Betrayal of Love and Freedom is a two pronged compendium of psychological lusts and tribulations between characters Luke Powers and Rick Dellich. Their separate tales hitting rock bottom (full of jagged gravelly bits and broken bottles) to peaks of triumph (not necessarily in that order) make for a surprisingly thought-provoking read.

Book Title: Betrayal of Love and Freedom
Book Author: Paul Huljich
Book Publisher: Mwella Publishing
Release Date: May, 2010
Retail Price: $15.96
Buy it at: Various outlets

The first chapter doesn't make even remote sense until the last few chapters, which isn't one of my favorite plot styles. But I didn't realize that going in, and once I make it past the first chapter, I'm almost always invested enough already to read the whole thing.

It grates on my soul if I don't finish reading a book I've already started. It may take a while, but I'll get through it. Once I got deeper into the plot, though, I was thoroughly entranced in the richly detailed lives of the two primary characters, Luke Powers and Rick Dellich.

I've been waffling about whether the inclusion of Rick's life and perspective on the overall plot arc was necessary. Don't get me wrong, I think I enjoyed Rick's perspective more than I did Luke's. I was skeptical of how realistic the portrayal would be, and I was impressed.

That being said, I still have trouble linking Rick's part of the whole story to the overall plot arc. The connection is there, but it's such a tenuous one. A chance meeting here, a couple references there, some mutual contacts, and that's it, really. And yet, as it was, I don't think Rick's perspective could have been a standalone story. It would have needed more depth in certain aspects of Rick's life, especially in relation to his family conflicts.

But, when all was said and done, I did enjoy reading the book. The characters were three-dimensional, and the villain was a contemptuous ass-hat who earned his end. And the portrayal of mental illness throughout the story was believable. That above all clinched it for me.

I'd recommend this book to readers who enjoy realistically flawed characters. There are no white knights in this plot – more like a dingy grey knight with dented second hand armor one size too big. And these knights have the sensibility of the Man of La Mancha...without the misguidingly devoted servant Sancho Panza to temper their unrealistic beliefs that their perceptions of reality are the correct ones.