The classic tale of Doctor Faust and his deal with the devil is brought into the modern world as five very different teams find themselves brought together in a melded family. While they are now living together in a posh apartment and going to a private school, Marlowe Academy, for the wealthy in New York, each had a wish they made and a deal they traded in order to get there.

*Italian Belle and her twin Bice have found themselves in the group for very different reasons. Bice is bright and the best at everything, but she really wishes that she could hide away in her books and studies. Belle really wants to be more beautiful that Bice.
*Valentin, a Frenchman, is hoping to make a name for himself as a result of his poetry.
*From England, Victoria is hoping to be the very best in everything since she never seems to live up to her father's expectations.
*Homeless Christian just hopes to be rich so he will never have to want for food, or anything else, ever again.

Madame Nicola Vileroy has taken on the role of guadian for this interesting group of people. Unfortunately, her mysterious background seems to have her less interested in what is best for them and more in what they and their skills can do for her. Manipulation is one of her best skills, and she will do whatever it takes in the forms of promises and gifts in order to win what she really needs from them. This includes playing the teens off each other and causing chaos among their peers.

Belle and Christian start to see that their may be more to the world than the things they thought they wanted. They, along with Bice, start to realize that things aren't really going the way any of the teens had hoped. They are going to have to do what they can if any of them are going to escape from the darkness that surrounds Madame Vileroy.

This was a really interesting read, even if it is REALLY, REALLY, slow in getting started. Once it does get a move on, it is really interesting.

Fans of the Gossip Girl series will recognize some of the character archetypes, but the added supernatural dimension really adds a little bit of Buffy/Angel to the mix. The characters are interesting, but they are a bit heavy in nature, much like the other aspects of the story. Since we are dealing with the ultimate of dark sources, that seems fitting, but I kept wanting to have a little bit of light humor thrown into the mix to help the story move along a bit more easily.

I would definitely recommend this book, but it is probably only going to do well with avid readers or those really pulled into the lives of these five teens.