Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

If you like dystopian novels and you enjoy steampunk, this is me pointing you towards Masque of the Red Death. I'm not saying that everyone is running around in Victorian clothes--because the Weeping Sickness that's been plaguing the city makes being that covered up impossible--but there's airships and steam powered carriages.

I've been looking forward to Masque of the Red Death ever since Lauren DeStefano mentioned loving it on Twitter (and Goodreads) and let's just say that it definitely lived up to my expectations. Having said that, I will admit that I had one problem with Araby: she's sworn an oath to herself to never do anything that her brother Finn can't--seeing as how he died when they were younger. I'll be honest, if my brother died, I'd be devastated too, but I imagine that he'd want me to live my life, not spend it mourning him indefinitely like Araby seems dead set on doing. But other than that, Araby has a good heart and I loved her as a character.

And then there's Elliot, April's brother and as such, nephew to Prince Prospero. He's planning to overthrow his uncle and he also tells Araby that she can't trust him. But there's so much more to him than that and I promise you, you'll understand what I mean when you read Masque of the Red Death. On the other hand, you have Will, who works at the Debauchery Club--and Araby likes him more than she'd like to admit. He has two younger siblings who are absolutely adorable--Elise and Henry--and I love how devoted he is to taking care of them as best he can.

I know I haven't really mentioned Araby's parents, but they both seem like genuinely nice people who are dealing with things as best they can. There's also a lot more to them than initially meets the eye--you'll learn about it as the book progresses. As for the plot and pacing, I really enjoyed it. To be honest, I didn't put Masque of the Red Death down until I'd finished reading it; there were moments that I definitely was not expecting (in the last fifth of the book) and I can't wait to see how things develop in the next book. The world that Masque of the Red Death is set in is also really interesting and in particular, the plague and how the symptoms manifest--as well as why clothing reveals legs and arms.

If you're looking for something that will keep you flipping pages and leave you wanting the next book as soon as possible, definitely look into picking up a copy of Masque of the Red Death. It's a book that I definitely enjoyed and I hope that you'll love it too!

Overall Rating: ★★★★★

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Publisher: Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. 

Release Date: April 24, 2012

Edition: e-ARC

* Received for review via publisher and Edelweiss.

Shadowcry by Jenna Burtenshaw

Shadowcry
Author: Jenna Burtenshaw
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (an imprint of HarperCollins)
Release Date: June 21, 2011
Edition: Hardcover
* Purchased on my own.

In the small town of Morvane, townspeople fear the wardens most of all. They swoop down upon towns in Albion and collect citizens with no warning; although the townspeople do not know it, they're collecting the Skilled, a group of people who can see past the veil that separates the world of the dead with that of the living. Not only can they see past the veil, but they can also bring the dead back to life or see (briefly) into the future. Kate Winters is one of the Skilled although she has no training and quite frankly, no idea what she is, she'll have to learn fast. Silas Dane lives a half-life, bound to Da'ru, one of the High Council members, he cannot die and has made it his mission in life to find a way to die. And that, is why he needs Kate; to break the bond that binds him to Da'ru and end his life.

Shadowcry was a book that I'd heard very little about prior to reading it. Sure, it'd be mentioned in a few In My Mailbox posts and I think I've now seen two reviews on it, but other than that, it appears to have slipped through the crack. All it took was the official summary to convince me to read Shadowcry and if you like fantasy stories with solid world building, I'd recommend this to you; however, be warned, there is no romance in Shadowcry--although I would have no objections to Kate and Silas being romantically involved. (Perhaps in a later book?)

Silas Dane is not your typical male character; he has no qualms with killing those who stand in his way and quite frankly, he's rather cold (both literally and figuratively). If Barrons hadn't been interested in Mac, it would've been similar to this, I think. Silas will keep Kate safe as long as she's useful to him. Then there's Edgar who I can't say that I like or dislike. He just wasn't involved in enough of Shadowcry for me to form a real opinion about him. Other characters include Artemis, Kate's uncle, who knew about all of this and had been doing his best to keep Kate safe and Da'ru, the High Councilwoman who is obsessed with finding Wintercraft, a book written by a group of Skilled that were able to do much more than what most of the normal Skilled are able to do. But it's not just the book that she's after, it's Kate too.

Shadowcry will take you from Kate's hometown of Morvane to the walled city of Fume which now houses the High Council as well as the rich and powerful although once upon a time it simply housed the dead. There's really not much more that I can tell you than that. Would I recommend Shadowcry to you? Yes! Maybe it's not as fast paced as it could be, but personally I really enjoyed the plot and admittedly it's not the largest book so I got through it with relative speed. Maybe it won't appeal to everyone, but personally I really enjoyed it.

Seriously though, I'm looking forward to the next book entitled Blackwatch (although the title might change by the time the book gets released, after all, there's no official release date for the next book from Greenwillow) and I'm hoping for a lot more Silas Dane. And if you couldn't tell by now, yes, I'm slightly obsessed with Silas Dane.

Overall Rating: ★★★★★