The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate
The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove
Lauren Kate
Release Date: November 12, 2009
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 248
Rating: 5 stars
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.
From the sysnopsis, The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove sounds like a simply fantastic read. And it was! I loved every moment of it! In the middle, there were a few moments that dragged just a bit. The plot was great – it was a semi-refreshing take on a high school story while being totally realistic to every aspect of what high school is really like. Lauren Kate’s writing was a joy to read. She had me hanging on her ever word. It’s a fast read with a gorgeous cover!
I loved the characters Lauren created. Elements of Natalie really reminded me of Ariana from Kate Brian’s Private. Natalie isn’t quite as twisted or extreme as Ariana, but the similarities to me are definately there. Ariana is one of my favorite characters ever, so for me to compare Natalie to her is big. Capturing that type of character in writing screams talent. Mike was a character I really liked in the beginning, but towards the end of the middle and in the end he fell a bit flat.
Lauren Kate also threw some twists in the plot to keep you guessing. The ending is a total shocker. The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove was a stunning debut! Lauren Kate’s definately an author to watch out for.
Interesting. I will have to add it to my list.
Isn't this the author of fallen? Though I did not like that book, your review has convinced to to give this one a shot…
-amy
Wow, sounds dark and scaryyy, this sounds like a Fallen book, like Amy said. The cover is really symbolic because it shows how Natalie has like, all the power. Great review.
Hi :)
Thank you for the excellent review.
I am going to add it to my ToBeRead list.
Thank you for sharing.
All the best,
RKCharron
:)
I read this one.
It was ok.
RA.