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?When I finished The Mephisto Covenant, I honestly didn't know what I thought of it. This doesn't happen often. I had read other reviews of the book, and found myself agreeing with many points people had made, but I also couldn't seem to put the book down, and knew I was pretty engrossed in the story, no matter how many complaints I had. I haven't yet made up my mind if this is a good or a bad thing. I think it shows where Ms. Faegan's strengths lie, though.
The basic ideas were quite fascinating and very different from classic angels and demons. Sasha is an Anabo, a direct descendant from Eve, and therefore is basically guaranteed a spot in Heaven and feels no animosity or anger towards others, and is completely unselfish. Jax is a mephisto, one of the sons of Mephistopheles and an Anabo. Jax should be damned, but has a chance at salvation only through earning the love and sacrifice of perfection of an Anabo. There's more to it, but that's the basic gist, and a fascinating one. I really loved getting to learn all of the interesting stories behind everything, and hope there is more to learn.
I also deeply enjoyed the plot itself. This is part of why I was engrossed, despite my reservations. The plot had a lot of twists, and really kept a nice pace. It lingered where it should've lingered and trotted along when it needed to. There were quite a few surprise developments that I quite enjoyed, despite the fact that they made me sad as well...
I did also enjoy the dynamics of the brothers. Each definitely had their own personality and quirks, and I really wanted to see more of them. We only really meet them all halfway through, and I was still figuring out who was who at the end. But I liked them. :)
But also, there was a whole ton of information right at the beginning. We start off with Sasha going to a Ravens meeting and have to learn what Ravens are. Then Jax shows up and we get a whole spiel about mephistos and Anabos. THEN we hear about Russian politics and the KGB and the CIA and random family members. It was a lot to absorb. All of the information was interesting, but it was an overload.
The love story was a bit meh for me, as well. The whole instant-crazy-attraction-that-we-just-start-making-out-the-second-time-we-talk thing is getting on my nerves. Most normal, well-adjusted teenagers (and even abnormal teenagers!) don't do those kinds of things, so teenagers in books shouldn't either.
There also was an interestingly large amount of sex talk. I understand the thing about an Anabo being "marked", but the first mention of it does the trick. There's also a pretty graphic for young adult scene right at the end that I didn't feel was super necessary, especially since this book is being advertised as young adult. I'm giving fair warning about this, since I know some readers aren't comfortable with overtly sexual content. (Obviously, it's not romance novel worthy or anything, but definitely more than I've ever seen in a young adult novel.)
In conclusion, (don't I sound adulty?) The Mephisto Covenant is a fast-paced and fascinating read. Despite my reservations and complaints, I quite enjoyed it, though I put a caveat on that. I am also sorry if I'm confusing right now. This book makes my brain confused. But I liked it.
Risk a paper cut? If you're interested in very interesting and new twist on angels and demons, most definitely. But if you're not in the mood for a bit of aggravation mixed with fascination, don't try it.
To buy: Amazon
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