New Release and Runaway Book Review

Just one new release today, but one that I'd really like to get... I'm posting my Runaway review today too because I don't want to interrupt my Beta Readers series and I usually take the weekend off posting.

Once Dead, Twice Shy by Kim Harrison

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.

Runaway by Dandi Daley Mackall

First Book in the Starlight Animal Rescue series

Summary:

Meet 16-year-old Dakota Brown. She used to love all things horse until she lost everything, including hope. The minute she sets foot on her foster parents' farm -- Starlight Animal Rescue -- she plans her escape. But can an impossible horse named Blackfire and this quirky collection of animal loves be the family she's always dreamed of?

Review:

At first glance this book would seem like it's for younger animal lovers and while it could be, I think older readers like me would enjoy it as well.

Unlike many horse and animal rescue books, those aspects of the story are sidelined in place of Dakota Brown, a young girl that's been shuffled from foster home to foster home that has a talent for running away from them.

This book is well-written with a wonderful voice. From the very first page I felt like I was there and I knew Dakota as well as if she was my friend. Even the minor characters are 3-D, like the social worker Ms. Bean that appears only in the beginning of the book.

As a horse lover myself, I enjoyed the horse aspect, but they did confuse me a little. Honestly who is going to believe a 16-year-old girl that's never lived on a farm is a good enough rider to ride a stallion that has a reputation for being wild even if the horse does seem to have a liking for her?

The ending was enjoyable, but not altogether unexpected.

Overall I give the book a 4/5. It was a good story with great voice and writing. Most of the time I didn't even notice that it was in present tense, unlike some stories which can get a little awkward at times in that tense. This is one of those books you can pick up to read for a few minutes and then look up a half hour later and not believe how much time has gone by.

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