The Mephisto Covenant: The Redemption of Ajax by Trinity Faegen

This was a fantastic book. I am happy so say that after a few weeks I have finally found a new book I can add to my favorites bookshelf.

A lot of reviews that I have read demote this book for characters that are too transparent and blatantly one-sided. But something that one must consider while reading this book, is the context. The Anabo are daughters of Aurora and descendants of Eve. They are purely good, and don't feel the more powerful of the evil emotions, ei. jealousy, hatred and rage. But what we do see in this book is the tremendous change that Sasha undergoes as she transforms into Mephisto. She slowly starts to feel those emotions, feel the temptation to resort to violence, and even succumbs to rage. So many reviewers' thoughts that she was too "goody goody" are the consequence of them not truly absorbing the plot. Had she not been so good, the story would have been flawed.

As for Melanie, her aunt, the same can be said for her. (I don't really think this is much of spoiler, but I'm going to mark it anyways just in case you don't want to risk it. I don't reveal anything huge about the plot though, only about Melanie's character). While she may be extremely evil, that is because she sold her soul to Eryx, therefore no longer feels the good emotions, the way Sasha does not feel the bad. Now, of course she was very evil before selling her soul, but I think that was a logical touch. Had Ms. Faegon tried to chalk up all evil to the lost people who had sold their souls to Eryx, I would have called BS. There is evil all through this world, and while a lot of people like to ignore it, the truth is it's out there, and a lot of it. Books often are filled with characters so intent on doing good and helping others. But in reality, few people are like that.

As for Jax, well, damn. Hot and I'll admit I'm a sucker for guys with a jealous streak. I only wish he'd been just a little bit more badass, if you know what I mean. Of course he was undergoing the transformation of becoming Anabo, so he was becoming more good, but still. I also really appreciated that Ms. Faegan didn't try to sell that he was a one thousand year old virgin. I mean come on, that would have been ridiculous. In the end I think it was a lot of the little things that made me really like it. The smaller touches that so often put me off of other books, drew me into this one.

The ending. The ending was great. Sometimes I want that heartbreaking finale that will leave me sobbing into my pillow for an hour, but in a book filled with so much religious thematics, I couldn't help but love the ending. Meeting God and sacrificing himself even though he knew she was already dead, I went all mushy over it.

Alright, here're the two things that I did not like about this book. One, I was confused. Did Eryx follow through on the promises he made in order to get souls? He followed through on some in the beginning, but later on it was like no one was getting what was promised. So that bothered me. The other thing was how Jax kept saying he loved her, but it's like it didn't really count until the end. Did he just want her to stay with him the whole book and only when she was dying realized that he loved her? Or what, because that was uber confusing to me.

Despite quite a few bad reviews on here, I would definitely recommend giving this book a chance. It may not be for everyone, but if you like it, you'll love it.

Four Stars

Rosalie

The Mephisto Covenant: The Redemption of Ajax on Goodreads