Masque of the Red Death (Masque of the Red Death Series, Book 1)

Death is impossible and living is impossibly hard for 17-year-old Araby Worth, with her exclusive, decadent lifestyle surrounded by a plague-ravaged society ... Death is impossible and living is impossibly hard for 17-year-old Araby Worth in this sexy, post-Apocalyptic reimagining of Poe's gothic horror story of the same name. It's 1870 and a deadly virus has decimated the population of North America. Masked corpse-collectors roam the streets, removing the bodies before the contagion can spread. Though Araby tries to escape it all with drugs and parties, even at her most intoxicated she can't forget her brother's death - or her guilt for causing it. But things begin to change when William, the fascinating proprietor of The Debauchery Club where she searches for oblivion, and Elliott, nephew of the insane dictator, enter her life. One wants her heart, and the other her name. Convinced that he has won over his uncle's army, Elliott believes that having Araby on his arm will charm the populace into supporting a new government. After all, her father is the inventor of the mask which prevents the spread of the plague and saved civilisation - for those who can afford it. ... but Araby's greatest interest is that his plans will make protective masks available to all citizens and, in particular, to Will's young siblings, whom she has come to love despite herself. But nothing is what it seems. A new contagion called the Red Death is sweeping the city and a shocking revelation about the origin of the new virus puts Araby's life in danger. The mob wants her. The rebels want her. And both boys want her. In this superb two-book series, what and who Araby chooses may just decide the fate of humanity Everything is in ruins. A devastating plague has decimated the population, and those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles around them. So what does Araby Worth have to live for? Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery makeup . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all. But in the depths of the clubin the depths of her own despairAraby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club, and Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does. And Araby may find not just something to live for, but something to fight forno matter what it costs her. In this twist on Edgar Allen Poe's gothic short story, a wealthy teenaged girl who can afford a special mask to protect her from the plague that decimated humanity in the mid-1800s, falls in love, becomes caught up in a conspiracy to overthrow an oppressive government, and faces the threat of a new plague.