I absolutely love Collins' first book - it was beautiful inside and out, appropriately - so was looking forward to seeing what she would follow up with. This story has some similarities (even down to the glorious cover design, which might seem shallow but, let's face it, we do judge actual books by their actual covers) but is certainly not just more of the same.

Set, again, in a world which bears some similarities to our own but which is just slightly different (let's call it about 15 degrees off normality) this novel is largely centred on Montverre, an institution, high up in the mountains of what feels like central Europe. There young men are trained in the Grand Jeu - a mix of maths, dance, philosophy and tradition - which is a central part of the elite in the society they live in. The main character, Léo Martin, was part of that elite - a Montverre graduate with a glittering political career and a very expensive mistress - until he falls from grace by questioning some of his political superiors' more unpleasant policies. He is sent back to Montverre in disgrace, ostensibly to study, but soon begins to clash with the Magister Ludi, the head of the institution, who is - against all existing tradition - a woman. Old tragedies are uncovered and alliances questioned and, in the end, lives are changed for ever.

I really, really enjoyed this book! It was gripping from the very start! Fantastically written! Would definitely recommend!

Having absolutely loved The Binding, I was very excited to be granted a ARC of The Betrayals.

The Betrayals is the almost magical story of a school in the mountains where the all male students prepare for The Grand Jeu.

It took me a while to get into, having put it down a few times, but inevitably picked it back up again. But once I was hooked I was hooked! Superb descriptive writing from Collins, just as The Binding was. A tale woven in pieces that still has me thinking about it.

Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read and review.

I wasn't super invested in this story. It didn't grasp my attention the way I hoped it would!! But a gorgeous cover!!

I started this book ages ago. I read the first chapter & was not remotely hooked. However it sat looking at me from it's lonely spot of the last one its collection & as I loved The Binding I went back to it. For a long while I still struggled. Set in a school in the mountains where the (all male) students study & produce 'The Grand Jeu' Although this is referred to constantly I'm not sure I was much wiser by the end of the book. It is set in two timelines, one when Leo is a student & some years later when he has returned after losing his job in government, a government becoming more repressive & elitist. Another narrator is Claire- the first female Magister in the school. There are also sections narrated by 'The Rat'.

Gradually I fell under it's spell. Whilst still being in the dark about a lot of things I entered this strange world. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book. I'm glad I persevered with it- it was worth it.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Betrayals by Bridget Collins. After reading The Binding by the same author I was excited to read this.
Set at a boarding school, young men are being taught the Grand Jeu, a game which combines art, music, literature and more. The story changes from the perspective of the different main characters, and also from past to present.
I found the story rather hard to get into at first, the grand jeu game was complicated to follow, and the characters were uninspiring. Towards the end it became clearer and of course I wanted to find out what happened, but although I found it a pleasant story, there were parts which didn’t seem to tie together.

Magical, immersive and absolutely captivating! I love Bridget Collins' writing, it's unlike anything I've ever read before! Couldn't wait to get stuck into this latest novel from her, and I was not disappointed. If you loved the Binding then you'll definitely enjoy this, it's fantastic.

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 office of Magister Ludi. When Léo first sees Claire he senses an odd connection with her, though he’s sure they have never met before.  
Both Léo and Claire have built their lives on lies.  And as the legendary Midsummer Game, the climax of the year, draws closer, secrets are whispering in the walls.

I was not sure if I was going to enjoy this read having not been a fan of 'The Binding'. However, I found myself pleasantly surprised and intrigued by Collins' second adult novel. We begin by meeting Léo and we gain a sense of this dystopian world they are occupying. Slowly we learn about Montverre and the esteem it holds. From near the beginning I was hooked and interested to see where this would go. As the read progresses, Collins unveils more about the mysterious academy and the secrets it holds.

This has chapters set in the present and the past and as the book goes on, Collins brings the two together until they meet and result in a crescendo. There is a twist which I have seen described as shocking, I thought it was obvious and saw it coming early on but it was still a good twist and injected some much needed energy into the read. As this gets near the end, the energy does fade somewhat and I thought the last section was quite lacklustre.

Overall, 'The Betrayals' was an enjoyable read, full of mystery and betrayal.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an advance copy.

This is a strange novel to review. I think the novel itself feels like a bit of a game, although the stakes therein are real.

There's lots of misdirects and I think that a familiarity with The Glass Bead Game might result in a different take away.

The grand jeu is never properly explained. I think had I cared more about what the actual game was I wouldn't have enjoyed this, but to be honest I wasn't that concerned about the game itself but more about the world that the novel set up around it.

Can I see why people might not like this novel? Absolutely. Did I like it? Yes, and more than The Binding. I found more food for thought in this one, more to take away from it and a more believable central relationship.

My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This book was completely absorbing and had me intrigued from the very beginning.

If you're looking for historical fiction which is moving, absorbing and has a 'wow moment', then look no further! This book has it all!

Leo has returned to his place of study and has to face a lot of his old ghosts. He's uncomfortable and hesitant to throw himself back into college life, but in doing so he begins to discover what really happened between himself and former students.

Every year the students have to take part in creating a Grande Jue... throughout the book we are intrigued as to know what it is - is it a musical piece? Is it a mathematical game? What is it?! We never fully know and that's what is so intriguing about the book - you don't NEED to know, instead what matters is what's involved in creating it - passion, intelligence and creativity.

I found this book so beautifully written that I cannot wait to read more from this author, I'll definitely be looking up her previous work.

A fantastic, moving and beautifully crafted story which will stay with you.

This authors first book was outstanding, this second book is I think, also outstanding but it is very difficult to be sure! The whole book is written around a game, of which we never quite find out what it is.... and so it is both a wonderful and awful book. I find it almost impossible to review as I both loved it but felt frustrated by it. Perhaps this is its point. Looking forward to a third novel. Bridget Collins writing is exceptional, I hope the next storyline does it justice.

CW: Suicide (off page)

I requested The Betrayals from Netgalley because I Loved The Binding. And I really enjoyed this book as well, just not quite as much.

And that is mainly due to the setting. It may be me, but I never really quite managed to wrap my head around the world and its politics. I understood the main plot lines, but never felt really able to Get the bigger picture. Is this book magical realism? Historical fiction? What really is this Game, and why is this school so important when it comes to the political climate? The atmosphere is certainly there, but I would have loved a little bit more ‘infodumping’ I guess to make it all make sense in my head.

Like in The Binding, it is the characters that make this book great for me though. We mainly follow Léo across two time lines, both when he is a student for the first time at Montverre, and when he returns ten years later after being fired from his job in politics. We see his relationship develop with Claire, the first and only female to become a magister at the academy, and how this relationship is influenced by his past actions. This is so well written. The characters feel real, and although their actions are frustrating at times, you can understand them. I did see the reveal coming, and the romance wasn’t quite satisfying in the end. And yet this book intrigued and compelled me.

There are many elements in this book that otherwise would turn me off (dark academia itself being one of those), and yet Collins has written this book so well that I actually enjoyed them. This book leaves me whole unsatisfied, whilst completely in love with it.

I loved this story and couldn't put it down.
it's enthralling, great characters and plot, excellent world building and character development.
It's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I somehow managed to miss THE BINDING, so when I had the chance to read and review this, I jumped at the chance. I'm glad I did.

THE BETRAYALS is a well-written and engaging mystery. Collins has a real gift for writing atmosphere, and her prose is excellent throughout. The author's world-building is excellent, albeit purposely vague at times (it works very well).

An interesting and enjoyable first experience with this author's work. I look forward to reading more by Collins in the future. (And catching up with The Binding.)

Another great book by Bridget Collins. Not at all w hear I expected but loved the magical elements of this book. Saw the twist coming a mile off but still an enjoyable read

I had not read any of Bridget Collins' YA books or indeed her debut adult fiction novel The Binding (but heard good things) so I was really looking forward to exploring a new author's writing.

The Betrayals is set at an exclusive school called Montverre, set almost in a monastic atmosphere up away in the mountains (France?) where talented male scholars are trained in the 'grand jeu' which appears to be a magical, fantasy game blending maths, science, music and literature. Students aim to produce a powerful 'grand jeu' and be declared a gold medalist as this can open up work opportunities once they graduate.

The story is told through the eyes of Léo Martin, a young man whose family has a basic background, so he aims to use the school to achieve more in life. Ambitious and driven he aims to devise the perfect 'grand jeu'. At the school he makes few friends, everyone is actually just out for themselves if it means higher marks. He befriends a school misfit "Aimes" following a joint project and soon realises their relationship runs deeper than friendship.

The story splits between the eyes of Leo at the school and years later once he has graduated and returns to the school following losing his posting as a government official and exiled to the school to focus on the 'grand jeu' by the Prime Minister, where he bumps into Magister Dryden, a female academic, the first the school has known who seems strange and familiar to Leo at the same time.
Leo works with Magister Dryden to help educate her in the 'grand jeu' and they soon start to realise just how interwoven their lives have been.

I loved the atmospheric description of the novel, the setting was perfect, echoes of monasteries / remote schools like a boarding school, aged and cold helped evoke this cold daunting imposing place on student's lives. There is a really emotional and well thought out sub plot to the story, which at times I was probably more engaged in.

I did see the 'plot twist' coming, but think it was handled well and was impressed with how drawn in I was to the writing style and the setting. The reason for three stars is that at times the "grand jeu" almost over-rode the plot and I struggled to get to grips with just what that added to the story, if the focus had been more on the relationships and the situation between specific students I think this would have drawn me into this mysterious world even further.

Will definitely read other Bridget Collins pieces of work following this story.

This is sad, because I really wanted to love this. I adored reading The Binding by this author, hence why I was ecstatic to receive an advanced copy, but after so many tries of reading this, I have to admit defeat.

Collins’ definitely has a talent for writing prose. It’s beautiful at times, but most of it I found overblown and a bit purple, making it distracting and annoying. Sometimes I’ve read authors whose prose is beautiful enough to elevate the story, but Collins’ has an issue with storytelling that makes it hard to follow the plot events.

I noticed this in The Binding too, and that is her stories never have a grounded sense of where it is. It was overly confusing in what she wanted to focus on, and the characters were paper thin to the point that the wind could blow them away and I wouldn’t notice their absence. Everything is so vague. I still can’t tell what this story is about, or what it was trying to tell. Because of that I could never connect with it because what am I being told here? I didn’t want to give up, but this book is empty, and a waste of time.

It’s such a shame because I loved The Binding, but this was not very well constructed.

After loving "The Binding", I was super excited to find out that I had been sent an eARC of Collins' newer release "The Betrayals". All I can say is that if you liked The Bindung, then you would also love this.

If everything in your life was based on a lie, would you risk it all, to tell the truth?
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. Leo 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.

There is something special about Collins' writing that just works perfectly for me. She managed to create this world that was beautifully described with a setting that was nothing short of dreamy. An elite school based in the mountains? Now you're talking my language! Everything about the school and characters screamed dark academia to me, so if that is your vibe, I recommend adding this to your TBR. Whilst I usually love the use of multiple POVs, I actually wish that we had only followed two of the characters as opposed to four. The other two POVs weren't bad, but they felt a little unnecessary. My only other critique would be that I would've preferred a little more information surrounding the grand jeu. I understand that it is supposed to have that air of mystery, but I was so fascinated by it that I just wanted to learn more.
On a final note. I did NOT see the twist coming?! It took me by complete surprise and I had to reread a couple of pages to let it sink in.

I loved this book and really struggled to put it down (what is sleep anyway??). Well worth a read and I definitely would love a physical copy for my shelves!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
A strange and complex story with lots of atmospheric writing. The writing is good and draws the reader in.
But there is a lack of explanations with so much for the the reader left hanging. It was frustrating as it made it difficult for the reader to get into and the Rat storyline didn't make much sense either.
On the whole an OK read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.
I loved The Binding, this author’s first book for adults so I was incredibly excited to read The Betrayals.
Set in an elite school called Montverre, the students are taught the skills and techniques of the Grand Jeu by Magisters.
For me, the Grand Jeu is never fully or satisfactorily explained. It seems to be a mixture of maths and music and the aim for each student is to write the best one each year. Perhaps it was just too subtle for me, I do like clear explanations.
The story is told from different characters perspectives and time frames. It was easy enough to keep track of the story from this respect, the writing is absolutely beautiful and very atmospheric but the actual story itself didn’t grab me and I found it hard work. I expected a lot of scene setting at the beginning as is usual, but, for me, the book was a bit of a slog.
Perhaps if I’d read Hermann Hesse’s The Glass Bead Game first ( the author says at the end of her book that this is where she drew inspiration from) I might have understood the references more, but unfortunately The Betrayals isn’t going to be a favourite read for me.