REVIEW: The Betrayals by Bridget Collins

I was completely bewitched by Bridget Collins’ first book, The Binding. There was something so hypnotic and compelling about the world she created, the historical setting that was similar yet strikingly different to our world. I was hoping to find the same kind of immersive world building in The Betrayals and, thankfully, this hope has been gloriously granted! This book offers another familiar-yet-strange setting that feels like a historical drama infused with magic. This is dark academia crossed with fantasy – what could be more delicious than that?

Bridget Collins

The magic system in The Betrayals is utterly believable without ever being fully revealed to the reader. Bridget Collins has a way of throwing readers into the deep end when it comes to world building. She leaves her readers to piece things together for themselves, and it’s a sink-or-swim approach that really works for me. Somehow, having to figure things out and fill in the gaps in my knowledge with a combination of guesswork and blind faith makes the world feel far more tangible to me than it would if everything had been neatly explained.

In The Betrayals, we are presented with a magic system called “The Grand Jeu”, which is something of an enigma wrapped in a (beautifully written) mystery. It seems to involve maths, music and philosophy and to be perfectly honest, even after finishing the novel I’m not entirely clear on the finer points – but it really doesn’t matter. Bridget Collins made me believe in the mysterious art of The Grand Jeu and the book is all the richer for it.

The story unfolds at a measured pace – this is the kind of book that creeps in under your guard and grabs hold of your attention, and it’s truly worth the wait. The main characters, and the complicated dynamic between them, are absolutely fascinating, and I was thoroughly invested in their narratives. At the end of the day, this is a very human story about people and all the curious and often heartbreaking ways they can get tangled up in deceptions, misunderstandings and betrayals.

There are some twists in the story that genuinely surprised me. I was so spellbound that I didn’t see them coming! Overall, if you enjoyed The Binding, then The Betrayals is guaranteed to please.

—The Betrayals by Bridget Collins (HarperCollins Australia) is out now.

The Betrayals

by Bridget Collins

At Montverre, an exclusive academy tucked away in the mountains, the best and brightest are trained for excellence in the grand jeu: an arcane and mysterious contest. Léo Martin was once a student there, but lost his passion for the grand jeu following a violent tragedy. Now he returns in disgrace, exiled to his old place of learning with his political career in tatters.

Montverre has changed since he studied there, even allowing a woman, Claire Dryden, to serve in the grand jeu's highest...

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Sarah McDuling

Sarah McDuling is Booktopia's Category Manager for Children's and Young Adult Books. She has been in the bookselling game for almost a decade and a dedicated booklover since birth (potentially longer). At her happiest when reading a book, Sarah also enjoys talking/writing/tweeting about books. In her spare time, she often likes to buy a lot of books and take photographs of books. You can follow her on Twitter and Instragram @sarahmcduling

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