I've loved Lesley Pearse's books from the beginning. It's hard to believe Betrayal is book 31! It's just as good a read as all of the others.

Eve Hathaway is married to Don, a violent bully who regularly beats her. After one particularly bad beating, and knowing that he is starting to do the same to her son, Olly, Eve plucks up the courage to leave, taking Olly and his sister, Tabby, with her. A little further down the line Eve does something that I think any woman in her position would fully understand but which makes it hard for her to move on with her life.

I felt so sorry for Eve and her children but I loved how her character evolved as the story progressed and she started to get more confident in building a new life for herself. She found some really good friends and began to hope that she might even find love again. I really enjoyed the fact that she went from downtrodden to ambitious and I admired her for what she achieved.

What I loved more than anything about this book was that it was so easy to read, even considering the difficult subject matter. The beatings that Eve took are not the only shocking thing to happen and I didn't see the other thing coming so that was a complete surprise. I don't know how much research Pearse did but it all felt very real, especially the gamut of emotions the characters were experiencing.

Betrayal is one of Lesley Pearse's more contemporary books, set in the late 1990s/early 2000s and I didn't expect to like it quite as much as her historical ones but I absolutely loved it. I whizzed through it and found it hard to put down. I so wanted Eve to have a happy ending after all she went through. This is another brilliant read from an author who never lets me down. ( )