Betrayal of the Court

The Other Realm, Book 6

By: Heather G. Harris

Narrated by: Alyse Gibbs

Length: 7 hrs

Publisher's summary

Death. Theft. Marriage. It’s an average day in the Other Realm.

Someone keeps bludgeoning people in the Other realm to death. A couple of the murders were virtually in our back garden, so Emory has asked me to try and find the culprit. I’d feel better if I didn’t have Shirdal along with me, cracking jokes and on the verge of a deadly killing spree of his own. Plus, there’s the small matter of the missing multimillion-pound Eye of Ebrell that I still need to locate.

Having overcome the damned challenges, you’d think I’d be welcomed by the dragons with open arms–but no...the court is still full of intrigue and hostility. A few weeks ago we flew to Lucy’s rescue and made some questionable decisions. Now it’s time for the consequences. The Elders are visiting Emory’s court and they’re here to decide Emory’s fate–and by extension, mine.

At this rate, I’m not sure we’ll survive long enough to get our big white wedding. Damn it, I was really looking forward to the cake.

Burn through this fun, fast-paced, laugh-out-loud mix of urban fantasy and mystery.

Fans of Kim Richardson, Annette Marie, and Helen Harper will binge through this addictive new series.

Written in British English. For the maximal listener experience, it is recommended that you listen to the Other Wolf series before you listen to Betrayal of the Court, though the events in the Other Wolf series are explained if you prefer to dive right in.

©2023 Heather G Harris (P)2023 Heather G Harris

Consequences be damned

Listening to this book hurt. It’s so good, and the narrator does a great job, but the whole time I knew how it would end, and it hurt. We all knew. It was inevitable. And yet the ride was so well done that I can’t wait for the next book.

More amazing adventures with Jinx & Emory

4.75 Stars

Overall Rating ★★★★★
Plot ★★★★★
Humor ★★★★
Characters & Character Development ★★★★
Narration ★★★★★

So many things happened in this book. This was a difficult time for Jinx and Emory. There were new betrayals that I was not expecting. And that was hard to deal with. There were people who were once trusted and are not now. Who can they trust going forward? It’s hard to tell. Nevertheless, I was hooked throughout this entire book.

Jinx and Emory face new threats....

Betrayal of the Court picks up from the events of book 1 in the series, and finds Jinx facing a multitude of different things coming at her from all different directions as she is trying to prepare for her wedding.
At the start of the book, Jinx is at a murder scene in the quiet town of Portmeirion where 2 Satyr have been bludgeoned to death. A third Satyr has escaped death, and is a sort of witness to the murders, although he didn’t actually see who killed them. The two Satyr’s who have died however, seem to have a pretty sordid past, (I should add for anyone that has triggers with Sexual Assault – just be careful, there is nothing graphic, but read with care), and Jinx seems to understand why they have ended up as they have, but still needs to work out who did it.
At the same time, the Eye of Ebrel has been stolen from the Dragonhoard, a multi-million-dollar gem that has significant relevance to the Dragons as it is tied to different prophecies about their future wellbeing.
And whilst Jinx has passed the Challenges and been accepted as the potential Prima of the Dragon Elite, Emory’s decision to aid Lucy in her recent conflict, and the subsequent outcome that saw the Gargoyle’s being turned into Brethren has to be judged by the Dragon Court. If this is not enough, the Anti-Crea movement continues to become more active, with Jinx being one of their main targets.
Even with Shirdal at her side, Jinx suddenly finds that things are becoming quite uncomfortable in the Other Realm, as there seems to be enemies on all sides. But when she discovers that a good portion of this could be due to a Demon’s influence, the hunt begins to find the Demon before it is too late.
Betrayal of the Court is a little darker than the previous incarnations of the Other Realm, as we see the Anti-Crea movement really starting to put a lot more pressure on Emory and the Creatures, and this is having significant blow back on Jinx. In this book, there are a lot of different story-lines all converging towards a thrilling end to the 6th book in the Other Realm series, as Jinx and Emory try desperately to hold everything together, including the role of Prime Elite.
The Other Realm Series has always been a standout in the Urban Fantasy Genre, with its unique main character who is not just the standard magic using P.I., but she has an intelligence, and wit (sarcastic wit!) to her that makes this story hilarious, during what are some incredibly tense or even tragic moments, taking the edge off of things, and making it a really fun read, whilst at the same time, keeping it at an adult level. Harris does a marvelous job of hinting at sexual relationships between the characters, without boring us with pages of graphic detail, (again, just some wicked humour that leaves you laughing out loud at the most inappropriate times, especially if you are listening to the audiobook!). The magic and combat sequences are beautifully detailed to provide some riveting scenes that leave you with no doubt what has happened, fully immersing you in the story, and her world-building is outstanding, from the generic world, to the stunning vistas of the Other World.
Harris has created this magical place that is both unique, but, at the same time, pulls on all of the elements we know from the fantasy genre so we can still indulge that core love of fantasy.
However, the best aspect of her work is her Character writing, with these gritty, intriguing people who are so incredibly realistic, with attributes and personalities you can see in people from real life (even if they are magical beings!) It makes the story that much more believable and so much more fun.
And that is what this is all about, exceptional story-telling for escapism with outstanding characters and some stunning world-building. This is another episode in a story not to be missed, as Jinx and Emory have to face a whole slew of new challenges before they can have their wedding.
Alyse Gibbs has the voice of an angel, and is easily one of the most delightful female narrators to listen to. I could happily listen to her non-stop. She has a very clear and concise voice, and does a wonderful job with creating both male and female voices, especially the voice of the main character Jinx. She does a great range of voices to, so that you can clearly tell who is speaking, with distinct male and female characters.
On top of this, she not only narrates, but does a wonderful job of voice acting, adding emotion to each of her characters, bringing them to life, so we know how they are feeling as she tells the story, be it happy, sad, angry, elated, or a good dose of sarcasm from Jinx.
Alyse Gibbs is brilliant and adds something special to these stories, and it is absolutely worth listening to them rather than just reading them, as she really brings Heathers characters to life with that beautiful voice of hers.

No good deed goes unpunished…

Poor Emory! No spoilers here but I will say Emory got the wrong end of the deal in this book! Even though it made me mad I laughed the whole way through this book! More new characters introduced and are such a hoot!