Review of "Early to Death, Early to Rise" by Kim Harrison

 Finally got my hands on the second book in the Madison Avery series. You can find my review of the first one here.

Disclaimer: This book has been borrowed from my local library. I have not received this book, nor any monetary compensation, in exchange for a positive review.

Type: YA Fiction, Angels, Oh crap I'm dead!, Series, Reapers

From the book jacket: "   Madison Avery's dreams of ever fitting in at her new school died when she did. Especially since she was able to maintain the illusion of a body, deal with a pesky guardian angel, and oh yeah, bring the reaper who killed her to his untimely end. Not exactly in-crowd material. It's amazing that her crush, Josh, doesn't think she's totally nuts. Now Madison has learned that she's the dark timekeeper, in charge of angels who follow the murky guidelines of fate. Never one to abide by the rules, she decides it's time for a major change to the system. With the help of some unlikely allies, Madison forms a rogue group of reapers who definitely don't adhere to the rules of the heavens. But as she grapples with the terrifying new skills that come with being a timekeeper, Madison realizes she may not be prepared for what lies ahead- unless she gets some seriously divine intervention.   "

I'm really liking this series. Madison is an interesting character, and I love her interactions with the reapers, guardian angels, and even other timekeepers.. which we see more of in this book. One of the characters makes a mention of Madison changing people, and maybe that's her purpose.. to change the structure the light and dark reapers have been working with for millenia.

This book reads quickly, helped along by the fact that it takes place in one day, from the morning of one to the morning of the next. I was a little sad to see less of Josh, who was a big player in book one (as well as the short story that started the series), but he is present for a short while, and I can see how and even why he wasn't able to stick around for the whole of the book. But the lack of Josh means more of our resident angels, Nakita, Barnabas, and even some Grace. I really do love seeing the two reapers bicker, and Grace's rhymes make everything worthwhile. Really! They do.

I really enjoy that the reader gets to share Madison's journey into the unknown. There is much she doesn't know about her new job, and we the readers get to learn it with her. The first time she flashes forwards is an almost haunting experience.. and it's one of the scenes that stuck with me once I finished the book. I don't think it's much of a spoiler, but just in case, I'll put up a warning here...
*********** POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT ************

Madison is watching a possible Mark, someone that may need to be reaped, when suddenly things start seeming.. blue. Lights have a blue tint, her vision is fading into blue, and it's an experience that physically drains her. She begs Barnabas not to let her look at the stars as she fades into the flashforward... and wakes to him holding her tightly, mentioning he was afraid to let her go, because he thought she would fade away. I took great pleasuring in imagining this particular scene, and it almost hurt to see how pained Madison was upon waking, as well as how scared Barnabas was of letting her go.

*********** END OF SPOILERS ****************

I seriously enjoyed this book, and I'm desperate for more of the series. Now we have a new player in the timekeeper world... Ron's student/replacement, and I love the dynamic his character is adding. I can't wait to see more from Kim Harrison's Madison Avery series. And I'm loving the titles. I can't help it, I love playing-on-words/phrases kind of titles..

I'm giving "Early to Death, Early to Rise" by Kim Harrison a FIVE out of FIVE (5/5). I loved it, I really did. It's a quick read, which is probably the only item on the Con side of the pro/con list for this book. I want more Madison! More Barnabas! More Nakita! More Grace! More... everyone, really. So please everyone go check out "Early to Death, Early to Rise" by Kim Harrison, as well as the first book in the series "Once Dead, Twice Shy".. and the short story that starts it all, found in "Prom Nights From Hell."

Read the book? Tell me what you thought in the comments. Want the book, find it at Amazon.com!


Happy Reading!
~!~ Morning Glow