Dance of the Red Death

Title: Dance of the Red Death (Masque of the Red Death #2)

Author: Bethany Griffin

Genre: YA/Fantasy

Release Date: June 11, 2013

My Rating:
♥♥♥♡

Bethany Griffin continues the journey of Araby Worth in Dance of the Red Death—the sequel to her teen novel Masque of the Red Death. 

 In Dance of the Red Death, Araby’s world is in shambles—betrayal, death, disease, and evil forces surround her.  She has no one to trust. But she finds herself and discovers that she will fight for the people she loves, and for her city. 

 Her revenge will take place at the menacing masked ball, though it could destroy her and everyone she loves…or it could turn her into a hero. 

 With a nod to Edgar Allan Poe, Bethany Griffin concludes her tragic and mysterious Red Death series with a heroine that young adult readers will never forget.

~ Goodreads

'Dark' and 'depressing' are the words that came to mind the minute I finished Dance of the Red Death.  This book was so depressing!  But it was also very captivating and alluring, so it all balanced out.  Well, except for the fact that there weren't very many cheerful parts.  Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, Araby and Will/Elliot's relationship scenes were the only parts in the book that actually made me slightly happy.  That's a downer :/

D.o.t.R.D. picks up right where Masque of the Red Death ended.  Araby and the crew are on Kent's plane/ship and are debating over where to go.  Of course, Araby wants to try to track down her father and face Malcontent's group of crazed zealots, but she knows they must go to Prospero's palace and face him, even if Araby is scared out of her wits of going back to the place that stinks of death and treachery.

Relationships
During her adventure, Araby is faced with her feelings for both Elliot and Will.  (Personally, I thought it was obvious who she would end up with)  Araby's feelings for each of them muddles her mind and many times I felt like she just wanted to make out with whoever was available.  Totally not acceptable.  I didn't feel the emotional connection with either of them.  The kissing scenes were very blah and the author didn't do the usual and write about how her heart was about to burst with emotion, etc.  I'm glad she didn't say that, because it's completely overrated, but some insight into Araby's emotions would have been better than none.

Araby's meeting with her mother in Prospero's castle was so incredibly dull.  Her mother was impassive!  I expected maybe a hug or some endearment, but what did I get?

"You're alive."

No!  That's a horrible reunion scene!  Ugh, that line drove me completely insane.

Blood, Gore, the Works
There is so much death and gore, so if you're not into that kind of stuff, you'd best stray away from Dance of the Red Death.  Bodies lining the streets, bloody tears, oozing sores, *shudder* this book has it all.  It was very gross, but it set a good description of the setting.  I could imagine the dilapidated city in ruins with its dying occupants lying on the damaged roads.  So, wonderful description of all things bloody!

The Story
I loved how Griffin drew me into Araby's convoluted world.  It was a bit slow in the beginning, but I was sucked in around page 50.  This book is a wonderful spin on one of Poe's greatest works, and I applaud Griffin on her series!

Overall, I'm giving D.o.t.R.D. a 3.5/5 because I loved Araby's story of survival, but the relationships came off as lackluster.