Brad About Books: Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH
Published: April 24, 2012
Publisher: Greenwillow (Harper)
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 320 pages
Series: Red Death, #1
Source: Amazon.com

EVERYTHING IS IN RUINS.

A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.

But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

I have to be honest in saying that MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH disappointed me. It did have its great moments of epic scenes or tragic losses, but for the most part, I just didn’t connect with this book.

Although, one of my favorite parts of MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH was the writing style. Bethany Griffin has a poetic writing style, along with some dashes of the new modern style.  I was hooked on this story from the very first page just because of the way that Griffin set up this world.

The reason I didn’t connect with this book is because of the lack of action. Our main characters must stop a madman from taking over what’s left of the world, and that’s almost all of the action that MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH has (in my opinion, anyway). But I did really like it when the infected came out to hunt for Araby (our main protagonist). 

I thought that Griffin did an excellent job re-imagining a Poe short story. “Masque of the Red Death” is one of Poe’s shortest stories, and Griffin has created two novels out of that short story. That is some serious talent.

And the cliffhanger at the end of the book left me speechless. It ends in such a way that makes you want to go out and buy book two when it’s available. It was that big of a cliffhanger.

Overall, I expected too much from MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, but due to the big cliffhanger at the end, I will probably read the sequel.

M Y   R A T I N G: