Betrayed: Ruby’s Story by Kaylin Lee
Fantasy. 286 Pages. 5 Stars
Synopsis:
A lonely girl. A dangerous Wolf. A plan that will either save them or break them.
Ruby Contos is the best young journalist in her city. She has interviewed hostile criminals and a former assassin without flinching. Just don’t ask her to stand up to her grandmother, the blunt newspaper editor who rules her life with an iron fist.
When Ruby gets a job offer from a famous art studio, she sees a way out of the professional journalism that is slowly crushing her spirit. She’s close—there’s just one story left to write before she can leave.
All she must do is trust a Wolf who refuses to trust her, journey across a wasteland, survive in a city run by criminals, and confront the continent’s most terrifying enemy.
As things go from bad to worse, Ruby must face the question she’s always been afraid to ask—how much is her life really worth?
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Betrayed: Ruby’s Story is a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood set in a magical world and filled with hope and sweet romance. It’s Book 4 in the Destined series, a collection of overlapping fairy tale retellings all set in the same world. Each story is self-contained, with its own protagonist and satisfying happily-ever-after, but they also tell an overarching story. Read them in order:
Torn: Novelette Prequel to Cinderella (get it free on Instafreebie – http://smarturl.it/torn-freebie )
Book 1 – Fated: Cinderella’s Story
Book 2 – Hidden: Rapunzel’s Story
Book 3 – Twisted: Belle’s Story
Book 4 – Betrayed: Ruby’s Story
My Review:
This is the fifth book in the Destined series, a Red Riding Hood inspired story. I very much enjoyed this contribution to the series, even more than the previous few I think. I enjoyed the cohesiveness of this one, how things tied in, but the story didn’t feel interrupted or oddly paced as some of the others have. From top to bottom, this book stood on its own, though the returning characters were a lot of fun.
The story itself was well-paced and covered an array of places. I kind of liked how each section of the story was chunked off in a different setting. All of it felt authentic, and the changes were refreshing. I wouldn’t call this a page turner, but the further I read, the deeper I fell. By midpoint I was definitely trying to solve puzzles and wondering what the deeper plot was. I enjoyed the reveal, the villain is still a bit of mystery, but also developed as a whole for the series. Some serious stuff got revealed, y’all! I think this book has also done an excellent job of leading up to the next one in the series and creating anticipation. (Good thing it comes out tomorrow!) Red Riding Hood isn’t at the top of my fairytale list, but this was a fun twist on the tale and one that I must say I thoroughly enjoyed. The nods to the tale were creative and subtle, clever, I thought.
The various settings were well done, unique and distinct. The world felt much more developed and filled out in this book. We dug deeper into cultures, histories, magic, etc. In fact, I really liked the whole university and professor bit about this one. The clans fascinate me. I liked seeing the world operate through that dynamic, and was a little sad at the end for, well, reasons. XD But the clans are unique and well done. I think I might have liked a little more of the dynamics between the clans themselves, but there were plenty of tense moments to relish, too.
Ruby was a great character on many levels, but her castmates really shone in their own right I think. Ruby was authentic and relatable. Her doubts and insecurities were very well done! I never felt overwhelmed or bogged down by them. The story wasn’t overpowered by her flaws, but they popped up at the right time and drove the story on; they drove her on. Lucien was so much fun! I’m a bit of a sucker for the tall, dark, and mysterious. He had so many sides and layers to him, but his true self was the most beautiful of all. I liked how even though he was multi-faceted, every side fit him and built into who he was. I can’t rightly remember her name at the moment (Celine?), but Lucien’s cousin was awesome. I really hope we get to see more of her. She felt like another deep, layered character I’d love to get to know more about. Of course, I loved Astrid and Auntie and the crew at the inn. And, sidenote, but so glad Zel is so central! I love her!!
Content: there is no swearing, no explicit scenes, and very mild violence. There are some themes of self-worth and doubt, betrayal, duty vs desire, and drug use (nothing is shown graphically, but there are characters who die and suffer due to the spreading epidemic of the drug). The romance is sweet, but realistic, and never goes beyond a long-awaited kiss. I’d feel perfectly comfortable sharing this one with a pre-teen or perhaps younger if they were interested (and if the drug-use was addressed).
All in all, an excellent addition to the series that I rather enjoyed more than I thought I would. I did receive a free ARC from the author, but unfortunately between life and losing it somewhere on my kindle for nearly a year (I’m so sorry!!!), it took me this long to get to it. Either way, these are clearly my own opinions. 🙂 On to book 5!
More:
Prequel Novelette: Torn (4 Stars)
Book 1 in the Destined series is Fated: Cinderella’s Story (5 Stars)
Book 2 is Hidden: Rapunzel’s Story (4 Stars)
Book 3 is Twisted: Belle’s Story (4 Stars)
Book 5 is Hunted: Alba’s Story (5 Stars)
Book 6 is Cursed: Briar Rose’s Story (Being written)
I have rated and reviewed each of the above on Goodreads. Follow the links to find more info on the books and then scroll down to see the reviews. Mine is among them.
This series should be read in order.
On Gracebought
If you missed it, check out my review of the previous books here! And stay tuned next week for my thoughts on the next book in the series.
Fated: Cinderella’s Story, Hidden: Rapunzel’s Story, and Twisted: Belle’s Story