The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove

Review Time! The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove is written by Lauren Kate who also wrote the Fallen Trilogy ( Fallen, Torment & Passion). I didn't like Fallen but I loved Torment so I guess you can say Lauren and I have a love-hate relationship :P I wasn't entirely convinced I wanted to read this until I saw the new cover....

(Goodreads) A steamy Southern beauty makes one fatal mistake.
Natalie Hargrove would kill to be her high school’s Palmetto Princess. But her boyfriend Mike King doesn’t share her dream and risks losing the honor of Palmetto Prince to Natalie’s nemesis, Justin Balmer. So she convinces Mike to help play a prank on Justin. . . one that goes terribly wrong. They tie him to the front of the church after a party—when they arrive the next morning, Justin is dead.

From blackmail to buried desire, dark secrets to darker deeds, Natalie unravels. She never should’ve messed with fate. Fate is the one thing more twisted than Natalie Hargrove.

Cruel Intentions meets Macbeth in this seductive, riveting tale of conscience and consequence.

The Short Story ? - Whoever, blurbed this book hit the jackpot! Cruel Intentions meets Macbeth? Amen! I going to tell you straight up that - I LOVED this book! The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove is one of the best dark YA fictions I have read! Dark, twisted and addictive, you should read this ;)

The Long Story ? - The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove is one of those books that tip the balance one way or the other. It simply doesn't sit in the middle, you either hate or you love it. It all depends on whether you are a fan of extreme 'highschool' fiction. If you love the cheerleaders, the prom, cheating boyfriends and dirty secrets, you're going to love this book. If you're not so much of a fan? Give it a try, I thought it was fantastic!

I personally love reading typical "highschool" fiction, I love the whole shebang, from cheating boyfriends to cheerleaders to prom! I love the social ladder, I love the cliques and I love the whole rich kids cliche :) When I read the blurb of The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove, I was hooked. The only thing better than poor little rich girl ??? Poor little rich girls who would kill to get what they want ;)

However, something else that held my appeal for the book is the meaning behind it. It's hard to explain but it's satisfying to read books with morals behind it. I can't work out exactly what the moral behind this is ( careful what you wish for? think before you act?) but it's a typical Shakespeare tragedy. In a way this is the first time I have come to appreciate tragedies, I never really quite understood the whole buzz with Macbeth but after reading this...I feel like we've finally connected.

The plot of this book is clever, dark and completely realistic. You may think the death of J.B. may have been a little far- fetched but I would think differently. A stupid prank gone wrong after a couple of drinks? Typical teenager behavior. The whole book was cleverly written, something that started simply as a desperate need to become high school loyalty turned out to be something darker and much more serious.

The characterisation may have been a little cliched. Good-looking, rich, selfish teenagers? Cliched YA fiction but each character had a very interesting personality. I particularly liked how Lauren portrayed Natalie, confident and powerful on the outside but fighting a losing battle against her past on the inside.

However, more than anything, I loved the ending. I have read review where people have said they hated the ending but I loved it! It's how the cookie should crumble! The fall after the sweet revenge, it was deliciously dark and it suited the theme of this book. I give extra credit for the clever idea of writing the epilogue in third person, I found that I found the book most enjoyable in the last few chapters and the epilogue was just the finishing touch, it was like trying the knots at the end of each unanswered question.

Overall, The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove is a great book that I think everyone should read. Filled with sweet revenge, a dark seductive plot, beautiful writing and a great characterisation. It's the perfect book to read on a long night in. It's dark, it's twisted but it's addictive! Rating 4/5

PS - I love the new cover, it follows the same "theme" as the covers of the Fallen Series, the gorgeous dresses, the same font and everything!

Badass Bookie xx