The Heart of Betrayal firmly dumps you into the action in Venda and takes you on a ride from cover to cover. Lia just can't seem to keep herself from trouble, even when she's being held captive by the Vendan Komizar, a formidable leader of sorts who came into the job by murdering the former Komizar on orders of his daughter. Yeah. These people don't play! Lia and Rafe spend their days trying to figure out how to escape captivity while Kaden is just trying to keep Lia safe. Choices are made along the way and we need book three RIGHT NOW.

This is one of the few sequels that really holds its own. This is no bridge book and is arguably a much stronger story than The Kiss of Deception. There's so much more character development and world building. Since this is set in a whole new community (Venda), Mary has the opportunity to develop the physical surroundings and the culture. All we know about the Vendans is their barbaric nature, which becomes murkier as Lia gets to know them.

Speaking of Lia, she continues to grow as a princess and leader, even though she has neither opportunity and is constantly being reminded of such. Kaden also begins a journey through development as he weighs his feelings for Lia against his loyalty to the Komizar. Oh, and Rafe? He's developed a pretty great poker face.

The book ends on several major cliff hangers and truly, the story could take any direction.