Title: Once Dead, Twice Shy
Series: Madison Avery #1
Prequel story: Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper
Author: Kim Harrison
Genre: YA, urban fantasy, paranormal
Publication date: May 2009
Published by: HarperCollins
Source: Borrowed from library
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Synopsis:
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.
A while ago I read the book Prom Nights from Hell, which is just a collection of short stories. There was one story in particular, Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper, that I wish would’ve continued. It was about a girl, Madison (hence the title of the short story, duh! lol), who was going to prom (hence the title of the book, double duh! :P). It was also the same night of her 17th birthday. It was supposed to be great, right?
Wrong!
She had just moved to the town and was still considered the new girl. And with out her knowledge, Madison's father set her up with one of his co-workers' son (Josh) for the prom. She found out, and of course, she was furious! So, she ditched Josh at the Prom and left with this mega hot guy. Only to find out later that he was a dark reaper that wanted to kill her.
And so he did. The dark reaper, Seth, killed Madison, yes. But something weird happened. Seth came back to the morgue for her soul, of course, she was totally against that (another major DUH!). So while trying to escape him she found that her “body” can go through things. Barnabas, a light reaper (who helps Madison), tells her that the amulet the reapers wear is what giver her the illusion of a body. The farther she is away from it, the less corporeal her “body” will be. So while Madison is trying to escape from the dark reaper, she somehow gets a hold of his amulet and claims it.
After finishing this short story I remember thinking, “Man, I wish this story could go on. I would love to see what happens next.” And oh my God, it has!!! I was very excited when I read the description of this book. It sounded soooo familiar, until it hit me: it was a short story from Prom Nights from Hell!!!
Once Dead, Twice shy starts off where Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper left off. Well, close to it, anyway. It’s been a few months after Madison’s “death” and Barnabas is still helping Madison. She is still trying to figure out where this Seth guy/reaper took her body, and she wants it back. But that wont be easy to do when the one who took her real body is back to take the rest of her.
Plus, they also run into another dark reaper (Nakita) who eventually goes out from Madison as well (request from Seth). In the beginning I disliked Nakita very, very much. But in the end she turned around completely (like a 360 degree turn!) and helped Madison out. She became one of my favorite characters. Especially when she was in the school environment. LOL
So with the help of Barnabas, Josh (yes, her Prom date), and a guardian angel (love her!) Madison decides that she will not stay put and let the dark reaper com for her.
But oh boy, that twist at the end... WOW!!!! Seth actually had a reason to kill Madison. And here we all thought it was totally random.
I cannot wait to see how Madison manages her new, er, “job.”
Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a comment! :)
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