfen shifting between their forms- even the attributes of Christophe- all are unique and poignant.

I read this book in about 2 days, spending much of my free time reading or reading a few sentences in between doing other things. It kept me interested and wanting to read even though there were few huge, fast moving action points. There were a few, but they were staggered and interrupted with in story down time before picking back up but I still enjoyed the book. I got to know not just Dru better, but Graves and even some of the other wulfen too. This book has set a great stage for future books, pulling in many elements without tying them together. There are plenty of open ends and plenty of directions this series can go and I actually really like it.

This installment isn't as fast paced, but it is still gripping and intriguing. Dru is a character that many people can relate to- strong and smart but still weak and needy. She has her flaws, and wears them on her sleeve, while still trying to kick butt with a cocky sense of humor to boot. 5 stars for the great descriptions, the logical character development, and the very well done overall world and plot.