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Book Review – Betrayed by Christina Phillips

Betrayed
Betrayed by Christina Phillips

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Nimue is a Celtic druid, fighting against the Roman invasion of Briton. After a disastrous battle, Nimue must find the King Caratacus’ wife and daughter, and guide them North to safety and to rejoin the fleeing King’s forces.

Tacitus is a Roman Tribune, serving his country in the conquering and civilising of Briton from the savage Celts which dwell in it. In the aftermath of the battle, he’s out searching for stragglers, when he comes across Nimue filling a water-skin by a stream.

Tacitus and Nimue have an instant forbidden attraction for each other and when Tacitus finds himself her owner, he can’t resist sleeping with Nimue despite his distaste of slavery. Meanwhile, Nimue doesn’t realise she’s a slave and tells herself she’s lulling Tacitus into a false sense of security in order to facilitate her escape, despite lusting after him. As love battles duty, Both Tacitus and Nimue must fight their mutual attraction and remain focussed on their responsibilities, even if it means betraying each other.

I’m not a fan of this book.

I found the plot very weak to non existent, the sex a bit boring, and the setting itself just a painted backdrop to the romance between the two characters, rather than being a key part of the story. There wasn’t really much world building, and I was regularly bored throughout the book.

I’m aware the book contains strong interplay of love vs duty, the challenges of romance between two people from very different backgrounds and status levels, and the implications of their impending betrayal, but none of these worked for me. I suspect this was due to my preference for plot driven stories, and an inability to really bond with the characters. I may well have missed other key character driven aspects as I skimmed the book to get it over and done with.

If you’re a romance fan who enjoys character driven stories in a historical backdrop, then you may enjoy this. If you’re looking for more plot or world building, or aren’t a romance fan, then I’d definitely give this one a skip.

I suspect it comes down to personal tastes more than anything else, but I really didn’t like this book.

prk.

Disclaimer: Whilst I read this as a judge for the 2013 Aurealis Awards, this review is my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging co-ordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.

View all my reviews

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