Review: Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 319

Publisher: Greenwillow (Imprint of HarperCollins)

Buy this Book: Amazon

From Goodreads:

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.

Review:

I absolutely adore the cover for this book; it’s striking and haunting so it fits this book wonderfully. 

At the beginning of Masque of the Red Death, we see a sad and lonely Araby Worth who blames herself for her twin brother Finn’s death.  She goes out clubbing with her friend April and uses drugs and alcohol to try to numb the pain and the guilt she feels over his death.

When Araby gets contacted about joining a rebellion, she jumps at the chance.  She would like nothing better than to change the way things are.  But by doing what she is asked not only will she be betraying her father but she also puts her family in danger.   

Even though this book isn’t about love or romance we do see a little bit of a love triangle between Araby, Will and Elliott.  I have to say that I was expecting one of them to betray her but I never expected it to be who it was.      

Ms. Griffin doesn’t warm you up to the dark and ominous world that is Masque of the Red Death, but instead she throws you right into the action in the first chapter.  Although most of this book revolved around surviving a contagion called the Weeping Sickness, it was never explained how the Weeping Sickness came about or what all it involved and the Red Death doesn’t make an appearance until the last part of the book.  I would have loved to learn more about the plagues and more about this world that Araby lives in and hopefully we will in the next book.   

Quote:

“Just because you don’t want to see something doesn’t mean that it will go away.  Do you think inhumanity doesn’t exist if you pretend not to see it? Or maybe get too drunk to understand?  We’ve forgotten the things that make life worthwhile.”

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