"Mephisto Covenant" by Trinity Faegan~Controversial YA Fiction

Published by: Egmont

Pages: 448

Genre: YA Fiction, Paranormal

Age Group: 18 and up



Overview:

 

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?

 

 

The Dame's Review:

 

I want to address first of all the type of author I believe Trinity Faegan to be. She has an imagination and a sense for the mythological that connects to contemporary YA consciousness. I believe her identifying this connection will result in her book being very commercial. I also think whomever assisted in the selection of this novel's cover along with Ms Faegan, will make the book a best YA fiction seller this fall and winter. Beautiful book covers matter in the utmost to YA readers.

Ms Faegan spins a good yarn that may compel us to read on about her protagonists Sasha and Ajax, but it isn't actually good enough to be classified as literary fiction. There are gaps in her
characterization that weaken her writing but may easily be remedied.

What sadly highlights this weakness in Ms Faegan's writing is having to fall back on extremes such as; ultimately, a sex scene that gratuitously fills in the gap by explicit, certainly more than is necessary, sex that really doesn't enrich the story but may help keep the heat up enough to get the pages turned. 

I believe this type of sexual material isn't the best use of YA fiction, and it may actually cause the genre to be rocked from its intent to be appropriate for an age group of 14 and older. Not a prude, just that I prefer substance over slush and regard for the audience one is "speaking" to.

I also have difficulty giving high marks to a book that honors Satan, describes a girl who may have to lose her immortal life to save a boy who is a minion of Satan, and this all wound up in a world inhabited by dead, hateful souls. Actually, some of it is almost laughable when you write it down like this.

I realize that this novel appears to bring in Sasha as a foil to the "crowd" who are attempting to overthrow God. I'm wondering if it was a thinly veiled attempt to engender interest in the more salient elements of satanic mythology and sexual encounters to rev-up the now ordinary "milktoast" love scenes such as those in "Twilight." What is this recent interest in the indwelling of Satan and his demonic hordes, anyway?? Scary. Maybe we need to take a moment to examine that.

Aside from all the above, Sasha and Ajax could be converted to less demonically entrapped figures in the next book of Trinity Faegan's series. And, her writing may tighten up with a new book. I hope so. I believe she has it in her. I simply want to convey the serious concerns I feel about influencing younger YA readers in these directions.

I cannot recommend this book to YAs and parents without reservation. I think 18 yr. olds and grown ups are able to make their own decisons; however, "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"...and I bet you anything Trinity knows exactly what I mean!

2 stars

Deborah/TheBookishDame