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Blog Tour: The Mephisto Mark by Trinity Faegan (review, giveaway)
The Mephisto Mark (The Mephisto Covenant #3)
written by Trinity Faegan
published by Pink Publishing, LLC
find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, iBooks, Goodreads
Why did I pick this book: I participated in the blog tour hosted by InkSlinger PR. (I received a copy of this book for review purposes.)
Did I enjoy this book: I love Mariah; she’s remarkably written, and it was Mariah that kept me reading. She’s a broken, tough little thing, and I admire her strength. She’s the victim of sexual abuse, which is a difficult, heartbreaking topic, and Faegan tackles it respectfully and honestly—even posting a warning at the beginning of the book that it may disturb readers who have experienced abuse.
I liked the concept well enough: it’s another version of the eternal Good versus Evil struggle, only this time there’s a half-devil pack of delicious-looking brothers who go around smiting people (and they’re the good guys!). Add to the mix some Immortals, some Souls stuck in Purgatory, a new and different version of Hell, and of course, a love story, and you’ve got the gist. The concept isn’t new, but Faegan’s twists make it feel that way.
There was only one little thing that annoyed me. I thought I could get past it, I really did. Again, I even like the concept. But it festered. Faegan not only updated the God versus Devil tale, she also updated the language said figures use. I get it—it’s easier for readers to relate to characters who speak the same way they do, and it certainly adds a layer of humanity, but. Well. For some reason I just can’t picture Lucifer telling anyone to “Man up,” no matter what the circumstances. I expected Mariah to use modern lingo, but it just didn’t ring true for me that the immortals spent as much time studying pop culture as they did trying to save souls from eternal damnation. I mean, *I* describe things as ‘epic,’ but it just seemed weird that a thousand-year-old-son-of-Mephistopheles would do the same.
This is the first book in the series I’ve read, so perhaps one of the first two books explains the language thing. I finished the book in a day, so I guess the slang didn’t annoy me as much as the thought of cleaning my kitchen. Ultimately, it was a delicious little Saturday treat.
Would I recommend it: Sure. If you’re into seriously hot anti-heroes who spend their time reading romance novels to their soul mates while also trying to save the world, you’ll enjoy The Mephisto Mark.
Will I read it again: Probably not.
About the book: Orphaned at six and sent to live with abusive relatives in Bucharest, Mariah learned early in life to box up violent, agonizing memories and put them in permanent mental storage. Now almost nineteen, she has a paying job, a tiny apartment, and a plan to attend university. She loves her independence and is steadily overcoming her past, but when an enigmatic stranger walks into the pub where she works and the trajectory of her life changes yet again, she begins to wonder if she’ll run out of mental shelf space.
The only females unafraid of the Mephisto brothers are the extremely rare Anabo, born without Original Sin. Over one hundred years ago, Phoenix was first to find one, but he made a fatal mistake and she was murdered by his oldest brother and enemy, Eryx. Phoenix soldiered through the next century wrapped up in grief and guilt, his only outlet planning takedowns of those who pledged their souls to Eryx. When one of his brothers brings Mariah to Mephisto Mountain, he’s torn between his instinctive, powerful need to pursue her, and his certainty that he can never have her.
Drawn into the world of the Mephisto, Mariah sees the pain and misery Eryx unleashes on humanity, and the boxes in her mind begin to fly open, one by one. All that keeps her from slipping off the edge is her unlikely, sexually charged friendship with Phoenix. He’s incredibly screwed up; she’s completely broken. It would take a miracle for them to find happiness. Then Eryx brings the war for Hell to a whole new level, forcing Mariah and Phoenix to make a choice that will bind them together for all eternity, or rip them apart forever.
About the author: Author of the RITA winning Pink Files series, Stephanie Feagan has had a love affair with romance novels since she was eleven and discovered there are kissing scenes in Victoria Holt books. She spent a lot of time in her closet with a flashlight, reading as fast as possible to get to the end, only to start a new book and begin the whole Leave-Me-Alone-I’m-Reading cycle all over again. She still stays up until the wee hours to finish books, now courtesy of a lighted e-reader which she believes is mankind’s greatest invention ever.
Stephanie also writes Young Adult and New Adult paranormal romance as Trinity Faegen. A practicing CPA who loves travel, books, new pencils, old keys, and smart guys, she lives in the oilfields of west Texas with her engineer husband and a mean cat. She’d love to hear from you. She answers to Stephanie, Trinity, Hey Lady, and Mom, and can be reached at Stephanie@StephanieFeagan.com
or Trinity@TrinityFaegen.com She’s aware the similarity between her pseudonym, Faegen, and her real name, Feagan, confuses pretty much everyone, herself included. Since so many mispronounce Feagan as FEEgan instead of FAYgan, she thought she’d mix it up when she took a pseudonym and make it easier on people. Now people say FayEEgen, and spell it wrong. Next time she takes a pen name, she’s totally going with Smith or Jones.
