Review: The Fall by Bethany Griffin

Goodreads Summary:

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.

Publication Date: October 7, 2014

A Poe retelling? A cursed family? An unreliable narrator? The Fall was a book I knew I was going to love. Griffin didn’t disappoint and I ended up loving The Fall more so than her previous retelling of The Masque of the Red Death.

I was familiar with The Fall of the House of Usher and I was curious to see what direction Griffin would take the story. Since Madeline is such a mystery in the short story, I was glad The Fall was written from her POV. But Madeline is a victim of the Usher curse and the reader never can fully distinguish if Madeline is telling the truth or if she is succumbing to the madness that has affected her family for generations.

I love haunted house books and I really took to the idea of the ancestral home being a malevolent being. The plot jumped around from the past to the present as Madeline tried to unravel the mysteries surrounding the house and plotting out ways to break the curse. I didn’t feel lost during the time jumps and I found the plot moved at a good pace.

The secondary characters were well developed. Many of the character’s intentions were hard to decipher, so I liked trying to figure out who was good and who was evil. Madeline’s suffering was hard to read about at times, since she becomes a victim of not only the house, but also is treated cruelty by her mother and the doctors who are brought to study the family’s strange illness. My only complaint is I would’ve liked more of Roderick in the second half of the novel and to see more of the twins’ interactions to fully understand their complication relationship.

Although I read Poe’s story, Griffin added in her own twists and turns. The climax was a nail-biter and I thought the conclusion was solid. There were a few unanswered questions, but I think the reader is supposed to figure out on their own what had happened. Overall, I loved the gothic feel of the YA novel and I hope Griffin continues to write more Poe retellings in the future.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy for review! 

Review: Dance of the Red Death (Masque #2) by Bethany Griffin

Goodreads Summary:

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.

Publication Date: June 11, 2013

Dance of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an interesting sequel. Although it wasn’t a total letdown, I didn’t love it as much as the first book. I remember being hooked on Masque of the Red Death and staying up late to finish it. This took me a lot longer to read and I wasn’t totally crazy about how things turned out.

The beginning was a little rough for me. Araby has fled town with her friends and romantic interests as the Red Death has plagued the city. For a good twenty percent of the book, the group has taken refuge in the airship and landed in the swamps. Nothing much happens during this portion and to be honest I had a hard time catching up to who each person was and what had happened in the first book.

Once I settled into the plot, it got much better. The second half was much faster paced than the first. I liked the quicker pace, but it made the book feel uneven.

I really love the author’s writing style. The descriptions that she uses really bring this creepy world to life. I liked the steampunk aspects as well, although there were only a few. The setting is amazing, especially when the characters arrive at the demented prince’s palace.

Araby is a great character and I felt she came a long way since the first book. April was another favorite, but I wasn’t happy with how her story played out. Elliott and Will were the flawed love interests and I found myself preferring one much more so than the other.

Although I have mixed feeling over this one, I would recommend it to fans that wish to finish the series.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book for review!

View all my reviews

What I'm Reading Right Now

Quite a hectic week at the Wood household. I've just got hired for a slew of freelance writing projects and I've been working like crazy on marketing the book. As a new author I'm sure that I'm spending way too much time on marketing, but I'm trying to read as many resources as possible to figure out what approaches work best. Anyway, it's amazing that I had enough energy, but I've been able to fit in some late night reading. My recent reads include:


Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin-Do you ever start reading a book and think you're going to hate it and end up loving it? This was the case with Griffin's novel. I just couldn't initially connect with Araby and only really picked up the book because Poe's short story is one of my all-time favorites. I am so glad I stuck it out. It was really a page turner that kept me up late to finish it. I love the dark and deadly world Griffin created and none of the characters were clearly good or bad. Ending was a great cliffhanger and I can't wait to see what happens!

Across the Universe by Beth Revis-This is one of those book that are pretty polarizing: people either love it or hate it. I'm only about three chapters in, but seems pretty cool. The beginning scene was pretty intense and definitely creeped me out. I'm hoping it doesn't disappoint since I see there's a sequel available.

Awake: A Fairytale by Jessica Grey-I downloaded this as a loan because apparently I received a free one month Amazon Prime membership when I bought my Kindle Fire. The unfortunate thing was that I realized this after only a week was left of the trial. Anywho, I picked this one out since the sample seemed kind of interesting and it's been promoted as a modern twist on Sleeping Beauty. Although the beginning is a little slow-going, I'm definitely curious to see where it goes . The MC (Alex) is very relateable and I like that she's not a cookie cutter protagonist.