Betrayals by Lili St. Crow

 

Having just finished reading & writing a great review for Strange Angels (Strange Angels, Book 1), is it any wonder I'm back just a few days later to review Betrayals (Strange Angels, Book 2)?  And, is anyone even remotely surprised that I liked this one too?

Betrayals (Strange Angels, Book 2) finds Dru and Graves at a Schola, run by the Order and filled with djamphir and wulfen boys.  Graves seems to be fitting in nicely, being a loup garou has it's privileges, obviously, and Graves is being treated like a prince among the wulfen.  Dru, however, is miserable.  She is extremely isolated, being placed in classes meant for someone much younger & less experienced than she and no one will train with her.  Something is definitely off here and she can't understand why Christoph would place her here without any contact or explanation.

Not knowing who to trust, outside of Graves, Dru's life becomes a web of secrets.  Cryptic messages, secret visits and conflicting information serve to make Dru's time at the Schola a nightmare.  Despite being told that her kind are a treasure, Dru feels more like a prisoner.  As she begins to befriend some of her fellow students, she also begins to unravel some of the secrets surrounding her presence at this particular Schola.  As she begins to get a grip on things, though, more chaos is thrown into the mix and her life is turned upside down once again.

Betrayals (Strange Angels, Book 2) finds Dru really coming into her own as a woman.  Although she is lonely and grieving for her lost family, she is beginning to realize that she needs to take charge of her situation and use her assets and training to protect herself.  Her relationships are changing and she is slowly beginning to make friends.  She also is learning to trust her instincts with regard to those around her and who might be the traitor that wants her dead.  Graves is also changing.  He's an Alpha, a dominant, and quickly finds himself at the top of the hierarchy of the schools' wulfen.  He's becoming physically stronger & much more confident as well, none of which goes unnoticed by Dru.  He uses his position with the wulfen to both protect Dru and help her to understand what's going on around them.  His loyalty to her is unquestionable.  Christoph comes in and out of Dru's life at the Schola, moving completely undercover.  His cryptic visits and even more cryptic messages leave Dru confused, but she still trusts and believes in him.  With all that is going on around her, Dru needs all the help she can get.

As a second novel, this is a wonderful addition to the series.  It is action packed and full of intrigue.  New characters are introduced and it's difficult to tell where they fall in the spectrum of Dru's life.  One thing is certain though, someone is desperate for Dru's life to be ended.  And while the book ends with Dru and her friends in another supposedly safe place, I don't think it will remain that way for long.  I'll be starting Jealousy (Strange Angels, Book 3) very soon.