This review is (mostly) spoiler-free! Spoiler is marked as such.
Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin
Series: Masque of the Red Death#1
Genres: Young Adult, Steampunk, Dystopia
Release Date: April 24th 2012 by Greenwillow Books
Format: Hardcover, 319 pages
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Find it here: Goodreads || Book Depository
I have to say, the best thing about this book (or, well, duology, but I’ll give further opinion on the second book once I get to reading it) was its setting. I haven’t had the chance to read many steampunk-esque books, but I seem to really enjoy reading about the setting and the different takes that authors have on it. I’ll need to pick more of them up (or, you know, read the ones I already own).
What I wasn’t as pleased with was the characters and the plot itself. The idea of the plot, a mass disease that can only be kept away by masks that can’t be shared between people, is awesome. I was really intrigued in it. But the execution of it wasn’t quite as up to par as I was hoping it would be, hence the three-star rating. There’s also the whole romance bit that kind of put me off.
I mean, sure, I was expecting romance in a YA novel, that’s almost always a given. Finding a YA novel without a lick of romantic anything is pretty hard to come by, so I wasn’t expecting this particular story to be void of it, but the *minor spoiler?* love triangle? *end minor spoiler* One of my least favorite tropes ever, honestly.
I also had some trouble at times following along with what was happening, but, as always, that might have just been my own issue, and not the fault of the book’s. Sometimes my attention span is really shit, and I interpret it as the novel just not being coherent enough.
I will be reading the second book in the series at some point, so stick around for that review if you’re interested.
Thanks for reading!
Confessions of a Literary Addict 