A Review for The Mephisto Mark (The Mephisto Covenant #3) by Trinity Faegen

Posted by Melanie
Release Date: September 24th, 2013
Finished Date: September 3rd, 2013

Publishers: Pink Publishing, LLC
Genre: YA Paranormal
Source: For Review

Format: eARC
Pages: 200

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.

The Review: The Mephisto Mark is the third book in ‘The Mephisto Covenant’ and definitely my favourite so far. This book also runs alongside book 2 so they are happening in the almost simultaneously. In ‘The Mephisto Kiss’ (book 2) we meet our leading lady, Mariah who is Jordan’s sister and we find out a little about her, we know her story is sad but we don’t know just how tragic it really was for the sister who gave up everything so that her Jordan could be safe & happy. Now Mariah is on Mephisto Mountain, taken to be with her sister that she hadn’t seen since she was six and so Eryx wouldn’t use her to get to Jordan. Only once there it becomes clear that she is Anabo and is intended for none other than Phoenix, who - after a century of mourning for his original Anabo Jane – is not happy at being given a second chance for redemption. Both are damaged people, both complicated, both determined to deny their connection….. but isn’t it possible they can heal each other?

I was very eager for Mariah & Phoenix’s story because we knew both of the characters from previous books, saw the connection happen, knew some of what they had gone through and I think it made the connection to the characters that much easier, even before we learned of the horrid details surrounding Mariah’s life I had connected with her and Phoenix had been a stand out character throughout too. Both characters were flawed and dealing with their own demons so didn’t think they’d be good for each other which was understandable and reading of them opening up to each other was emotional but also sweet in the fact that they finally felt they could trust another person with their secrets and yes, Phoenix had just as many as Mariah. I thought I had known Phoenix’s story but the little snippets we have of the brother whose Anabo was murdered in front of his very eyes, was just the tip of the iceberg as we finally discover what’s been feeding Phoenix’s guilt for over a century and boy, did I not see that coming. I loved seeing their relationship take tiny tentative steps, the way Phoenix was with her, the way he held her, helped her deal with her fears was so lovely and I loved the way she was with him in return and that she wouldn’t let him be a martyr any longer.

 The storyline was practically all about the relationship and even though the battle with Eryx made a few appearances, I felt like it took a back seat to focus on them and I thought it was very fitting because of the issues addressed - plus because of the story being in line with that of Jordan & Key, we already know most of what happened between the Mephisto & Eryx with only the last 10% being Mariah & Phoenix’s finale and what a finale it was, bringing more tears to my eyes. I thought the way the issues of the characters were handled beautifully, particularly Mariah, my heart broke for them many times and if you took out the paranormal element of this book, it could very well have made a great NA contemporary read. It was definitely my favourite book of the series and the main characters are my favourite too, I defy anyone not to feel something for this couple and I hope they have the most happiness. Following the conclusion, I’m excited to see where things are going to go, book 4 is set up with Zee & Euri taking the lead and this promises to be fun! Plus Eryx needs to step up his game but I always get the feeling that he too is looking for his own redemption….what an interesting book that would be!