Reading Between the Wines Book Club

I love every journey Joss Ware takes through in this complex, interesting post-apocalyptic world!
Quent, Abandon the Night, was a favorite and I didn't think Ware could do better then that but I was just proven wrong!
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy Theo’s book as he wasn’t one of my favorite men in the series but Night Betrayed definitely surpassed my expectations.
Night Betrayed continues where Abandon the Night ended, the bounty hunter Seattle has shot Theo. He is still heart broken over loosing Sage to Simon and disquieted having so many un-answered questions about his abilities since the Change, so has been taking on dangerous missions for the resistance. You really feel bad for the guy until we meet up with Serena.
Serena, the Death Lady, was born during the Change and miraculously survived with the ability to see a death cloud over people who are about to pass away along with seeing their Heavenly guardians who guide them into the next world. She has the responsibility to ease the transition and pain for her patients and carries a unique and powerful crystal that comes with an even bigger responsibility; to free the souls of the gangas, zombie like creatures who ravish what’s left of the human population.
Serena is dedicated to her mission and because of the controversial issues keeps it a secret and doesn’t trust other’s to get close and learn about it. She has been burned in the past and does not want to go through that heartbreak again.
When Theo is brought to Selena she sees the death cloud surrounding him and knows that it is only a matter of time before he passes and he soon does but then the Heavenly Guides tell her to save him and miraculously he is brought back to life in more ways then one.
Theo is instantly attracted to the beautiful and serene Death Lady and is surprised when he doesn’t even think of Sage yet knows that Serena is keeping dangerous secrets. However Theo has a secret of his own, Serena believes he is a young man and is having some major cougar (hehe) issues, and before Theo confides in her that he is really a 78 year old man he wants Serena to love him for who he is and get over her insecurities with their supposed age difference.

Besides the main plot there are also interesting sub-plots, all full of mystery and intrigue. I loved the sub-plot with Remington Truth’s granddaughter, Remy, and look forward to learning more about her in the future. Additionally there were a few surprising twists and one I really didn’t foresee concerning the gangas. Ware really gave dimension to them that I did not see coming.
The characters and relationships in Night Betrayed are believable and there is some humor sprinkled in along with sizzling romance and Ware does an exceptional job of balancing everything with the fascinating world she has built around it all.
I think that this book can be read as a stand-alone but will be read better in series order. Ware has the wonderful ability to give you enough back-story so that you understand the story arc without boring series readers. It has been a while and many books in between my last read in this series so I had forgotten a few things but as I read I was able to easily catch back up.
Night Betrayed was an excellent read and I am looking forward to more of this series!