Betrayal »

Gillian Shields is the author of Immortal, the first book about Evie and the Mystic Way, as well as many other books for young readers. She spent her childhood roaming over the Yorkshire moors and dreaming of the BrontË sisters. After studying in Cambridge, London, and Paris, she became a teacher. She has taught in a girls' boarding school and also in a drama school where it was rumored that the ghost of a young girl could be heard crying in the night. Gillian was inspired to write Immortal and Betrayal in celebration of the power of first love, the strength of female friendship, and the haunting mystery of the past.

There are the small betrayals: the unkind word, the petty lies. And there are the betrayals that break hearts, destroy worlds, and turn the strong sweet light of day into bitter dust.

When Evie Johnson started at Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, her life changed in ways she couldn't possibly have envisioned: the discovery of her link with Lady Agnes, her special bond with Helen and Sarah, and their sisterhood in the astonishing secrets of the Mystic Way. Above all, Evie's love for Sebastian has turned her world upside down.

Now Evie returns to Wyldcliffe for another term and more danger. Surrounded by enemies, she lives every day in fear that Sebastian will fall into the darkness of servitude to the Unconquered Lords. The Wyldcliffe coven is plotting to destroy Evie and use Sebastian to secure their own immortality. Evie and her sisters must master the power of the Talisman before it is too late. But could it be Sebastian himself who will ultimately betray Evie?

In this companion to Gillian Shields's dazzling Immortal, magic and sweeping romance cross the bounds of time to deliver heart-stopping emotion and suspense.

VOYA

For readers who liked, or maybe loved, Immortal (Katherine Tegen Books, 2009/VOYA October 2009), its sequel will be a happy find. Sixteen-year-old Evie returns to her English boarding school, Wyldcliffe, wearing a pretty pendant, a gift from her recently-dead grandmother. The previous term, she had made two close friends, Sarah and Helen, and also met and fell deeply in love with beautiful and mysterious Sebastian. A hundred years earlier, Sebastian sought the secrets of immortality. Since then, trapped between death and life, he has struggled to fight off demons seeking his eternal servitude. Now, with his defenses badly weakened, only his love for Evie keeps him human. Meanwhile, a coven hidden at Wyldcliffe still longs for immortality. The pendant holds the key to life or death for all, but its secrets are stubbornly hidden. While Evie and her friends can call on the powers of water, earth, and sky, the power of fire is also needed to unlock the pendant. Friends and enemies are not who they seem, and help comes from unlikely quarters, but finally Evie is able to defeat the demons and release her beloved to longed-for death, while the coven sees its hope of immortality disappear. Well-plotted, romantic, suspenseful, and offering sympathetic characters, Betrayal will appeal to the younger Twilight crowd, though in fact it is much better written. The attractive cover art adds appeal for browsers, and while the sequel can stand alone, offering both books will be a popular move. Reviewer: Rayna Patton