Review: Glitter & Doom by Bethany Griffin

Title: Glitter & Doom
Author: Bethany Griffin
Published: 26 March 2013
Reviewed: Sapphireddragon
SapphiredDragon Rating: ****

Glitter & Doom ( Masque of the Red Death #1.5) by Bethany Griffin

Goodreads | Barnes & Noble

A 50-page, digital-only novella set in the world of Bethany Griffin's dark and haunting retelling of the classic Edgar Allan Poe story Masque of the Red Death. When a rich teenage girl who spends her nights in the most desirable club and a smart, young inventor meet, they might have more in common than they know.

April, niece to the dying city's cruel dictator, is Araby Worth's glittery and frivolous best friend. But she's more than she appears. And when she disappeared in Masque of the Red Death, where did she go? This short novella answers that question, taking us deep underneath the crumbling city, where April crosses paths with Kent, the serious young inventor who is key to rebellion. Glitter & Doom is a story of chilling action, of spies, and of surprising love. Can love be anything but doomed is a city that's burning down around its survivors?
A dark, unnerving story about two of the most fascinating characters from Masque of the Red Death.

Review: 

I decided to read Glitter and Doom both as part of the Novella Reading Week being hosted by  Fiktshun & Magical Urban Fantasy Reads   and because being currently sategically placed between Masque of the Red Death, which I read a few weeks ago (see my review here) and Dance of the Red Death, which I am planning to read next week and this novella has been written to be read in between these novels. So the timing was excellent as is the this novella.  

Glitter & Doom is essentially April and Kent's respective stories.  We only see relatively small aspects of these characters in Masque of the Red Death so I really enjoyed getting a better insight into both of these characters and seeing how their stories contributed to the whole that is the Masque of the Red Death Series.

I like that we get to see a whole other side of April in this novella other than the shallow girl that is depicted in the majority of book 1.  This novella starts when April is 11 and Elliott 13 and ends shortly before the end of Masque so we get to see some of the events that have shaped the person that April has become as well as seeing some of the behind the scenes of what was happening in Masque.

We also got to see some more of Kent, a little bit of where he came from and I felt this gave me a better sense of who Kent is and where he fits in this series. 

I think you definitely need to have ahead Masque to be able to truly get everything out of this novella and I think it will make ain't Dance of the Red Death that much better having a read this novella.

I give this novella four stars.

Sapphired Dragon xx