The Mephisto Covenant: The Redemption of Ajax

by Trinity Faegen

Jax, a son of Hell, and Sasha, a descendent of Eve, unexpectedly find love, but Sasha must sacrifice the purity of her soul to save him while he struggles to keep her safe from his brother Eryx, whose mission is to take over Hell and abolish humanity's free will.

• ISBN10: 160684170X
• ISBN13: 9781606841709
• Publish Date: 24 November 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
• Publish Status: Transferred
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Egmont USA
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 442
• Language: English

Reviews

[lizarodz]

3.5 out 5

Overall I enjoyed the Mephisto Covenant, but I have to warn you that I don’t consider this book to be for Young Adults. Yes, it had to do with a young girl and the high school scene, but it has strong sexual content.

Sasha is a teenager with her share of tragedy and bad luck. A series of events is triggered by Sasha’s mother new boyfriend and her misplaced decision to visit a Raven’s meeting. There she learns that she is Anabo, which triggers the explanation of the religious mythology that is the foundation of the story. Jax, on the other hand, is a dark character that tries hard to be good. The romance portion is somewhat confusing to both Sasha and Jax, as well as to the reader. There is a lot of conflicting signals and the romance develops rather quickly, even though we can probably attribute this to the “paranormal” component of the story.

Other characters are well developed and I know we will learn a lot more about Jax’s brothers in future books (I hope you guys find your own Anabo’s too!) The Luminas we meet are pretty good people, but let me tell you, the bad guys are REALLY bad. Almost incredibly so, they are mean and cruel, and nasty. I am glad that the Mephisto are around to take care of the lost souls.

I really like the mythology that is the basis for the book. Better yet, mostly everything was explained at the very beginning of the book, so we are not left wondering what on earth is going on and can concentrate in other things. The plot was well paced with the right amount of description, background information, and action. The writing was easy to read and straightforward (maybe a little too straightforward). As I said, there are a lot of sexual content and strong scenes for the younger readers as well as a fair amount of cursing and cruelty. In general the book reminded me a little of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series, although a lot tamer.
I will certainly read the next book in the series, as I want to know what happens with the rest of the brothers, and of course I want to see Eryx defeated.

About the cover – It is a beautiful cover; I see the symbolism of crossing a bridge, the color black and the darkness, as well as the light that seems to be coming from Sasha.

[inlibrisveritas]

The Mephisto Covenant has a very interesting concept, and it's one that I felt I would really like since I truly enjoy stories that incorporate mythologies and religions. However as I began the book I realized this was a tad bit more religious than I normally enjoy reading, thankfully over the course of the book it scaled back on the 'preaching' and I didn't feel as irritated. I don't count this toward my rating at all because I'm a bit bias when it comes to religious aspects and it's not fair to the author. I did however have serious issues with the way this story flowed, as well as character interactions.

I'll start with the flow. The writing is wonderful and the story had a great amount of potential, and I feel that a lot of people will enjoy this because it's somewhat original. I found the plot to be dodgy, one minute you are getting use to something and then scene changes or the characters personality suddenly seems to be different. I understand the character development where Sasha is concerned over the entire course of the book, but a few times in the beginning she comes off as 'trying to hard'. Jax is your typical bad boy who falls in love with the 'normal' good girl, he has a twist but it's essentially the same. It many ways it felt like Twilight to me since it read in the same mindless way, it's a quick and easy read but it won't leave any sort of positive lasting impression on me. Despite the easy flow of this I found it very hard to read and concentrate on, and I had quite a few moments where I simply wanted to quit reading it and review the bit I had managed to read.

Now for the characters. I personally didn't feel anything for any of the characters, except annoyance. Eryx didn't bother me at all, which I feel is an essential trait for a bad guy. Jax and Sasha's relationship was annoying and flip-flopped more then fish out of water. Melanie's character just came off as another aspect that seemed "over worked", she was horrible like she was suppose to be but it was so over the top that it became childish and dramatic. There are times in the story where half of a conversation seem utterly pointless. I understand the need for normal conversations but there is a point where it crosses the line to 'filler' and becomes tedious, and this book has that problem at times. Also the word 'spit' is never an attractive way to describe a kiss and despite the fact that I know spit is involved I was repulsed at the mental image. The intimate scene I found to be too detailed for a young adult novel, and on the side of tasteless.

Overall I obviously didn't enjoy this book, and I can't say I'd recommend it in an everyday book talk. I think those who enjoyed Twilight would like this, however only to those who over 16 because of the adult content.

I received this from Egmont USA and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Angie]

I received a free digital copy through Net Galley.

Just a few pages in and I was already swarmed with questions which kept me reading: Who killed Sasha's father? Who are the Ravens? Who is Eryx? What the heck is going on?! The first three questions are answered by page 32, but I figured I'd give the book a chance. I'm glad I did! The author's take on Heaven and Hell was very interesting and my confusion over the different entities was quickly cleared up. The romance was a bit like Twilight, with some similar abilities, which was distracting at first. However, once things got rolling I was too engaged in the story to care.

My one criticism would be that some scenes felt very repetitive. It was like I read the same arguments and explanations between Sasha and Jax over and over. Overall, this was a pretty quick and engaging read. I'd definitely recommend it for readers who enjoy the YA paranormal genre. However, if you are offended by (or not interested in) religious themes, stay away from this one.

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

Sasha is Anabo, a daughter of Eve who possesses enough pure spirit to allow her to love a son of hell. Jax is the son of hell, that she gives herself over to love. The Mephisto Covenant is God's promise at redemption for Jax and after spending a thousand years of bringing people to Hell On Earth and trying to find another Anabo, he's finally found that redemption in Sasha, but it's more to him than just that. He wants her to love him, it means something to him. Of course, she isn't safe anywhere as long as she keeps holding out on joining the Ravens and if Eryx finds out that she's Anabo, he'll kill her. The question quickly becomes, can Jax keep her safe and can she love him despite the fact that he's a son of hell? Will she give up her mortality to become Mephisto, so that he can gain the peace and redemption through her love, which is pure, strong, and true?

What can I say about this novel that I haven't said already? It was a beautiful, compelling, and a very well developed story of love and sacrifice and redemption. I could not have asked for more and yet, I do want more. As soon as I turned the last page and closed the book, I found myself yearning for the next novel in the series, and realizing the first one isn't even out on the shelves yet. How very lucky was I, to receive an ARC of a book that was one of my top three most anticipated reads, this year.

Trinity Faegen did a marvelous job at marrying religious theology and romance with a mortal, in such a brilliant way that possessed a hint of underlying realism. The character's were engaging, the plot was well developed, the pacing never stagnated, and the imagery blended effortlessly into a seemingly fascinating story that involved Russian spies, religous theology, normal teenagers, cult-like behavior, and romance that will definitely keep the reader captivated throughout the entire read.

There was no mistaking who was good, bad, right, or wrong with this novel. You knew who all the players were and what their game was, their reason for being there. It was nice to see them play to their strengths or fall to their weaknesses, but still do it all with such realistic attributes accompanying them. It was easy to sympathize with the main protagonist of The Mephisto Covenant, Sasha, whose life seemed to be turned upside down the minute she found out her mother had lost her job at the State Department and was being deported back to Russia, then realizing she was going to be moving in with her Uncle Tim and a woman who hated her father as much as she hated her mother, if not more so.

The love story was probably one of my favorite things about The Mephisto Covenant, because it wasn't an instant relationship from the beginning. Sasha, knowing that she wanted to be with Jax, also struggled with that because of who she was and what he was. She was good and pure and he was a son of Hell, so the question became "how could she be with someone like him?" The irony is, that while being a son of hell, Jax was probably the most truthful and honest character that you could trust in the novel. He meant well and tried to respect Sasha's wishes as much as he could, even if it hurt him to do so.

I usually shy away from books with overly religious tones or theology, but with The Mephisto Covenant it was a bit different. It didn't feel all that preachy. It was more your basic good vs evil epic battle and not just another "fallen angel" fell in love with a mortal and now they're bonded through out all eternity. It was a quick, sharp-witted, new take on an old story with twists and turns that leave the reader wanting more. In my opinion, that is the mark of a truly fantastic novel, and I can easily give it five stars.