NBR - Masque Of The Red Death by Bethany Griffin (book 1)

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - 3 days

Blurb 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 around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery makeup . . . 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 is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

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


My Review

Imagine trying to survive a world filled with disease, fear, murder, drugs and ruled by a tyrant who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Araby is living as best as she can, trying to fulfill a promise to her brother whilst under the same roof as her scientist father and aloof mother (both who she feels wishes she had expired and not her brother). Whilst trying to find escape and peace at Debauchery with her best friend she can't help but notice Will, handsome and aloof who makes her feel something other than the effects of drugs or the sorrow for the lives lost with disease. Eventually she meets Elliott who is dangerous, sexy and ruthless and believes he can give hope to those left alive and save what is left of his city.

This is quite a story, Araby is a great character who has many levels to who she is and how she came to be the person she is. My problem with the story is that I felt I was missing something a lot of the time (although by the end of the story I had a better understanding on everything). When someone went missing and there was no interrogation or real answers given to what had happened and where they had went. Also it seemed some of it was in riddles, something would happen or be mentioned and we wouldn't discover why or what until later in the book (this does annoy me as I have to read and re-read in case I missed something).

The relationships between Araby and the boys had, for me, some highs and lows and I switched my opinion on them a few times. Near the end there is a few twists and it does keep your attention but I didn't like how I didn't get my answers until the end of the book and even then I was left with questions. This is the first in a series and I will look for the next book to find out what happens next with Araby. 3/5 for me this time and thanks to Newbooks for providing me with a review copy and introducing me to a new author.

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