The Fall

Presenting The Fall by Bethany Griffin.

Here is the summary of the book:

Madeline Usher is doomed.

She has spent her life fighting fate, and she thought she was succeeding. Until she woke up in a coffin.

Ushers die young. Ushers are cursed. Ushers can never leave their house, a house that haunts and is haunted, a house that almost seems to have a mind of its own. Madeline’s life—revealed through short bursts of memory—has hinged around her desperate plan to escape, to save herself and her brother. Her only chance lies in destroying the house.

In the end, can Madeline keep her own sanity and bring the house down?The Fall is a literary psychological thriller, reimagining Edgar Allan Poe’s classic The Fall of the House of Usher.

Bethany Griffin had done it again. After her stint with 'Masque of the Red Death', "The Fall" is another retelling of Edgar Allen Poe's famous "The Fall of the House of Usher". And brilliantly done too. Since I have not read the Poe original, so The Fall confused me at first but gradually I got the hang of things and was visibly intrigues by Griffin's haunting retelling of another classic.

The house of Usher is in one word haunted. Its haunting and it is haunted. With its malicious presence and its thralling powers the house keeps a tight leash on its residents. It is a cursed line, the Usher family. They don't live long. They can never leave the property and are slave to the enticement of the House. Madeline and her twin Roderick are the last of the Usher line and they do everything they can to be free. 

The mother favored the brother and the father favored the girl in his moments of lucidity. The brother got carted off to the boarding school but the sister was left behind. The brother then leaned towards logic and reason to explain the malady that affected the family. And Madeline who was firm believer choose to hear the House. Soon, Roderick's visits grew shorter and shorter and Madeline became a favorite to the House. At first she thought the haunted House only wanted to protect its residents but later came to realize the infernal malicious desires of the House and tried out ways to be free before it got her too.

Told primarily from Madeline Usher's perspective with a few in between voice of another relative named Lisbeth Usher. Short chapters ranging between ages 9 to 19 of Madeline. Bethany Griffin's flowing and fitting words bringing this haunting tale to existence. This is Madeline's struggle to freedom, to keep her sanity intact as she searches for ways to defeat the House, to escape the Doctors who do nothing but poke and prod and draw blood. The Fall chronicalizes not just her life but all of her inner-most thoughts and her insecurities. The effects of the House that creep upon her when she least expects it. At the end of the day though, she is the big sister and even if she envies the freedom afforded to her brother all she wants is to protect her brother.

Griffin's description of the House was just bone chilling. Riddled with twists and turns and creepiness. Every chapter produced new hair raising scenarios. Creeping us readers, showing us just how far the House would go beyond its limits just to get what it wants. You must have seen how I have been writing about the haunted House with a capital "H" instead of a small one because the place exerted its own presence throughout the book and the narrative is enough to pin-point just how important it is...... even if it creeped us into the next century. Marvelous job Bethany Griffin. *shivers*

"A hauntingly eerie tale of a cursed House and how the last Ushers defended themselves"

Genre :      Young Adult, Paranormal, Horror, Retelling, Gothic, Thriller

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Release Date: 7th October, 2014

My Copy: publisher & edelweiss

Rate:              4/5 (Really Liked It)

Other Books from the Author :
                               review links

Buy:           Amazon | Book Depository 

Masque of the Red Death #2 Dance of the Red Death

HAPPY RELEASE DAY.... A brilliant and creepy sequel and conclusion.... Presenting Masque of the Red Death #2 Dance of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin.

Here is the summary of the book:

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.

GOD let me just fawn over that perfect cover... Seriously it is SO GORGEOUS.... no seriously just look at the cover of the first book and now look at this.... These dreamtastic and gorgeous covers sure score pretty high on the eyes even before we begin to read it.... I'm still starry-eyed at these and the marvelous stories they give wings to.

Onto my thoughts about this book.... Well as to being a sequel it is brilliantly done. Red Death lay waste upon the land. Dead bodies pilling up and blocking the roads in a dreadful disarray. People falling to their death everywhere. The lucky ones, well with their own brand of lucky are running to Prospero's castle for protection. A refuge subjected to the whims of the sadistic Prince. Reverend Malcontent is another character who alongwith his minions seek to take over by means more vile than imaginable.

Araby, Elliot, Will and the crew had fled the city at the end of the first book, they are trying to gather as much force as they can and somehow find the cure. As we are all aware there is a bit of a triangle here. Araby, Elliot and Will...... me I'm Team Elliot and I definitely love them together even if there is no genuine love between them.... but the chemistry there is sure palpable. There is a sense of duty that bands them together and sue me but i like them with all that.

Araby as the protagonist has grown exponentially, while she struggles to choose between the two men in her life, there is one point she is certain about and that is save her friend April, who had been her support in her darkest days. The cure must be found and not just for April but for the world to be saved and men like Prospero and Malcontent to be kept at bay. Prospero definitely made for a great villain. Cruel, Malicious and a sadist with that little bit of psycho in there.

Griffin puts in some much appreciated creppyness to the mix. It is graphic enough to send shivers down my(and our) spine. This is an ending we have been waiting for and while I did not like a few things (not elaborating sorry since it will spoil it... nothing major though) but this is an end we were waiting for.

"Dance of the Red Death.... be enamored by the dark and gothic extravaganza"

Genre :      Young Adult, Sci-fi, Dystopia, Romance


Publisher: Greenwillow Books

My Copy:  Publisher and edelweiss


Rate:              4/5 (Really Liked It)


Books in the series(review link):
         #1 Masque of the Red Death

Masque of the Red Death #1 Masque of the Red Death

A steampunk retake of the original of the same name by Edgar Allen Poe (well I have to read that to make a head or tail of what it entails before I go about comparing)..... Presenting in all it glory (well the cover beauty to be exact) Masque of the Red Death #1 Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin.

Here is the summary of the book:

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.

Now as I have stated above I have not read Edgar Allen Poe's work by the same name, so I can't be sure of what it all entails.....so my views will be entirely on Ms. Griffin's book. Red death, is the plague  that has swept the land, killing millions in its wake. The only protection is the expensive face masks.....expensive in the sense that it is produced by a private company and not easily available to the general masses. Only the rich can afford such a luxury and the poor are left to their state. It is in these post apocalyptic, steampunk era that the story is based in. Araby Worth has some issues (in fact in the face of the plague everyone has major issues). The only one of the siblings still left, Araby has turned rather complacent and not very differentiated to life. Only the routine visits to the Debauchery Club with her friend April to just forget and drown in her grief.

It is in these club visits that Araby meets April's brother Elliot, the Prince's nephew and one of the club's workers, Will. She feels an attraction to both, that's when things start to complicate. Prince Prospero is not a person to be trifled with but he is also not someone you will want as a ruler too. Elliot is planning a rebellion but he needs Araby for that. Both Elliot and Will are truly not what they seem and maybe Araby will finally have something worth living for again.

As far as the cover is concerned, it actually and aptly summarizes the gothic and steampunk feel of the book very beautifully. The synopsis definitely doesn't give away much about the book and that is how I prefer it because then you'll get more out of it as you read through. The characters in here are all some wide varieties. Araby is the protagonist and she has big guilt issues, she is also very righteous and very stubborn, Elliot and his sister April, the nephew and niece of the Prince are the ones with the agenda here, they want to uproot their tyrant uncle, a noble goal. Then there is Will, although seem to be the only one with no agenda (we'll see what part he plays in the later book I hope) here feels like the one unwantedly caught in the crossfire.

It is visible enough that while Elliot, April and Araby are covertly pursuing their goal their is a certain attraction between Elliot and Araby, he seems to really care for her. But Araby seems to be attracted towards Will too....I seriously don't like William though (don't know why though!). Since this is just the first book and the author had written the beginning so beautifully that there are no jarring cliffhangers or info dumps....kudos to the author for that.

This is not a simple post-apocalyptic steampunk but with the added stuff is a story of a political struggle and of going against the norm to create a better world. I'm definitely counting looking forward for the next one now.

"Dark and engrossing......Bethany Griffin provides a tale that breaches all boundary"

Genre :       Young Adult, Steampunk, 


Publisher: Greenwillow Books


Rate:              5/5 (It was Amazing)