This is a short story that takes place between the two Masque of the Red Death books. It’s been a while since I read this series and I kind of forgot I had this short story on my Kindle. It was fun to go back and revisit this world.

The story follows April as she and Kent meet again and work to help bring down April’s evil uncle Prospero. This is some background at the beginning about April’s childhood and a glimpse that the first time she meet Kent. The novella is told in two parts first from April and then from Kent.

It was fun to go back and revisit this world and get some information filled in on where April disappeared to and some background on how she met Kent. It adds some to the story but not a lot. It’s does help you relate to Kent better though. It was also interesting to see Araby and Will’s relationship from Kent’s POV.

This isn’t really a novella I would recommend reading as a stand alone, but if you are a fan of the Masque of the Red Death series this does provide some nice background and fills out Kent’s story nicely.

Overall this was a fun read and provides some good background on April and Kent. I would recommend if you are a fan of the Masque of the Red Death series and want a little more of that world. This was an excellent series overall and I highly recommend it. ( )

Beauty and the Nerd

Set in the same world as Masque of the Red Death and its sequel, Dance of The Red Death, Glitter & Doom is a short story (about 50 pages, give or take) that focuses on two of the series protagonists, April and Kent. The blurb for Glitter & Doom promises that it will show us what happened to April when she mysteriously disappeared for much of Masque of the Red Death - and while some of the story does indeed take place between the two novels, it also functions as a prequel of sorts, giving us an idea of what life was like for April and Elliott during their imprisonment in Price Propsero's castle.

There are two main parts to Glitter & Doom: "Glitter," which is told from April's perspective, and "Doom," in which the narrative switches to Kent.

"Glitter" opens with a spectacle in Prince Prospero's throne room. An eleven-year-old April and her mother are forced to look on as Prospero commands Elliott to torture a young boy in front of the court. He refuses and suffers terribly for his defiance. Fast forward five years, and we meet April as she waits in line for the opening of a new nightclub, The Morgue. Here she's approached by a mysterious robed woman who attempts to lure her into the Debauchery Club instead. The women are attacked en route and April barely escapes with her life. It's a year after this incident that April and her new-ish friend Araby are stood up (seemingly) by brother Elliot at the Debauchery Club. She and Araby are drugged - by one of Reverend Malcontent's men, it turns out - and April is kidnapped...only to find herself imprisoned underground with Kent, her brother's nerdy friend.

"Doom" shifts the focus to Kent, who's been kidnapped by Malcontent and forced to build a bomb - the very bomb that will be used to destroy Elliott's ship Discovery in Masque of the Red Death. We learn a little bit of Kent's back story (which is both adorable and heartbreaking), and see how the characters' story arcs intersect at various points throughout the duology. He and April manage to escape, but not before Prospero burns Kent's childhood home to the ground - and the "frivolous" rich girl and the nerdy, nearly-blind inventor start to fall for one another. The story ends with the explosion of Discovery - and Elliott and Kent's plans for revolution.

I actually really enjoyed Glitter & Doom, even if it's a bit overpriced at $2.99. (The story goes by very quickly.) I came to loathe the love triangle between Araby, Elliott, and Will, especially as it takes center stage in Dance of the Red Death; personally, I find this blossoming romance between April and Kent much more compelling. This one's worth a read for fans of the series, especially if you're curious about these supporting characters.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2014/04/17/glitter-and-doom-by-bethany-griffin/ ( )

I always have mixed feelings about novellas in a series since I so often don’t see the point of them, perhaps due to my general love of meta in all things.

I find novellas frustrating because they often don’t have anything to add to the series and they’re too short to develop any kind of engaging story in their own right to pull me in. Sometimes they’re an interesting “day in the life” insight into the characters when they’re not facing the epic plot of epicness – which can be interesting character development but even that is of mixed utility, especially if it’s done before.

Without something to add to the main story – some advanced world building or plot or character development, something that will reflect on the main story I’m usually left feeling like the book was rather pointless, an unnecessary addition clinging to a main plotline at best or a cynical money grab at worst. At the same time, if the entire main meta rests on development revealed in a novella or short story, I find it annoying because such major developments should really be woven into the main plot line, not included in a novella which, I confess, I generally consider an add-on to a series rather than essential reading.

In all, I’m pretty difficult to please when it comes to novellas.

And all that being said, Glitter and Doom was one of those books that got it right.

Of course, part of the reason Glitter and Doom really worked for me was the same reason I found Dance of the Red Death kind of disappointing. The whole series follows Araby around when, frankly, she’s the least interesting and compelling character there is. Quite literally, just about everyone else: April, Elliot, Kent, Will, even Will’s younger siblings, would be more interesting protagonists than Araby. I actually want to praise the quality of these side characters but am stopped by the sheer lack of any compelling qualities in the protagonist herself.

Which is where Glitter and Doom comes in –a book that is about April and Kent and even a little Elliot. We get to see the backstories of Elliot that we missed and that add so much texture to his character. We get to see who Kent was, what motivated him, why he was involved, how he met April and how he actually became one of the team – rather than just a character who was dropped into the plot rather randomly.

Read More ( )

Novellas are tough. They really are. This one falls somewhere between [a:Brigid Kemmerer|4629194|Brigid Kemmerer|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1345284537p2/4629194.jpg]'s brilliant Elemental series novellas (which really add to the richness of the world and characters, but you don't have to read them to enjoy the novels) and major misfires like [b:Undone|16089245|Undone (Unraveling, #1.5)|Elizabeth Norris|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357684750s/16089245.jpg|21892569] and [b:The Queen's Army|16075962|The Queen's Army (Lunar Chronicles, #1.5)|Marissa Meyer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349734763s/16075962.jpg|21871423], both of which follow side characters/love interests--but if you read them in the order recommended by the publisher (both are, like Glitter & Doom, numbered 1.5), they spoil MAJOR plot twists from the following novel. Such a weird choice. I cannot fathom why this is a thing that happens.

So this novella doesn't spoil anything. It basically just fleshes out the events of [b:Masque of the Red Death|12924275|Masque of the Red Death (Masque of the Red Death, #1)|Bethany Griffin|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1341716702s/12924275.jpg|15605716]. What it felt like, really (and I have no idea whether this is what happened), was that the author started writing [b:Dance of the Red Death|13599291|Dance of the Red Death (Masque of the Red Death, #2)|Bethany Griffin|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349811814s/13599291.jpg|19190626] and realized that there are some major characters who got shortchanged a bit in book one, which really just told Araby's story. Here we're following April and Kent, the young scientist, and through them we learn a lot about Elliott, the short leg of the major love triangle of the series.

It's worth reading, but it feels like an early draft. It's good for people (like me) who read A LOT of books and can't remember what happened in [b:Masque of the Red Death|12924275|Masque of the Red Death (Masque of the Red Death, #1)|Bethany Griffin|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1341716702s/12924275.jpg|15605716] because we've read 350 other novels in the meantime--unless we (ahem) can remember THE ENTIRE BOOK UP UNTIL THE ENDING. So SOME of us will have to re-read the end of the first book anyway.

And I will never stop being annoyed that the two pretty girls in this series are named April and Araby. BOTH have "A" names. Grrrrrr. ( )

This is just a short bridge between Masque of the Red Death and Dance of the Red Death, so there really isn't a lot of necessary information in this book (having not read Dance yet, this is an assumption, but I'd be surprised if there was something vital to the overall story in this novella). What we have here, though, are a couple of scenes seen through April's eyes, so it's interesting to get her perspective on what's going on around her. I am anxious to get to Dance of the Red Death. These books constantly surprise me by how much I enjoy them! ( )