Book Thoughts: Masque of the Red Death

Title: Masque of the Red Death
Author: Bethany Griffin
Series: Masque of Red Death #1

Not gonna lie, I totally judged this book by its cover. But seriously, isn't the cover pretty? Anyway, the title (Poe!) and the lovely cover are why I decided to read it, but the story proved fascinating.

In a world ravaged by disease and death, masks are a status symbol as well as a health necessity: the wealthy can afford masks that will filter the airborne germs out of their air. Araby, daughter of the inventor of the mask, is set - living in safety, protected by a mask, and content with a practically royal best friend who can get her into all the best masks-only clubs.

But there's more to the world than meets the eye. I don't want to say too much more for fear of spoilers, but Araby discovers some secrets about the masks and the people who live without them -- like Will, who works at the club -- and those who may have even darker plans -- like Elliott, the off-limits brother of her best friend.

I don't feel like my summary has done it justice. At any rate, I think it's definitely worth a read! Dark and eerie with a great cast of characters that left me wanting the sequel.

Book Thoughts: Fever Crumb

Title: Fever Crumb
Author: Philip Reeve
Series: Fever Crumb #1

Fever Crumb came highly recommended by one of my best friends, and although I didn't love it, I did enjoy it and I can definitely see why she liked it. The characters are fun and likable (or, in the villains' cases, distinctly unlikable), the story-world is very well-developed, the story is intriguing, and it's funny. One thing I particularly liked: in this new post-apocalyptic world, they use a lot of our words to mean different things, and "blog" is a swearword! Also, someone has discovered Harry Potter and decided that he is an "old world prophet." I was so amused.

At the start of the story, Fever is the only female apprentice to the Order of Engineers, and she's been recruited by an archaeologist to help him with a very secret project. Engineers are trained to always be rational and ignore all emotions, so living with Kit and his children is appalling to Fever: they're the most unreasonable people she's ever met. But she's becoming unreasonable too, it seems, because she keeps remembering things that she's never seen before.

Her strange memories aren't the only thing strange about her. Fever's eyes are two different colors, and those that remember the reign of the Scriven are convinced that she is a Scriven, returning to destroy them. The only logical solution is to destroy her first.

There were a lot of times in this book where I wanted a better idea of what Fever was thinking and trying not to feel - I wanted to see more character development and I felt like the story was kind of predictable in places. But that aside, Fever Crumb was a fun futuristic story with an interesting take on post-apocalyptic England and characters that are endearing and enjoyable. I'm not recommending it with all the love in my heart, but I do think it's a worthwhile read.