Review – Masque of the Red Death

Title: Masque of the Red Death

Author: Bethany Griffin

Genre: Dystopian Fantasy

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Publish Date: April 24, 2012

ISBN-10: 0062107798

Available at: Amazon – Barnes and Noble

Summary: 

The plague has taken over the city. The rich hide themselves away in the upper city and seek pleasure at places like the Debauchery Club. Prince Prospero rules with an iron hand. Araby Worth seeks the means to obliterate the memory of the loss of her twin brother. Instead she meets Will, a handsome brother of two young siblings that works at the club and Elliot, an arrogant but charming aristocrat.

Review:

This was an extraordinary book of amazing imagery. From the first scene where you see them taking bodies out to the corpse takers to the lower city where the poor live, it’s gritty and it’s grimy.

Araby is a multi-layered character. She’s vulnerable yet she can be tough in certain situations. She’s resourceful. She’s compassionate and she’s strong. I found myself admiring her throughout the book. Her grief over the loss of her brother was palatable. She had no source of comfort which most likely prolonged it.

I usually don’t care for love triangles. I mostly find them tiresome and annoying, but this one was tense and exciting. Elliot was an intriguing character and I never knew what he was going to do next. Will was exactly what I would have wanted in a lead man but he you never could tell if Araby was going to suddenly fall for Elliot. The tension between the two men made it even more dangerous.

The atmosphere in the city was exciting too. Between the plague and the rebellion that was stirring it was action packed. There was never a dull moment and I couldn’t stop pressing my Kindle button. There were a lot of surprises in the plot too. I won’t say what they were for fear of spoiling the book.

The story ends on a cliffhanger but I still got the sense of fullfillment to a certain extent. I didn’t feel like there was any sense of an incomplete story. Yes, there were a lot of unanswered questions, but at the same time the book ended just as they were about to embark on another adventure. Not as they were in the middle of one.

I’ve never read Poe’s short story so I’m not sure how closely this matches to his masterpiece, but I love this story for what it is. It’s a fantastic read!

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