I read this book for the "A Book With The Letter 'Y' In The Title" part of my 2018 reading challenge. It was a bit confusing at first, having not read book 1 but it was ok after a couple chapters. The plot moved quickly and didn't seem to have a realistic timespan, also the battles seemed to take 20 seconds. Reminded me a lot like City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. ( )

I love reading YA novels, but I have a sneaking suspicion that certain authors might be following a formula: the characters of the 'Haunting Emma' series by Lee Nichols and the 'Vampire Academy' books by Richelle Mead seem to have an interchangeable cast and story arc. Young girl with special powers uprooted from family? Check. Sent to live in secret community to train for her new supernatural vocation? Yup. Falls in love with slightly older and incredibly goodlooking guardian? Hell yes. I'm not complaining, by any means - I enjoyed the vampires, and I'm equally smitten with the ghosts - but teens who read nothing but these novels might get a little stalled by the similarities.

The shocks keep on coming for Emma Vaile, after discovering that she is the greatest in a long line of 'ghostkeepers' in the first 'Haunting Emma' novel. The Knell, a secret society of ghostkeepers, send two new agents to Echo Point, one to train Emma and one to join with her and Natalie in the fight against Neos, but Emma is also struggling with two typically teenage worries: boyfriend trouble and fitting in at school. Bennett decides that he can't surrender his own powers to be with Emma after all, and Coby's friends are still blaming Emma for what happened. On top of all this, more Vaile family secrets are revealed. As Emma says, 'Did my whole life boil down to ancestry? My parents, who'd lied to me. My brother, who'd disappeared. The previous incarnations of me, who'd fought and died'. Gripping stuff.

Another fast-paced adventure from Nichols, with a young but engaging heroine and a great concept. I love the idea of communicating with ghosts more than all the 'action scenes', but I will definitely keep reading, to find out how everything works out for Emma and Bennett. ( )

"As chilling and page-turning as Deception, this sequel will grab readers and hold them to the last page."I agree one hundred percent, Deception was a great read and Betrayal is just as good if not better. Things are quickly changing for the ghostkeepers. Everything they thought was impossible is all of a sudden possible, and everything they believed to be rumored is real after all.As Emma learns to deal with her friend's death and the weird relationship she has with Bennett, she has to also learn to use her powers and find out just how powerful she really is. In Deception I quickly fell in love with Emma's character and her relationship with Bennett.In Betrayal, Lee Nichols managed to keep their personalities exactly the same. I've read so many books where in the first book, the characters were amazing and in the second book they become so whiny and weak. Not Emma! Even after Bennett leaves, she goes through a slight depression, but did not let it stop her from doing her duties as a ghostkeeper. She knows once it's all over, then maybe her and Bennett can be together.Betrayal is full of surprises and twist, it was one shock after the other. Very easy to picture in your head and fast paced. A definite page-turner and I promise you will have goosebumps all over. I loved it and love Lee Nichol's way of writing. Betrayal is the second in her Emma Haunting series, So if you haven't read Deception, book one, I suggest you pick up a copy and enjoy the ride. :-)www.goodchoicereading.com ( )

Betrayal is the second novel of the series Haunting Emma by Lee Nichols, and I need to say that I really liked this book.

CAUTION.... Some SPOILERS.

The story continues where it ended on the first book, after Cody's death. When Emma finds out that she cannot be with Bennett, because he is going to lose his powers... And when Sara and Harry don't want to talk her because they feel she is responsible for Cody's death. Neos is gaining power, and she is the only one who can stop him.

When I read the first novel, I fell in love with the characters, with the story, and with everything. In Betrayal, there are new characters, like Simon and Lukas. I didn't like them at the beginning of the book, but I just finished loving them like the others... specially in the voice message Emma received from them; Simon, Lukas, and Natalie... was really funny. They behaved like a family.

Of course, there is big changes in some characters, like Sara and Harry, something that was understandable. What I didn't like about that, is that they believed everything too quickly.
And Nicholas... I didn't like that part either. : (

This book was shorter than the first one, so it was a quick read. Really easy like Deception. I didn't feel the story improves/develops too much this time, specially at the end (Was a little bit predictable). Even though, I really enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to read the third book, Surrender. ( )

reviewed by http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com/

I was REALLY surprised by this series. I won book one DECEPTION from Goodreads and immediately contacted Lee to see if she was looking for reviewers for book 2 because I was just blown away with how much I truly enjoyed reading DECEPTION. Ive read plenty of ghost story's but the author takes it a step in a different direction and it totally works for me. Full of twists and surprises Emma and her friends kept me happy to read more. The explanation of all the different ghost keepers continues and new characters are introduced. Emma learns more about her family and who she is. I had a bit of a hard time with Emma and Bennett's relationship and the way the ending plays out with Bennett, I'm not sure where Lee is taking it but I guess that is part of the reason I will keep reading lol. It was a fun and fast read and I will be picking up SURRENDER when it hits the shelf. ( )

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

If there's something strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call? – Emma Vaile! She may be only seventeen, but she’s the most powerful ghostkeeper in generations. She can summon, communicate, and dispell ghosts back to the Beyond. She’s like the Buffy version of a ghostbuster, minus all the punning, though she does have a brooding boyfriend and in BETRAYAL, even gets a Giles-like teacher.

Buffy comparisons aside (always a good thing), BETRAYAL does suffer a bit of the sophomore slump as so much of what was intriguing about DECEPTION involved the mystery of finding out about Emma’s ability and introducing her to the world of the ghostkeepers. In BETRAYAL, a lot of that mystery has already been solved. We know what ghostkeepers are, we know what powers Emma has, we know about the Knell and their involvement in Emma’s life. In place of those mysteries, Emma struggles with her relationship with Bennett (if they touch too much, the stronger will absorb the others powers), a brutal hostility from her classmates who now call her QBK—Quarterback killer after her involvement with Coby’s death, and the ongoing hunt to dispel Neos and prevent him from unleashing anymore wraiths.

Emma and her friends are every bit as sharp and fun as in the previous book, specifically Harry and a new character named Lukas. There were moments of levity that felt out of place given grim circumstances or too closely following a tragedy. I understand that the author was trying to keep the story from being too melancholy, but in those instances, their behavior was a little shallow and not at all in keeping with my impression of the characters overall.

The Paranormal YA genre isn’t overflowing with ghost stories, but the Haunting Emma series stands out as one of the best. A great debut, a solid sequel, and hopefully an equally entertaining conclusion when the third book in the series, SURRENDER, comes out in December of 2011.

Sexual Content:
Kissing ( )