The Betrayal: The Lies We Fear

By: Heather Ogden

Narrated by: Oona Maya

Poised with regal grace and pristine wealth, Angelette Arabella is the dutiful daughter of Valerius Arabella, a dictator who rules with an iron fist.

When she stumbles upon a series of long-buried secrets that threaten to dismantle their carefully crafted lives, she faces a harrowing choice: expose the truth and risk everything or remain silent and let the lies continue. As tensions rise and loyalties shift, she must decide who to trust in a game where betrayal lurks around every corner.

Will Angelette have the courage to face the darkness, or will her fear silence her forever?

©2025 Heather Ogden (P)2026 Heather Ogden

Great, Moody, YA Dystopia - Female warrior MC!

This is a really compelling debut by author Heather Ogden. I love YA and specifically dystopian settings, so this was right up my alley. What set this novel apart was how much time was dedicated to the MC's psychological evolution. Sometimes dystopian novels are heavy on the world-building and action scenes, but thin on characterization - settling for noir tropes, but not this one at all. Here, we see our heroine, Arabella, evolve from a dutiful, compliant young daughter to unequivocal warrior, willing to take on her powerful father. It's a fascinating journey and I can't wait to see how the character and series develops!
I hope the narrator, Oona Maya, stays throughout the series, because she really draws you in to the author's words. She captured each character really uniquely so the dialogue and character motivations were crystal clear - and her setting descriptions were great world-building. She really drew you in to rooting for the MC - Arabella - showing all her layers and capturing her isolation.
This audiobook was different than most I have listened to in that it has sound effects and an ambient tone throughout - so, almost more like a radio play.