Customer Reviews

Betrayed

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What if a curse, by a slighted woman, affected someone's life over a thousand years? This story explores how the lives of a particular woman, who is reborn each century, are entwined with that of a man who has been cursed and is now a statue. Each lifetime Kalyss slowly begins to 'remember' about her history, her former life with Dreux, the man she married and spent one night with before the curse caught up with him. And each lifetime Dreux's half brother Kai has to kill Kalyss to prevent her from rescuing Dreux from his stony state, the man that Kai believes is a murderer. Kalyss has the help of Geoffrey, the man who originally betrayed Dreux to Kai and who has been trying to make up for it for almost a thousand lifetimes.

The story is told with various flashbacks, mostly to the time that Kalyss (then called Kynedrithe) and Dreux first met, but also to other times when Kalyss was killed by Kai. The main part of the story is set in 2004 where Kalyss is recovering from an abusive marriage and has learned self-defence and become a stronger person than in her previous nine lives. However, in order to gather that strength she has sworn off romantic love, instead feeling a strong brotherly bond with her friend Alex. When her memories of Dreux start to reappear, as they do at some point each lifetime, she has a chance to deal differently with the situation because of her changed nature. However this time Geoffrey has set things in motion so that Dreux is rescued from his statue state and is a living, breathing man again. Dreux and Kalyss have to try to rescue Alex and Geoffrey who are kidnapped by Kai but also to learn about each other and to understand how they are both different from the couple that married almost a thousand years before.

The story is rather patchy with some really good parts but other parts that dragged, particularly the beginning. The writing style was good, the characterisation believable (although Dreux was possibly a bit too good to be true) and the setting well described. The flashbacks worked quite well and enabled the author to gradually reveal parts of the plot to the reader as the story progressed. There were some additional characters, including some angels, which were perhaps a bit overcomplicated but overall the story was well told. It's certainly an original idea for a book although I sometimes felt the attempted marriage of reincarnation, the Christian God, angels, curses and undying people didn't quite all fit together.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book, www.curledup.com. © Helen Hancox 2008

For hundreds of years, they have repeated the same pattern. Kalyss is reborn and, aided by the trusty Geoffrey, attempts to restore her lost love to life.

Trapped in stone, Dreux has watched, helpless, as the love of his life is murdered again and again.

But this time the cycle has changed, and the differences may mean success for our heroic couple. It must, else all they've fought for is lost forever.

Newcomer Jamie Leigh Hansen tackles a complex and intriguing story in her first published novel, Betrayed, proving she has the mettle for a career in the writing arena. Ably crafting a fascinating tale that spanning a full millennium, the author never loses the reader, even with numerous flashbacks interjected throughout the story. Indeed, the way these flashbacks are strategically placed keeps the suspense high as the story unfolds.

In Kalyss, Ms. Hansen creates a heroine who is powerful in her own right, both of spirit and body. Although she certainly has help from her companions and hero at times, Kalyss is fully capable of defending herself and is never hesitant to come to the aid of another. She is truly a woman to be admired, and it is no wonder that our hero falls passionately in love with her.

Dreux is the stuff dreams are made of - a hero who is more than willing to protect those he loves, but is quick to recognize when his heroine needs to do for herself. His unending patience and consideration for Kalyss will melt the readers' hearts, if his absolute hunkiness doesn't get them first!

Jamie Leigh Hansen should be proud of her first book. Betrayed is a story of love, forgiveness, and loyalty that will be certain to have her readers eagerly awaiting her next release!

Wow! I initially picked up the book because of Christine Feehan's endorsement on the cover and then read the back and thought I would give it a try. Boy am I glad that I did. The book is very creative and wonderful. It is a book that you can't put down and you get lost in it (in a good way). I am glad to read in another review that a sequel is coming next and hope she continues to write the same. I am interested in how the light and the dark angels will "continue" to overcome the bad angel that is now awake.

Please keep it up. I loved the whole story-line, very original. Thanks!

Dreux has been locked in stone for nine out of ten lives. Each life has ended in a horrible death. He remembers every one of his beloved Kalyss' lives and every one of her deaths. He has one chance left to find eternity in the arms of his love.

Kalyss has been reincarnated nine times. In each reincarnation she has seen her love die. In each reincarnation she also has to remember and relive the past in order to use this knowledge to grow stronger and hopefully complete the cycle. However, this life has not been good to her. Is she strong enough to move forward? To break the spell of betrayal? Or will she end up spending eternity alone, without her beloved Dreux?

Betrayed is a haunting tale of forever love. With each life Kalyss has more pain to sort through in order to move forward. Whereas, Dreux has not forgotten a single moment of their pain. I loved this book from beginning to end. Even with the sorrow of the past and the present, Kalyss and Dreux are strong creatures that fight for what everyone should have - a love that can last for lifetimes. Betrayed is a book that ends up with a permanent spot on the reread shelf in every lifetime.

Emma

Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

This novel is definitely a cut above most romances and certainly stands out among paranormal stories because of the depth of character development and the passion the hero and heroine have for one another as they fight the evil that threatens them. The word 'riveting' is used a lot but in this case it really applies-- it will be hard to tear yourself away from Dreux and Kalyss. There is a depth and truth here, a truth of the human heart and a moral center that is compelling as we come to understand the conflict between the angels and demons and wonder how good can prevail. There are few love stories that are as emotionally involving, thought-provoking and beautifully written as Betrayed. In this case, the stellar endorsements are well deserved. This is a world you will want to return to when the last page is read.

I didn't care for the flashbacks--it interferred with the flow of the story. I think I would have enjoyed this if the author has started the story at the beginning instead of constantly going into the past.

Half way through I decided to stop reading and sell it at my local 1/2 price book story....I won't bother reading another from this author.

A "thousand years and a thousand lives and more" to "have those you love turn from you and die, trapping you alone and cold...", so begins the medieval curse triggered by love and betrayal that leaves Dreux transformed into a statue and binds the fate of Kalyss, Geoffrey and Kai to Dreux's until Dreux is killed or the curse is broken. Each of these characters has a significant role to play in the drama which spans centuries as all the members of the group strive for their own desired resolution to curse. Betrayed is billed as a paranormal romance but is not so simply categorized. Betrayed is compelling and emotionally complex, a character driven story of betrayal, resurrection, reincarnation and destined love. The cast:

Dreux is the cursed hero, a warrior and conqueror, who discovers the beginnings of love with Kalyss on their wedding night, only to lose it the morning after, as the curse takes hold and he is locked in stone, condemned to centuries of remembering the one perfect night that held so much promise for the fulfillment of his most cherished hope for a future of love and family. Geoffrey is the betrayer, laying the foundation that triggers curse and Druex's transformation when he inadvertently leads Kalyss to her first death by Kai's hand, dies himself yet gains the power of ressurrection as he is caught in the curse. Since then Geoffrey has spent endless years of penance trying to break the circle of Kalyss' death and rebirth and restore to Dreux and Kalyss the stolen love that is their destiny. Kai's the catalyst for the curse, manipulating Geoffrey with tales of Dreux's hidden evil nature. Kai kills Kalyss again and again and again out of a psychotic kindness to keep her from freeing Dreux, truly believing somehow that he is saving her from a worse fate than would come at the hand of the half-brother he believes brutally assaulted and killed Kai's own mother and seven other women. And finally Kalyss, originally an innocent, is trapped in the cycle of reincarnation and death brought about by the curse, seemingly destined to always remember the love she's lost and only to lose it again just as it is within her grasp. No longer a weak victim-to-be this cycle, she has gained strength through survival of abuse, pain and tragic loss and she has been tempered by the fire of rage, a phoenix risen from the ashes. Kalyss comes to the final confrontation as a warrior, with her body and her talent of touching people or objects and 'reliving' their pasts honed, at last prepared for the battle to win the love she has been promised for almost a millennium.

Betrayed captured me from the first chapters, by the time I reached the middle I was so in love with the book that I was worried that this new author wouldn't be able to carry the emotion and the pacing to the end. Except for one tiny hitch, an out of place image due to the unfortunate combination of words during a love scene, I was relieved to find that wasn't the case. Hansen sustained the emotion by the clever use of dream sequences and `flashbacks' supplied by Kalyss' talent, making us privy to intimate views of crucial happenings. I am not generally a fan of dream sequences/flashbacks but here they were used to great effect weaving past and present together so deftly, that these glimpses of the past accentuated elements of the storyline in the present without interrupting action. They also added much insight into the characters allowing us to witness the feelings which drive them and presenting us with a depth of emotional development that wouldn't been possible otherwise. Our introduction to Druex was just one example how effectively this was used. We experienced Kalyss' thoughts and emotions as she`dreams' memories of her wedding night. We get to know both Druex and Kalyss as she faces the initially fearsome stranger that is now her husband. As we watch Dreux carefully draw out the timid Kalyss with patience and gaining her trust by making himself vulnerable to her, we get a real sense of who he is and how much he values love and family. And with Kalyss as we see her bloom under Dreux's careful handling to discover her own hidden courage and passion and witness the birth of the women who will risk her life again and again for love. The rest of the story and the climax of the book were equally well executed and drawn out to a satisfying conclusion employing the talents of all the combatants.

Betrayed was masterfully executed, an amazing debut effort which puts Jamie Leigh Hansen on my must buy list. So a solid five stars from me on my 100th review, Hansen has left me greedily wishing for more. Fortunately it looks like my wish will be granted the sequel, Cursed, is already in the works. Even though I can't imagine where that story will go from here, I can't wait to see whether Kai with all his evil machinations can be redeemed, and whether Geoffrey and Alex can finally find the love and happiness they deserve.

A relative newcomer to the paranormal romance arena, Jamie Leigh Hansen definitely has the talent of an author for your keeper shelf. Her abilities with character development, complexity in plot and pacing stand out from the pack. Kalyss, the heroine of this novel, her debut and the first in her series, struggles with the idea of loving again after an abusive relationship with her ex, Sam, on top of fighting an evil she barely understands.

And, if that isn't enough, she then meets Dreux, a relative stranger in the present but her husband and love of 1,000 years ago. Kalyss slowly learns/remembers this past through her gift of visions. A strong alpha male, he exhibits the understanding, patience and sensitivity we'd all like to see in more men.

Hansen has a keen sense for descriptions and realistic dialogue. She moves easily between the past and present and her scenes ring true in both environments. The gripping narrative tugs you in from the firs page and will send you hunting for the sequel, Cursed (already available), as soon as you've turned the last.

This novel has passion, betrayal, wit and fear, and each emotion so well done that the reader feels them along with the characters. While the overall theme pits good against evil in the hopes that good will prevail, Hansen's book has a unique twist with her characters stuck on a karmic wheel as they try once again to right an ancient wrong. I highly recommend this book to any lover of paranormal romance and look forward to reading the sequel myself.

I was so impressed by this book. The characters are so wonderful. Especially Kalyss. Her journey from a terrified virgin bride to a fearless modern warrior takes a thousand years. It takes a few deaths and reincarnations before she gets it right, but in the end, she is pissed! And rightfully so! The fate have been playing with her through 9 lifetimes, and she isn't going to take it any more. And Dreux evolves in the opposite direction. He starts out a warrior, and turns into a different kind of champion, giving Kayliss all the support she needs to become the kind of woman she must be to break the curse.

The plot is intricately woven, mysterious yet believable. Some scenes are touchingly tender, and others are horrible in their brutal detail. It all comes together to make a beautiful story.

Highly recommended! One of the best books I've read lately.

I picked up this book at a local library. Almost didn't read it though because the cover made it look like one of those run-of-the-mill romances. The positive reviews here made me give it a try, and it indeed was a well-written story with engaging characters. I hope the author will be able to exercise more control over the cover choices in her next books.