Betrayal, by Fiona McIntosh

2006, Orbit

521 pages

Fantasy

Betrayal is book one of the Trinity trilogy. It tells the story of Tor, who has some magical powers, and the woman he loves, Alyssa. The two are separated from each other to take on a journey, one which will let them cross paths, but won't necessarily let them be together again. All is not it seems. People who seem gentle and kind hide great secrets.

This held a lot of appeal to me: a typical fantasy book, with good and evil constantly battling against each other. Both the hero and heroine have protectors, who are a crucial part of the story. There's magic not just in the power the characters control, but also in nature (I'll never look at a forest in the same way again).

I loved Alyssa, whose story was told alongside Tor's. She gains strength as the story unravels, learning how to use her power. There were countless moments where I held my breath to her fate, or cried for the injuries inflicted on her. For, unfortunately, this book contains a lot of content.

There's a rape scene, coarse language, adult situations.

There is the usual fighting, and journeying. I cheered when the main antagonist got injured. I had tears in my eyes in many places. I even enjoyed All, yes All of Tor's tale. Which is pretty unusual since I prefer female protagonists. The story was written in such a way that none of it was dull, all the rich details painting the world had me happily reading along.

I'll be reading the rest of this trilogy at some point, although due to content I won't be reading it again :)

Paperclip rating: 4

Dagger rating: 1-2

TGB: 1 (I think)

Tissue rating: 3

Overall rating: 4