Betrayals - Kelley Armstrong
Betrayals is book four of the Cainsville series which started with Omens. Omens are a big theme throughout the series and Liv has inherited the ability to read them, sometimes even seeing ones which others are unable to see at all. Liv's life was turned upside down by the revelation that she was adopted and that her birth parents are notorious serial killers. After leaving her adoptive family home to get away from everything, she ends up in Cainsville, where the town and its inhabitants are definitely not as innocent as they seem. Thrown into the world of the Fae she needs to use her instincts to protect herself from everyone who wants to use her. At the same time trying to prove her parents' innocence which she is not sure she can allow herself to believe.
On top of everything she discovers that she is a reincarnation of Matilda, part of an ancient myth. Her boyfriend Ricky and tentative friend Gabriel are also part of this myth and they all knew each other in many lives. Of course this adds many complications to her life. Oh, and she also gets visions...
Liv finds herself seeing the murder of a different type of fae, one that she has not come across before, the lamiae. They appear as young girls and are part of Greek myth rather than Celtic like the fae of Cainsville. Someone is killing the girls, as well as others who were aiding them. As she works at solving the case, she continues to learn more about her own situation.
I loved reading the book and found myself falling right back into Cainsville, however I didn't feel like we got much further in the overarching story of Liv and her parents. Now I am at the edge of my seat waiting for the fifth and final book of the series. I cannot wait to find out whether Liv will be able to solve the mystery of her parents and get them out of prison. What will happen between Liv, Ricky and Gabriel, and will she learn to manage her gifts and find her true place in the fae world.
I find it hard to remember a time before Kelley Armstrong was one of my favourite authors. I found Bitten, the first of the Women of the Otherworld series, in the library one day and zoomed through all the books they had in the series. When I realised there were more I ended up buying the whole series, even the ones I had already read. Ever since, I have been reading anything I can find from this author, including a number of YA trilogies. She also writes many short stories and often posts them for free on her website.
One of the main omens that Liv sees are ravens, they appear often all through the books. The Raven cocktail is dark and mysterious and looks very cool. I found it to be quite alcohol heavy so added a dash of lemon juice and a squeeze of syrup just to lighten it a little bit but it's worth trying both ways.
The traditional ingredients are a shot each of rum, vodka and blue curacao. If required, also add the syrup and lemon juice. Shake these with ice and then pour into a glass full of more ice. The trick is then to gently pour half a shot of Chambord so that it stays separate from the rest of the liquid. I found it sank to the bottom of the glass fairly easily, giving this lovely blending effect.
