Review: Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Title: Masque of the Red Death

Series: Masque of the Red Death #1

Author: Bethany Griffin

Published: August 2nd 2012 by Indigo

Genre: Young Adult Dystopia / Steampunk

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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

I was going to rate this book 3, but that implies that I enjoyed something about it, which I did not. Well no, I do, I like the main character’s name.

It’s not badly written or anything, but just not for me. I might be over dystopia, and while I think steampunk is cool in theory, I don’t enjoy actually reading about it that much.

To me the story fell a little flat. Araby Worth is running from survivor’s guilt, right into the arms of alcohol and a serious drug problem. Her twin brother is dead, and her actions as a child might have sped along the process. So she takes a vow that she will never experience the things that her brother died before experiencing. Only the vow only seems to kick in when convenient. To amp up romantic tension, mostly.

Araby thinks her parents would rather she be the dead one, and her brother alive in her place. She has a best friend who leads her deeper into self destruction. Why not? Why not take enjoyment where you can when any moment can be your last? When people are dropping like flies from the plague, the ruler of the city is killing people on a whim, and thugs are roaming the street.

By rights this should be something that hits me in the feels. It doesn’t. I had trouble caring about any of the characters. Our heroine, Araby, is incredibly disconnected. The love interests feel like cookie cutter versions of every other love interest ever written. I actually don’t even remember what they look like. One has tattoos and the other light eyebrows? Also, love triangle, not my thing. The best friend, April, is the kind of person I’d want to slap, if I cared more about any of them.

I don’t understand. I saw so many high ratings for this book. Why didn’t I like it more? I pretty much had to force myself to keep reading until the end. *sadface*

(2/5)