This was a huge hype book when it came out, so I was excited to (finally) pick up a copy and read it. I enjoy Edgar Allan Poe’s short story that this is loosely based upon and was interested to see what sort of world Griffin would create around that idea — especially one that would hold up for an entire novel and its sequel.

Masque of the Red Death is basically a post-apocalyptic dystopia rather loosely set in Victorian times, with some steampunk elements to it; for example, Araby and her friend April ride in steam-powered carriages, created because horses died from the plague that killed off most of the population in the city. While Poe’s short story focused on the Prince Prospero’s parties and how he locked everyone up to escape the plague, this story mostly focuses on outside Prince Prospero’s castle and what’s happening while he hides from the city’s problems. We get to briefly meet him and hear about him because April is his niece and Araby is the daughter of the scientist who invented a mask filtration system that allows the rich to go outside and survive.

Overall, I found this a quick, fun read. I was worried we were going to get into mushy romance territory at the beginning, but Araby’s romantic inclinations are actually well handled and further the tension and plot of the novel, which I very much appreciated. The characters are great — we get the superficial stuff at the beginning, but then things are revealed throughout the story to slowly reveal complex, interesting characters. Though this is kind of true for the main character, this is mostly true for the side characters and reflects Araby’s knowledge/impressions of them; for example, she thinks her mom is vapid and too nervous, but then we find out that there might be a good reason for that.

While this was a fast read for me, a lot of it didn’t feel particularly interesting. I think a bit too much time was set up on fleshing out just how depressing life and the city is post-plague, and while it’s important, I’m not sure that we needed to so much of the fluff and could have gone into more interesting developments. Although, I do understand that we learn along with Araby because she’s been fairly sheltered up to where we meet her in the book, I just felt like there wasn’t quite enough substance to hang onto, and what substance I was given was super interesting, so I wish there were more.

Again, I found this book fairly entertaining, but didn’t see much in it to be able to rave about it. It’s a solid story with fairly interesting characters, even if the main character is a bit too naive for my liking. It falls into the same basic tropes most young adult novels of this time did: love triangle, corrupt government, and rebelling factions. I’m still interested to see how the sequel brings some of the bits and pieces together, but this isn’t something I’m going to go out of my way to recommend to people. It’s fine if you like this sort of thing, and certainly enjoyable, but not a must-read.

No matter what creatures people fear in the dead of night, in this city, violence is more likely to be carried out by men.

- Chapter 3

 

Violence is mindless. It doesn't listen to reason.

- Chapter 9

 

Everything is in ruins. A plague decimated the population. Those who are still alive, live in fear of catching the plague. Masks that protect people from catching it are terribly expensive and most people can't afford them. Whoever controls the masks, controls the city. Araby's father invented the masks, but now Prince Prospero controls their manufacture. There are forces in the city that want to change that. Araby goes from living her life trying to avoid reality and the pain of losing her brother to being involved with dangerous forces of rebellion. Araby doesn't know who to trust; even her father has not told her the whole truth. And now, there is a worse sickness, the Red Death. 

This book is good, and I am reading the sequel now. I have to say that I think it should have been one book. The end of the first book didn't really solve anything at all. So, while I am counting these for my Halloween Bingo, I am waiting to finish the second book before I mark the square.

 

 

The girl's grief is a mindless, crushing thing, and somehow I feel it, even though I am supposed to be numb.

- Chapter 1

 

I am not the person I was this morning. I am beautiful, fake, shallow, incognito.

- Chapter 1

 

Violence is mindless. It doesn't listen to reason.

- Chapter 9

 

I am not sure about this one yet. It isn't bad though.

Haunted by a crushing fear of death, a young Victorian woman discovers the secret of eternal youth—she must surrender her life to attain it, and steal heartbeats to keep it.

In 1860 Surrey, a young woman has only one occupation: to marry. Senza Fyne is beautiful, intelligent, and lacks neither wealth nor connections. Finding a husband shouldn’t be difficult, not when she has her entire life before her. But it’s not life that preoccupies her thoughts. It’s death—and that shadowy spectre haunts her every step. So does Mr. Knell. Heart-thumpingly attractive, obviously eligible—he’d be her perfect match if only he wasn’t so macabre. All his talk about death, all that teasing about knowing how to avoid it…

When her mother arranges a courtship with another man, Senza is desperate for escape from a dull prescripted destiny. Impulsively, she takes Knell up on his offer. He casts a spell that frees her from the cruelty of time and the threat of death—but at a steep price. In order to maintain eternal youth, she must feed on the heartbeats of others.

It’s a little bit Jane Austen, a little bit Edgar Allen Poe, and a whole lot of stealing heartbeats in order to stay young and beautiful forever. From the posh London season to the back alleys of Whitechapel, across the Channel, across the Pond, across the seas of Time… How far will Senza Fyne go to avoid Death?

Masque of the Red Death is based off of an Edward Allen Poe short story. I had no idea of that until I finished and was looking it up to shelve it. I'll have to read it at some point now but at this time, I have no idea on how they relate.

Araby Worth lives with the elite. Their world is crumbling due to a plague. People walk around with masks on to protect themselves and Araby's father designed the system. Therefore she lives in the nice area of town and has numerous masks for different occasions. 

But she still grieves for the loss of her twin brother and vows never to do anything he wasn't able to do. She distracts herself with drugs and alcohol from a club she visits. After a bit of this, the plot does start and involves the villanous Prince Prospero who controls the city and two groups working to overthrow him.

There is also a love triangle between Araby and the owner of the club who struggles to make ends meet for his younger siblings and the brother of her friend who needs her help to change the system.

I'm a bit mixed on the book. It was more on the okay-guess I liked it scale. There's only one book after this so I may pick it up just to finish it.