The Heart of Betrayal

By: Mary E. Pearson

Narrated by: Emily Rankin, Ann Marie Lee, Ryan Gesell, Kirby Heyborne, Kim Mai Guest

Publisher's Summary

Held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda, Lia and Rafe have little chance of escape...and even less of being together.

Desperate to save her life, Lia's erstwhile assassin, Kaden, has told the Vendan Komisar that she has a magical gift, and the Komisar's interest in Lia is greater than either Kaden or Lia foresaw.

Meanwhile the foundations of Lia's deeply held beliefs are crumbling beneath her. Nothing is straightforward: There's Rafe, who lied to her but has sacrificed his freedom to protect her; Kaden, who meant to assassinate her but has now saved her life; and the Vendans, whom she always believed to be barbarians but whom she now realizes are people who have been terribly brutalized by the kingdoms of Dalbreck and Morrighan. Wrestling with her upbringing, her gift, and her very sense of self, Lia will have to make powerful choices that affect her country, her people...and her own destiny.

Read by Emily Rankin, with Ryan Gesell, Kirby Heyborne, Kim Mai Guest, and Ann Marie Lee.

©2015 Listening Library (P)2015 Mary E. Pearson

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5 out of 5 stars
By Sweet T on 07-29-15

Great story, can't wait for book 3!

Ive loved this series! It has a great storyline, with a love triangle but different from the usual love triangle scenarios that are easy to predict. It's very well written by the author. I thought the 2nd book kept my interest just as much as the first book, although it did tend to run a little long in some areas, but still held my attention that I didn't want to put it down.
For the most part the performances by the narrators were good, although I was not crazy about the voice of Cayden. Thought he was a little bit robotic and creepy sounding.... Great series though and can't wait for book 3

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6 people found this helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By Rebecca Jackson on 07-08-15

New favorite book and narration

Wonderful. The story itself and the narration. Even better than the first in the series.

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4 people found this helpful

3 out of 5 stars
By LindsayRoseEliz on 10-08-15

Okay

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I wouldn't stop anyone from reading/listening to it--but I also wouldn't heartily recommend it. I think it might have been better read than as an audiobook, as sometimes I got confused by the gaps in changing POVs and where we were in the timeline of events.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

I liked the person who played Rafe--the voice matched the character.

Any additional comments?

I was slightly disappointed with this. I bought it as a road trip listen, and it took me months to finish it because I just couldn't get into it until midway through. I don't think the character development was totally there, or at least it wasn't consistent with the characters as I recall them from the first book, and that comes across more when you hear it aloud than when you read it.

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3 people found this helpful

3 out of 5 stars
By Kindle Customer on 08-24-15

just ok

first off audible did not list this as a second book in series. I was having a hard time following it. I was thinking man this reads as a second book not a first. I can't figure who these characters are. so I googled the book and author. and yep it was a second in series. but other that that it was OK. I just wished the princess was tougher. it kind of drug a bit.

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2 people found this helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By Trista H on 07-15-15

I love all the characters even more in the second book.

This book made me love all the characters in their own special way! I can't decide who I want Leah to end up with. Raff and Kaden are both so sweet to her, but very different. Book 3 can't come fast enough!

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2 people found this helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By C. Y. on 02-23-19

Enjoyable

This is the second time I have listened to this book and I still enjoyed it as much as I did the first time. The people who narrated it did such a great job with their parts. I love it when a book uses different voice actors for the characters because it gives them more personality.

I love the fact that the heroine is a strong, reliable woman who doesn’t need a man to complete her or save her, but still allows them to help her.

Of course, with a lot of the young adult novels there is a love triangle, but it is so hard to root for just one of the characters because they’re both enduring in their own way.

I do you have my favorite which I won’t say here because I want you to enjoy the book on your own.

This will probably go down as one of my favorite series of books. I love the plot twists and I look forward to reading more of the author’s works in the future.

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1 person found this helpful

4 out of 5 stars
By Nicole Hoefs on 11-29-18

4 Stars - Good Overall

This was good, but I found it a little lacking compared to the first book. I'm giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

After the overly descriptive beginning of the last book, I absolutely loved the rest. But this one felt really slow to me for the most part; I get that the author had to set the stage (so to speak) for the rest of the story, but I kept waiting for something exciting to happen. There was just too much setup and talking going on.

Those last several chapters were so good though! I cried a little while reading certain passages, and I was even waiting impatiently to see what would happen when it got more intense/interesting.

I still like Lia a lot. I love Rafe, and I like Kaden a lot too. We don't see as much of Kaden's companions in this book, but we do see them every once in a while. I loved the introduction of new characters like Aster, and Calantha. Overall, it was a good book; I guess I was just expecting it to be more exciting given the summary.

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1 person found this helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By Louise Montgomery on 05-22-20

As good as any Sarah J Maas series!!!!

More more more!!!!! What an epic adventure! Strong characters and a fantastic story! I can’t wait to read more! My new favourite author!

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2 out of 5 stars
By HappyCow on 04-29-20

Pre-emptive Review

I'm on Chapter 20, not even half way through and already I feel the need to review. Though the story starts where the last book left off, the pace and energy of the moment comes to an abrupt halt. There is nothing smooth about the world building in this installment. The story has seemed to pause all progression to give endless chapters of history, philosophical statements, and tales of ancient legends that me, as a reader, won't remember two minutes later. Why the author felt the need to drone on for several chapters with mountains of information all at once, I will never understand. It's an obvious plot device, so once everything is revealed, it's no surprise. This book couldn't be more obvious. And why, oh why, is there so much focus on the language? Someone speaks a language, then it gets translated, then there's a paragraph or two analysis about it what was said. Then someone replies, Rinse, repeat. There are pages upon pages of dialogue like this and it gets tiring. Getting through the rest of this story is going to be a struggle without skipping sections.

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5 out of 5 stars
By Rachel Blaylock on 08-27-19

Loved it!

I think it is the best book in the series. I love to whole series! Couldn’t put it down.

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5 out of 5 stars
By F on 09-01-17

fantastic

I was hooked to the very last word, already downloading book 3 as I type

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1 person found this helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By Lyndsey on 08-29-16

Richly detailed fantasy adventure

I loved this sequel to Kiss of Deception, the different cultures that we are introduced to are so beautifully described and well thought out. This series is quickly becoming one of my favourites, I can't wait to read Beauty of Darkness and see how it ends!

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1 person found this helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By Rachel on 03-29-16

Gripping and beautiful

Wonderfully narrated! An amazing second book to the series. It will have you falling in love with Kaden while understanding and appreciating Lia and Rafe even more.

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1 person found this helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By caroline on 10-05-15

Juicy !

Love the ending ! Roll on next year ! Can't wait for the next instalment ! Great narrating ! Well done all involved ?

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1 person found this helpful