Guest Review from Read. Write. Ramble. (Leona)

One of my favourite things about blogging is meeting other bloggers who love books as much as I do! I recently met Rachel and Megan and they were good enough to write a guest review for us! Make sure to follow them!


From Goodreads: 
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.


Megan: I am SO. SO GLAD YOU MADE ME READ THIS BOOK. Because it is amazing and scared the hell out of me!!


Rachel: This book is definitely one of my favorites of 2012 (so far). It's totally unexpected and weird and twisted and COMPLETELY AWESOME. It killed me to have to wait for you to read it so we could talk about it!


Megan: Yeah sorry. You are pretty used to that by now though. I feel like I really need to read the actual Edgar Allan Poe story this was based off of now. I have to say that if this is the way the world ends up I'm going to be pretty freaked out. I mean not even being able to breathe AIR without risking dying? That's some pretty intense stuff.


Rachel: Haha yeah. The world this book takes place in is so creepy and weird but somehow beautiful. Even though people are dying and there is this terrible terrible plague, I kind of want to live in this world. So basically Bethany Griffin is a genius.


Megan: She really is! And the love triangle was pretty ingenious too. I have to say that in the beginning I really didn't like Elliott, and I loved Will. But now...well I just don't know what to think anymore! This one really has the potential to drive me crazy the way Cassandra Clare's love triangle in the Infernal Devices Series.


Rachel: I went into this book having no idea there was a love triangle. When I realized, I was a little AHHH NOOOO DON'T RUIN THE AMAZINGNESS, but it was done really well and I actually like the relationships Araby has with both guys.


Megan: I do too. They're really different and Araby has a completely different relationship with each of them. Another thing I liked was that the description of this book didn't tell you much. Sometimes the descriptions give a lot away about what's going to happen, but this one was really open. It made the surprises of the book that much more exciting because I didn't really know where it was going.


Rachel: Oh yeah I know. But let's get back to Araby because I LOVE HER. She's kind of a broken character. I mean, she's trying to deal with grief after her brother's death and the world she lives in is terrible and yet she's still a very strong and smart character and she fascinates me.


Megan: Yes! I loved reading a story through the eyes of a character that was having such a difficult time. I also liked that you found out more and more of what Araby had gone through as the book went on.


Rachel: I just think she's so awesome. The purple hair and sparkly eye make-up? SHE IS MY IDOL.


Megan: Ooh I know! I wish I could actually get my hair to be purple. Because yeah.


Rachel: And can we talk about the setting for a second? When I was reading, I didn't really try to classify the book as dystopia or steampunk or anything. And I wasn't thinking "Oh this is in the past/present/future." Something about the world is so timeless. It feels like the story could take place in any place during any time period. I don't know, I feel like I'm doing a terrible job at describing this, but the setting is just so unique and amazing.


Megan: I totally get what you mean! There were some elements of the world that I was thinking, "Oh okay. That's from olden days. Like Edgar Allen Poe days." But then other things, like the few towers and other few modern things in the city make it seem like the story could be set in an alternate present or in the future somewhere.


Rachel: Exactly. I am just so fascinated by the world the story takes place in. I don't really read that many books that are all dark and creepy and everything, but I totally fell in love with this book. It's definitely one of my favorites that I've read this year.


Megan: Mine too! I definitely can't wait to read more from such a dark, Gothic world. I seriously can't wait for the sequel. Because WOW.


Rachel: Yes. I think the ending to Masque of the Red Deathis really satisfying, but I'm definitely excited to read more about these characters and this world. This is one of the best books I've read in awhile, and I think it deserves a million stars.


Megan: I completely agree! Have you read Masque of the Red Death yet? Let us know what you thought below! If you haven't....well what are you waiting for??


About us:
Rachel and Megan are two book-obsessed teenagers. They became best friends sometime around sixth grade, when they bonded over the fact that they were both reading Twilight at the time. Since then, they've basically been inseparable, and their friendship revolves around books. After constantly borrowing books from each other and squealing about them together for several years, they finally decided to share their feelings with the internet by starting a blog. They are weird and crazy and enthusiastic, and their "reviews" usually involve lots of words in all caps and exclamation points and squealing and general fangirling.


Read. Write. Ramble. is still a fairly new blog, and while Megan and Rachel still aren't exactly sure what they're doing, blogging has been a fun experience so far. They strongly believe that books are the best thing ever, and they love being surrounded by people who feel the same way.


If you would like to obsess over books with them, you can find them at a whole bunch of places on the internet:


Blog: http://readwriteramble.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/readwriteramble
Goodreads: (Rachel) http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5306375-rachel-read-write-ramble 
(Megan) http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5519828-megan-at-read-write-ramble