*REVIEW* Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

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.

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You know when you see a book around A LOT and the cover totally catches your eye, then you think "I want to read that."  Well this was one of those books for me and truth be told I didn't know much about the book beyond the description.  Up until yesterday I hadn't read a single review on it and the result was wonderful for me.

  I knew that this book was a dystopian and that there wasn't much left in the way of humanity but what I didn't know was how dark of a world I would be entering when I started reading this book.  Not what I expected at all.  I mean there is bodies in the street, very detailed descriptions of the infected and corpse collectors.  However I loved every deep dark page that I turned.  Finding that I myself could get lost in the dark corners of the Debauchery Club.  There is also a hint of steam punk thrown through out the book.

  Within the first chapter you will be pulled into a world where the rich use their masks to feel safe and the poor live every day knowing that it could be their last.  Araby is one of the "lucky" ones but she doesn't see it that way.   Her past haunts her every day and as much as I wanted to feel bad for her I couldn't.  She is not helpless but at times comes off that way.  What I enjoyed most about her was that once she decided something she was determined to get it done.  To start I thought it was going to be impossible to connect with Araby but to my surprise I ended up not only being able to connect but feel so much more than that for her.


  There is somewhat of a love triangle for those of you out there that are wondering.  However it's not your typical triangle.  There is merit in her feelings for both Will and Elliott.  With Will she seems to be a happier person.  I mean all around she is a better and stronger person.  It is the times that she is with him and his sisters that I admire her the most.  With Elliott it is the ability to maybe change how things are going.  He makes it possible to believe that things don't have to be the way they are.   Both boys do have their own agendas though and as much as I would like to say I felt more for one or the other I can't.  There was no black or white but more of grey area with both of them.


  This book takes love, honesty and trust then throws in hate, lies and hidden agendas.  There are so many lines that cross it's hard to find just the good or just the bad.  I love how well Griffin blurred the lines but didn't loose sight of what she meant to accomplish.  There is a need in everyone and chaos seems to lay just beneath the surface.  The way that it all ends in this book will have you looking for more though.  This is definitely a book not to be missed!