I didn’t realize this was part of a series and couldn’t get into it. I tried to go back and read the other books but they’re just not for me.

Characters were utterly unlikeable and plot unbelievable. There was just so much drama. This was a miss for me.

Empire High Betrayal is not your average romance story. It’s so much more.
Such an intense listen! Mobsters, monsters and more!! I could not stop listening! What a conclusion?!? I highly recommend this audiobook.

I really enjoyed this one. It was a little slow at first but I finished it in one sitting highly recommend

Uggghhhhh this book.... Ridiculous levels of drama, completely unrealistic plot points (16-year-olds getting MARRIED) and a BEYOND controlling and emotionally abusive relationship. No no no.

Empire High Betrayal by Ivy Smoak
Narrated by Laurie West & Connor Crais
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Genre: New Adult | Romance
Release Date: November 12, 2020

Empire High Betrayal is the third book in the Empire High Series by Ivy Smoak. I hadn't read the previous books, but even though the book starts in the middle of a scene (presumably the end of book two) I was able to quickly catch on to what was happening.

The story was very interesting and I really wanted to like it. I think my biggest issue was with the characters. They are the most deplorable people you will ever meet. The main character Brooklyn is so broken and blames herself for everything wrong in her world. Matt, her boyfriend/abuser, reminds me of my stalker ex-boyfriend. Matt is manipulative and coercive and I wanted to scream during every scene he was in. Isabella is insane and honestly, I didn't care enough about her to really form an opinion.

The narration by Laurie West & Connor Crais was very good. They brought the characters to life.

I'm so grateful to Ivy Smoak, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ARC of "Empire High Betrayal". I really wanted to enjoy this book; but I couldn't get into it no matter how hard I tried. I read the first two books of the series and I did not enjoy the first book and I slightly liked the second book. This book was the third book of the series and I thought it was terrible.

Once again, I could not stand the characters of the story and I didn't really like the storyline. In my opinion it fell short of an enjoyable mean girls plot. Brooklyn is so incredibly annoying and I wanted to like her but she is such a weak, irritating character who continues to allow everyone to walk all over her. She continually keeps making the most absurd decisions possible and I frequently found myself rolling my eyes and saying "come on" throughout the entire book. I was unable to find any redeeming qualities about this book and I forced myself to push through. The ending of the book was a slap in the face and as a result this book was a complete waste of my time.

I don't often rate books at two stars but I did not feel this book was worth a higher rating. There are so many other great books out there to read.

I cannot get enough of this series. I devoured the first three books in 2 weeks. Might not seem like a short time but since the holidays are here it feels like a huge accomplishment. BETRAYAL was a crazy rollercoaster of emotions. I think I felt every emotion possible, both good and bad. Matt absolutely broke my heart the last few chapters. After that ending, we all have our theories and these next five months are going to be torturous waiting for EHM to release.

I enjoyed this book and the audio. The characters had depth, each being unique. The story had twists and turns that kept you guessing. The narrator even did the male voices in a non-cringy way. I would definitely read more books by this author and listen to more books narrated by this narrator.

**I had read somewhere that the books in this series could be read as standalones, that is not true. I was very confused when I started listening and quickly realized this was the third book in a continuing story and could not be read by itself. You must read books 1 & 2 to understand what’s going on.

Ivy Smoak writes a riveting end to a 3 book series about Brooklyn's new life. Ivy captures Isabella’s craziness and how sweet naive Brooklyn was. I was hanging on every word. This is not a happy ever after story but a real look on how some children are looked at. The biggest problem is Betrayal is laced in every part of Brooklyn’s life.

Narrated by Laurie West with a complete understanding of heartache that Brooklyn goes through. Connor Crais narrates the final thoughts.

I received this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

A new family that’s absolutely dangerous and fighting for your life make you hesitant to trust those who should keep you safe. This was the first book in the series I read and I felt the need to catch up. The author does a great job of filling you in and how the events are connected to one another.

ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, until the end. I thought the ending was too fast and changed my review from a 4 star to a 2. I normally enjoy Ivy's work, but I have to be honest.

The book started out so intriguing and then just fell flat for me. I tried connecting with the characters but just couldn't. I would like to attempt this again in a regular book and not an audiobook and see if it picks up for me.

I can't believe the author would end her series this way. After reading three books and watching Brooklyn be tormented and bullied and treated like garbage, this is like a screw you to the readers. What about this was good? I kept waiting and waiting for when Brooklyn finally came out on top and was happy but it never happened.

Brooklyn is forever a victim, someone that lets things happen to her and never takes her life in her own hands. Matt claims to love her but abandons her at the first sign of trouble. Kennedy is a liar and a wishy washy friend. Nothing that happened in the series gave me reason to like any of them.

I don't want to go on forever, just know that this will not end like you hope. There won't be the revenge you crave. You won't be smiling at the end.

I received this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

So books 1 and 2 were good and okay. Then I get the ARC for this one, and I was excited to see what was going to happen. Unfortunately, I didn't like what I dove into. Yes, things get dark and psychotic until the very last page. I didn't know what I was going to get and if anyone was going to be happy in the end..

All I knew was that I wanted revenge. On Isabella. God, I hated her so much.

What did I get? Zero revenge. I got a prank.. but so much went down in this book and I'm still not recovered by how it all ended. At this point, I don't want to know about the next book in this series or if there's even a spin off. I want no part with any of it. I'm just not happy with what went down.

I tried and started to like this series.. and then this happened. Wasn't expecting it at all but honestly not surprised either.

I didn't read the book I just listened to the audiobook and let me just tell you that... wow... it was really amazing.

It was the first book of the series that I read and in the beginning it was not easy for me to catch up however I was hooked up by the narration and I was taken away by the emotions and the quick pace of the involvement of the plot. I even got emotional towards the end and my eyes were just streaming down tears. And let me just comment that it has been quite some time since the last time this happened to me by reading/listening to a book.

The narrators were really amazing and they indeed made a difference to the overall experience of enjoying the audiobook.

It is definitely an audiobook that I recommend and I just need to find out if there is an upcoming book to this series.

I really liked this series. The first two books were 4/5 stars for me. This one was more like 3/5. I just didn’t like how it ended. Some of the plot seemed to be a bit much for me and not super realistic. But I enjoyed the author’s writing and would definitely recommend the series

WHAT THE WHAT?!?!

So...I originally was not going to review this audiobook because I received it and didn't realize it was a 3rd in a series and I had not read the other two. I had listened to about 20 minutes or so before realizing but I was so hooked I ended up buying the first two on Audible so that I could listen to this one.

The saga of Brooklyn, Matt, Kennedy, James, Rob, Miller, Felix, and of course CRAZY Isabella continues. I felt like things settled down for a while and were fairly calm in a good chunk of this story, but of course, it doesn't last long.

There are some crazy things that happen throughout this series, but it gets downright INSANE at the end of this book. I'm still in shock. I have an idea of what could possibly happen in the next book, but definitely only speculations and since other than this series I'm not familiar with Ivy Smoak's writing, she could completely shock me. I can't wait for this story to continue, but I am definitely nervous about where the story is headed.

Thanks so much to Ivy for allowing me to listen to this book and fall in love with the characters. It was absolutely fantastic.

I didn’t realize when I started it that it was book three in a series. I had to stop and read about the first two books so I wasn’t so lost in this one. Overall it was good and it had me hooked in the beginning. There is of course mean girl drama and some of the stuff that happens sucks for the heroine. The story definitely took a turn I wasn’t expecting in the end. My rating is 3 stars. While I was intrigued at where the story was going I didn’t love the story. 3 stars for keeping me interested until the end.
The audiobook was great. Narration was really good I had no problem following along.

***spoilers ahead***
I read the first two books of this series on a whim, I decided to do the audiobook for the third since I had a long car ride. I thought it would be perfect since the 2nd book ended at such a climactic point and this book was starting exactly where book 2 ended. I liked how this book was told through both Brooklyn and Matt’s perspective. When I first got this audiobook I was intrigued that there was a male narrator since the first 2 book were entirely from Brooklyn’s perspective, I was excited to have this one have at least some parts through Matt. But if I knew this is why I would get Matt’s perspective I don’t think I would have read it. The narrators were both amazing the man who voices Matt is amazing! This book was great through 2/3rds of it. But as the plot got more and more ridiculous and the bad guys kept winning I liked it less and less. And then for it to end the way it did with the bad guys truly winning in the end is just absolutely horrendous to me. I always say I hate that all books end with a happily ever after and that it is so unrealistic but this, this ending was gut wrenching and absolutely did not work for me! I hate how these books get you completely invested in Brooklyn and Matt and the author puts Brooklyn through so much only to have her die and not get any happiness in the end. Just die when the bad guys take absolutely everything from her. If you read the first two books you need to read this one so you aren’t left on a cliffhanger after book two. But just a word of warning I almost think ending it the way this book did is worse than having it end on a cliffhanger. I like this author a lot but idk if I would recommend this.