Book Review: The Mephisto Covenant ARC

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: EGMONT - US (24 Nov 2011)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 160684170X
• ISBN-13: 978-1606841709

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 - Sasha 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 has been searching for: Sasha. With the threat of Eryx looming, Jaz has to keep Sasha safe and win her over. But can he?

The author unflinchingly launches the reader head first into action and intrigue with The Mephisto Covenant. At first glance, Sasha is a normal girl…albeit one served with a huge injustice. Her father was murdered. And Sasha is determined to discover the mystery behind his death; even if it means going to a group of people she’d do anything to avoid.

The Ravens are a secret society at her school – one that will kill a person’s popularity stone dead if they show even a hint of joining. But it is the Ravens who swear they can get Sasha the answers she needs. All she has to do is swear allegiance to their leader, Eryx.

Sasha figures she can mislead them – promise to take the oath, get her information then get the heck out of dodge. Her plan backfires when they see through it…resulting in deadly consequences.

The Ravens pelt Sasha with rocks and beat her within an inch of her life. They would have succeeded in taking it, had not the formidable yet gorgeous Jax, son of Hell, shown up.

The Mephisto Covenant was so much more than I expected it to be. I thought I was in for another YA romance, but colour me surprised when it turned out to be full of action, mystery, fear and bittersweet romance.

It was a joy to watch Jax and Sasha grow as characters as their relationship progressed. They were both charming and sympathetic, frustrating at times, but in a good way. The story itself was heart-stopping in a few places, achingly sweet in others. The author took the reader to the very precipice, dangled them over the edge and kept them there.

This book could very easily have become cheesy or too fanciful, but never did it become less than awesome to read. It is definitely one for older teens, with sex scenes more explicit than normally found. It would comfortably sit in the ‘New Adult’ niche in publishing, which I hope to see more of.

The Mephisto Covenant is the first in what is sure to be the next big series for teens and adults alike.