Happy Friday Eve Bookworms!

Today I have a mini review of Once Dead, Twice Shy and a spotlight of all the Madison Avery books. If you like YA Urban Fantasy and angels then this could be the book for you!

Once Dead, Twice Shy (Publication Date: May 2009)

My name is Madison Avery, and I’m here to tell you that there’s more out there than you can see, hear, or touch. Because I’m there. Seeing it. Touching it. Living it.

Madison’s prom was killer—literally. For some reason she’s been targeted by a dark reaper—yeah, that kind of reaper—intent on getting rid of her, body and soul. But before the reaper could finish the job, Madison was able to snag his strange, glowing amulet and get away.

Now she’s stuck on Earth—dead but not gone. Somehow the amulet gives her the illusion of a body, allowing her to toe the line between life and death. She still doesn’t know why the dark reaper is after her, but she’s not about to just sit around and let fate take its course.

With a little ingenuity, some light-bending, and the help of a light reaper (one of the good guys! Maybe . . . ), her cute crush, and oh yeah, her guardian angel, Madison’s ready to take control of her own destiny once and for all, before it takes control of her.

Well, if she believed in that stuff.

Goodreads

My Thoughts…

So we have this teen, who isn’t quite sure of her place in the world, and then she goes and gets herself murdered, and now she really doesn’t know where she fits in. You see, she isn’t alive but she’s not quite dead either, and she has this eerie amulet (stolen from her murderer) that she needs to wear in order to stay alive-ish. She also discovers a whole new world that has been hidden from her and the rest of humanity.

I’m really enjoying these books! The cover is what hooked me, but I am staying for Madison because I need to know how she will come to terms with her state of being, and also what it means for her future. They happen to be very entertaining as well.

The whole angel genre has really been done to death, pardon the pun, but these books came out a decade ago when it was a fresher concept. In this case the Good vs. Evil fight isn’t so black and white, and I am really appreciating that as humanity is decidedly grey. Additionally, I love the whole divine system the author created. It isn’t just angels and humans, which gives us a group of really interesting characters, like Grace the spunky, limerick loving guardian angel, and Barnabas, a very broody,  only one step away from a full existential crisis, fallen angel.

The other thing about these books that will appeal to many readers is that they’re clean YA. You can certainly have your younger teens read them too. Typically, I find clean books like this a bit unrealistic (I remember being a teenager), but in this case, it isn’t detracting from the story for me.

So, if you enjoy Urban Fantasy, specifically angels among us, and a tough female lead, then I highly recommend you give these a go!

Rating… B+ (so far)