Review: The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen

The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen 
Release Date: September 27th, 2011
Pages: 438
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Series: The Mephisto Covenant #1
Review Copy: ARCycling in exchange for an honest review
Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Description from Goodreads:
Sasha is desperate to find out who murdered her father. When getting the answer means pledging her soul to Eryx, she unlocks a secret that puts her in grave danger--she is an Anabo, a daughter of Eve, and Eryx's biggest threat.

A son of Hell, immortal, and bound to Earth forever, Jax looks for redemption in the Mephisto Covenant--God's promise he will find peace in the love of an Anabo. After a thousand years, he's finally found the girl he's been searching for: Sasha.

With the threat of Eryx always looming, Jax knows he has to keep Sasha safe and win her over. But can he? Will Sasha love him and give up her mortal life?

What drew me to this book was the fact that romance seemed to be the dominant aspect. They need to fall in love for his redemption--and it isn't just a dramatic teenage thing. It's a legit situation. I was so pumped to read that and see how things went for Jax and Sasha. All in all, I wouldn't say The Mephisto Covenant disappointed me, but I wouldn't say it was as wonderful as I was expecting it to be, either. 

First there's Sasha, who was okay. She wasn't AMAZING or anything, but I didn't completely dislike her, either. She was going through a very suckish situation and dealing the best she could. Do I like the way she dealt with every single thing? Nope. But she didn't do anything too crazy that I wanted to slap some sense into her, either. The only big thing that bothered me was how Sasha took care of the situation with Jax. I get that it was all way out of left field, but it still bothered me that she was so standoffish about everything he had to say and then BAM accepted his help the moment she needed it. She works through that problem, though, which I obviously approved of.

Jax wasn't a bad boy. For all intents and purposes he should be. He was supposed to be. But he wasn't. Pretty sure Sasha had something to do with that. Goodness knows how reckless he might have been before he found Sasha and focused on her. And you know what? I liked that he was so conscientious of Sasha. It showed that he could be a great guy, and I much preferred seeing that side of him as opposed to the brief descriptions of how he was before. And now I totally heart me some Jax.

The romance was actually really nice. Sort of insta-lovey, but I was expecting that going in. It's actually central to the story, so it didn't bother me. Plus, I loved watching their romance develop as the story progressed. At first, it was just a sweet thing that they were looking at in an Anabo/son of Hell way, but then later it turned sweeter and into something that was just them feeling their feels. And yeah, I loved that.

I'd say the biggest issue I had with this story was the world-building. I pretty much understand everything (or at least I think I do), but there was too much info-dump. Not only that, but it happens more than once. With the SAME information. I understand why it happened--Sasha gets her memory wiped at the beginning of the book after she learns a bunch of stuff. But OUR memories weren't wiped. I don't see why we had to go through so many double explanations. Sasha needed them. We didn't.

The writing was good, though I would have preferred the story in first person POV. I liked that it was dual POV, but I feel like I could have gotten more into the story if I'd ACTUALLY been in the characters' heads, you know? There's something more connected about first person, and I tend to be partial to it. Not saying I don't adore any books in third person (ALL of the L.J. Smith books, anyone?), but with some stories, I feel it'd be a better experience from first person. 

Overall, I really liked The Mephisto Covenant. I fell for Jax, ended up on good terms with Sasha by the end of the book, and adored the whole premise. Though this book wasn't all I expected it to be, I found it enjoyable regardless and totally plan to read the next book in the series. 

 

Stacking the Shelves (7)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews! 

For Review:
Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly
Three by Kristen Simmons
The Mephisto Covenant: The Redemption of Ajax by Trinity Faegen

Won:
Nil by Lynne Matson

Thank you to Disney Book Group, Tor Teen, and Erin from ARCycling for the review copies, and to Lynne Matson for Nil! I can't wait to read all these pretties! :)

What do you think of my additions to my shelves? And what did you add to yours this week?

Stacking the Shelves #6 ♥ I HAVE ORIGIN!!!

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews!

 

So I may or may not have gotten something awesomely exciting (for me) this week...

 

 

And I may or may not have spent a good amount of time fangirling about it in my video this week...

 

 

 

Books Mentioned:

Forever Innocent by Deanna Roy

A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrochers

Unchained by J. Lynn

Hooked by Catherine Greenman

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

The Dollhouse Asylum by Mary Gray

Death and Mr. Right by Kendra L. Saunders

Whisper Falls by Elizabeth Langston

Extracted by Sherry D. Ficklin & Tyler H. Jolley

Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

Authors/Bloggers Mentioned:

Tiffany King

Victoria Scott

ARCycling

 

What do you think? Link me to your hauls and tell me things! :)

 

♥Jessica(:

Review: First Comes Love by Katie Kacvinsky

First Comes Love by Katie Kacvinsky
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Format: ARC, 198 pages
Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Series: First Comes Love #1
Source: ARCycling & Born Bookish!

Description from Goodreads:
Like his name, Gray is dark and stormy. Dylan, a girl always searching for what's next, seemingly unable to settle down, is the exact opposite: full of light and life. On the outside, they seem like an unlikely couple. But looks can be deceiving and besides, opposites attract.

What starts as friendship, turns into admiration, respect and caring, until finally these two lone souls find they are truly in love with each other.

But staying in love is not as easy as falling in love. If Dylan and Gray want their love to last, they're going to have to work at it. And learn that sometimes love means having to say you're sorry.

First Comes Love was nooothing like I expected it to be. The only thing I expected was, you know, LOVE. Other than that, I was all wrong about what I thought I'd experience going into this book. This fact is both good and bad. The most important thing, though, is that I did like this book.

This book was cute and sweet and...well, it was a story of first love. But it's not one of those carefree, happy-go-lucky stories. First Comes Love explores the deeper side of relationships. A side that often doesn't show in many books because they're overshadowed by other events.

Character Rundown:
Gray: Weeeell, guess who loves Gray? I love his name, I love his thoughts, and I love that he is 100% REAL. He is working through tough things, and he doesn't just forget them the moment he meets Dylan. Because, honestly, how would that actually happen in real life? In reality, we tend to remember the things we'd most like to forget. Well, in Gray's case, this statement is exactly true. For many, many things.

Dylan: I loved Dylan! She was not your typical female MC, that is for sure. She was so quirky. Reading her character was so fun! Plus, she didn't just drop everything for a guy. While I admit characters doing that is mighty convenient, and can possibly be looked at as sweet sometimes, this isn't exactly something I would applaud. Dylan has things she wants to do, and goodness, she's going to do them. I love that about her. And she's so peaceful. Her character...it was a nice break from the norm.

The plot. All right. Now we get to the things I wasn't exactly crazy about in the story. I liked this book. I did.

But.

Yeah, BUT.

But, it got predictable. Anyone off the street could probably read the desciption and guess how the book ends, no matter how dragged out the conclusion may be. I do like that this book showed them trying to live without each other, but...come on. We all saw it coming.

Other than that, though, this book was incredibly cute, in a deep way. Gray and Dylan learn so much about each other, this isn't just a lust-at-first-sight thing disguised as "love."

Another thing? This was an incredibly quick read. Seriously, it's not even 200 pages. This story just FLEEEW by.

Love. Here's another little flaw that I noticed--this is a fast-moving relationship between Gray and Dylan. Personally, I think this was okay because it was a fast learning process between the two, not just a bunch of making out and whatnot. But still, it's worth mentioning that it felt like Gray and Dylan didn't take too much time to fall in love.

Again, other than that, this is such a sweet couple! I adore the way they act around each other. It was so adorable.

The ending. As I said, I predicted it waaaaaay before I even got there. Before the actual conflict even arose. Don't get me wrong, I loved the ending--it made me so happy--but it wasn't exactly a shocker. It wasn't something I agonized over.

Overall, First Comes Love is a cute, sweet read that flies by and I honestly like. I can't wait to get my hands on the next one to see more Gray & Dylan! Those two...they are just adorable.

♥Jessica(: