Thursday, April 26, 2012

Surprise! Review #166: Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Greetings everyone! I've missed you all so much <3 How are you guys? Well I hope :) Have this surprise review for y'all this fine evening/day, hope ya enjoy it :)

Masque of the Red Death is the first in a series by Bethany Griffin. Goodreads says:

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.


STORY TIME: Before this book came out, it was one of my most highly anticipated books in a long time. It was love at first sight, from the cover to the blurb. I mean come on, don't tell me that premise doesn't sound absolutely fantastic! So I was at Barnes and Noble last Friday, looking around in the YA section like I normally do. I saw that one of the booksellers was putting out some new books, and that MotRD was one of them, having its own stack. No joke, I literally squealed in excitement, and asked the bookseller if I could take a copy. He said yes, and I fully admit to snatching one up and holding it to my chest in happiness. I bought it that day, and instantly started reading. 


Now the review ladies and gents!:


This book is FANTASTIC!!! To be completely honest, I do have words I can describe my feelings with, but all I really want to say is "THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD THIS BOOK IS SOOOOO FUUUUCKING GOOOOOOOOODDDD!!!!!" Now that would not make for a good review, so I'll use more words than that :) But yes this book is utterly amazing. I mean it when I say that Masque of the Red Death is a freaking masterpiece of YA literature. This book is just so good, so full of gorgeous brilliance, I'd recommend it to anyone. 

The story is beautiful. I adored going on the journey with Araby, and oh boy did it keep me on my toes. I can honestly say that this is the first book in a while where I was truly shocked at the twists that occurred. I'm talking full on gasps and all sorts of "NO! IT CAN'T BE!" going on. Like I said, I love the story. It pulled me from page one, refusing to let me go. It's like author Lauren DeStephano said "This book has the knife factor. It’s one of the books that held a blade to my throat and said, 'Tell the world about me.'" Perfect wording to be frank. The story just oozes that classic Gothic style, enticing you with lush description and wonderful dialogue. The political intrigue, the emotional issues, it all flowed like a beautiful waterfall into one another. I mean it when I say this story is lush, in its descriptions, in everything.

Araby was such a fascinating character. She was so broken, all I wanted to do was reassure her everything would be alright, despite the fact that her world was going to hell. I loved how she started the book as one person, while ending the book in an evolved form, while still retaining who she truly was. I loved how she realizing everything along with her, although I was more shocked than she was at times. Now onto her two love interests, Elliott and Will. Both guys are wonderful characters. Elliott was the most fascinating, since you never truly knew what he was really thinking or feeling most of the time. Those rare moments of real emotion made me really like Elliott. I felt for him, I wanted him to succeed. Even though I like Elliott, I also disliked his behavior most of the time. I wanted to scream at him. Despite my liking him, I loved Will even more. Despite certain things Will did, I loved how sweet, smart and protective he was. Safe to say I am completely Team Will. He is just so sweet. I loved it when he was with Araby, his brother and sister. Those moments just made me well up with emotion. I also liked April's arc. She was probably one of the most interesting characters I've read. She wasn't around for a good chunk of the novel, but I loved seeing whose allegiance she held. I did not give her too much credit in the beginning - I underestimated her. I also loved Araby's parents, who even had their own little arcs to go through. Every character oozed interesting, and always got an emotion out of me. And the prince just made me shiver. Oh god he is scaaary, among other characters.

Ms. Griffin, you are a flipping genius! Can I please read the word document for book two? I mean holy shiiiit, you created such a brilliant novel. She built such a gorgeously broken world, and made me not care what the time and place were. Griffin knows her way around the written word, and her style is wonderful. Honestly, I'd read anything she's written now. 

I do think a warning is in order: If you are uncomfortable with drug use and some alluded sexual activity, you might not like this book. 

This is an AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING book, and I am jonesing for book two. 

I will hopefully finish Guts soon, and have the review for y'all to enjoy :)

Until next time, viva la literature! 

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