Review: The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: November 12, 2009
Pages: 248
Age Level: 16+/YA

Synopsis
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.

Review
The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove was an utterly suspenseful and dark story of fate that kept me turning the pages for more.

I'd like to start by saying that Natalie was far from being a likeable character and that if I had have liked her, then what would that say about me? However, I think this was kind of the point. I don't think the author ever intended her to be a character that the readers could love or relate to. She is automatically recognized as being manipulative, shallow, and remorseless. Yet somehow, there is a deeper side to her and at times, I could even begin to understand her. She is a girl scared of going back to the world she came from and will do what it takes to make sure that never happens. I could also tell that, in her own way, she did feel guilty for what she did. The inicident at the dance is just one example that proves that. Sometimes I had to look closer to see the guilt she felt but it was there. So did I like her? No, not really. Was she a memorable and well written character? Definitely! Natalie had to be who she was to make this story work. Simple as that.

As for the other characters, I thought Mike was extremely gullible and easily controlled, or atleast until the end. I actually found myself taking more of an interest in, and I know this is kind of wrong, Justin. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it was because he was everything Mike wasn't. The more minor charcters were exactly that, minor. I feel this actually worked and even though they were minor, they were fairly well developed. Especially Double D. She had slowly gone from being demure and looking up to Natalie to a straight up, pardon my French, bitch. I was like, dang girl, where'd that come from!

The basic premise for The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove is very intriguing and I couldn't help wondering if the story would live up to it. Turns out that the synopsis almost didn't even do the story justice. This book was fast-paced, riveting, and beautifully crafted. I admit, that at times I kept asking myself, why this? Why that? Thankfully, everything was answered in the end.

I came to find myself really enjoying Lauren Kate's writing style. It had a bit of elegance about it and was very refreshing. I also felt myself able to visualize everything very easily.

The ending was not at all what I expected and I confess to being utterly shocked by what happened. Furthermore, I actually really liked the ending, in a strange way. It was dark and twisted, exactly what I would have hoped for from this book.

All in all, The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove was a thrilling, complex, and memorable read. I have a feeling this book is probably a bit of an acquired taste, however I would still highly recommened it. Thank you to Razorbill for sending me this book for review, I'm so glad you did. I'll definitely be re-reading this one in the future.

Grade
Characters: B
Writing: B+
Plot: B+
Ending: A
Enjoyment: B+
Recommendable: B+
Cover: A+

Overall: B+

Happy Release Day The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove

and congrats Lauren Kate!