Bethany Griffin

Dance Of The Red Death by Bethany Griffin

TITLE: Dance Of The Red Death
SERIES: Masque Of The Red Death #2
AUTHOR: Bethany Griffin
PUBLICATION DATE: June 11, 2013
PUBLISHER: Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
PAGES: 327 pages
FORMAT: E-ARC
SOURCE: Edelweiss
RATING: 4 stars

Dance Of The Red Death picks up pretty closely after Masque leaves off. Araby’s world has pretty much fallen apart, betrayed by the one she loves, learning that her father is far more responsible for the plagues of this world than she ever realized, and doing her best to make sure her best friend doesn’t keel over, she is in for a very bumpy ride.

I am rather conflicted about this one. I adored the first one, despite its irritating love triangle and cliffhanger because it was beautifully written and appealingly dark and while this kept those standards high, the love triangle was quite a bit worse in this one. Araby spent much of the time with Elliot while secretly pining for Will but refusing to outwardly pine for him because he betrayed her and she can never trust him again and so on. All that is understandable, but more than a little irritating because we all know exactly where this story is going to end up. ****SPOILER****With her forgiving Will and them riding off into a disease free sunset.****END SPOILER**** While I was fully Team Will from the beginning, I did actually like Elliot in the first one, whereas in this one he just turns into a dick. He pushes Araby around, and tries to get her into his bed even though he knows she is conflicted over it and still hung up over Will…then the ending…well let’s just say that if I HAD been Team Elliot, that ending would have murdered that inclination pretty rapidly. I really need to do a better job of weeding out the possibilities of love triangles in my reading material because they all anger me so much and I find them so juvenile. X_X

The plot line and writing were just as epic and dark as the first one, with Araby forced to make difficult choices and searching desperately for a way to save April, be it through her father or by trading herself to Malcontent, she is pretty determined not to let April die. ****SPOILER****Not that it does one damn bit of good because she dies anyway. I was so fucking angry and that’s a big reason this couldn’t get 5 stars, besides the irritating love triangle.****END SPOILER**** I didn’t see much of it coming and since lately I seem to be clairvoyant about plot twists, that’s really a huge compliment. I think anyone who loved the first novel will enjoy this one, just be prepared for more love triangle drama.

****Thank you to Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers for providing me with an eARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review****

TITLE: Masque Of The Red Death
SERIES: Masque Of The Red Death #1
AUTHOR: Bethany Griffin
PUBLICATION DATE: April 24, 2012
PUBLISHER: Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
PAGES: 319 pages
FORMAT: ARC
SOURCE: Borrowed
RATING: 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I was a bit cautious because any time there is a title with the word “death” in it I become aware that death just might occur. It does, but thankfully not to any of our main characters. It starts off following our near suicidal, drug addicted heroine (he he) into a club with her best friend where she promptly takes a drug called oblivion and passes out. I know many people probably can’t stand Araby because they’ll see her put in that same role of whiny self pitying girl and while I see where they are coming from in putting her in that place, I think they are missing what else she has to offer. I found her utterly fascinating. The bond between twins is profound (or so I’ve heard) and to lose a twin is like losing half of yourself and I can completely see why she denies herself things he wouldn’t experience and blame herself for what happened. The event of her brother’s death devastated the family and alienated her from her parents in a way that seemed completely believable to me. I know she was weak in the beginning, but I enjoyed seeing her grow and fight with her addiction to stay clean in order to keep a clear head while trying to help the needy people. I loved her compassion.

Now for the guys…..I’ll go ahead and state now that I am Team Will.

Yes, I know he does something unforgivable, but he has a reason that even our heroine can’t argue with. Plus he is a change from the typical pushy, high-handed male characters that pervade YA right now ::coughs:: Edward Cullen ::clears throat:: He’s sweet and caring and reminds me a bit of Alec from orbidden. Elliot on the other hand was cocky, high-handed, insincere, and completely loveable. Though I prefer Will, I can definitely see Elliott’s appeal. I really liked him as a character, I just think Araby belongs with Will. That’s how this series is going to end dammit!

See, Castiel agrees so it must be so.

The world is also amazing. I’ve said before that I’ve become obsessed with dystopian novels and that still holds true. I loved reading about this insane world where a mystery plague had killed all the horses and a great many people. A world where the act of kissing was the most intimate thing possible because that required removing your mask. A steampunk dystopian love story with rebellion and a bit of humor, what more do I need? Oh and the dress. Holy fuck the dresses.

I worship Bethany Griffin for describing these amazing garments in detail. Much like our world, it is the norm to show as much skin as possible, only this fashion craze is inspired by the desire to show the world that your skin is free of the puss sores and bruises that are signs of the deadly plague. The dresses are pretty much like this, take and 18th century dress, remove the petticoats and take scissors to the bottom and cut it up (in jagged, uneven lines) to above the knee. Or at least, that was my interpretation of them. Either way, I bow at your feet.

The writing was well done and I couldn’t put it down. I literally started this book at 8 one night just to get started and stayed up until well past midnight until I was literally falling asleep on it trying to finish it and rushed home from work the next day to get back to it. I love it so much.

Complaints…um, well it’s the dreaded love triangle, but it wasn’t as bad as some. It also has a horrid cliffhanger, but I guess I’m becoming immune to the anger that normally follows them. Beyond those 2 hang-ups, it was amazing and you should go read it now. Seriously walk away from your laptop, get in your car, drive to your local bookstore, and buy it now….or your local library if that have it.