The Betrayal

Zack and Matt are brothers, abandoned by their parents at a very young age. Matt possesses supernatural powers, the breadth of which he isn't even sure of yet, and it is up to his older brother Zack to protect him from those who would hurt him. Enter a demon who wants to use Matt's powers for his own. Cruel, sadistic, and unmerciful, he is determined to get to Matt at any costs. The question becomes simply this: How far will Zack go to save Matt?

That whole paragraph right there essentially sums up the entire book. Unlike most books that I've read lately, Sheila Hendrix sticks right to the point. Nearly the entire story is focused right on the brothers and the reader follows along as they fight against the powers of the demon while trying to stay sane. Honestly, it was a little circular in plot for my taste. I didn't dislike it, but Matt and Zack basically did a lot of travelling between the same three spots before anything more happened. I felt like I was reading the same part of the story over and over.

What The Betrayal honestly reminded me most of was the show Supernatural. Any of you who have watched it before might see what I mean. Two brothers, one has supernatural powers, the other one is the protector. Pretty similar. Therefore I actually did enjoy the premise of the story. I just feel like it could have been executed a bit better in terms of more action happening towards the beginning. to keep interest going. On top of that there were also a lot of previous events in the boys' lives alluded to that the reader didn't witness. I would love to see Hendrix either write a prequel where we get to see these events, or perhaps do a flashback in the next book.

Pertaining to characters, Zack and Matt were likable enough. You can feel the brotherly bond between the two of them very easily as they fight to be together. There are times when they make inside jokes, or when the rib one another for things that happened in their past. I liked how easy their relationship was with one another. Just like brothers should be! I think Zack is probably my favorite, but I of course have a think for the protective type.

Overall The Betrayal was a fairly quick and enjoyable read. Like I mentioned above, there are some things that hampered my immersion into the book. However they were minor enough that I did get involved with the brothers and their fight. I'm hoping to see more from Sheila Hendrix soon and see where these boys go next.