Something Deadly This Way Comes (Madison Avery, #3) By Kim Harrison
I'M MADISON AVERY, IN CHARGE OF HEAVEN'S HIT SQUAD... AND FIGHTING IT ALL THE WAY.
When Madison died the night of her prom, she knew her life would never be the same. Now she has a powerful amulet, a team of rogue angels by her side, and the ability to flash forward into the future to see the shape of destiny. And of course, now she's finally with Josh - a perfect boyfriend who doesn't even mind that's dead.
But being dead has its disadvantages, too. Madison feels caught between the light and the dark, and between her real life and her timekeeper status. When Madison has the opportunity to get her body back - to be alive again - she faces her most difficult decision yet. If she claims it, she could return to being a normal girl - and have a chance at a real relationship with Josh. But would having the one thing she wants most in the world also mean giving up everything she's worked so hard for? Something Deadly This Way Comes (Madison Avery, #3)
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1.5/5 Stars
The third and final book in the Madison Avery trilogy.
This was just a repetition of the first two books... I did enjoy it a bit more than the first two... but it still wasn't very good. Which is disappointing, because I still think the idea of the whole series could have been really cool and unique. Alas, I'm glad its finally over.
Still over here wishing that the story was about Nikita rather than Madison though. 245 At the halfway mark, I was concerned that the storyline couldn’t possibly be wrapped up properly with so few pages remaining. But I’m quite happy to say that everything is actually tied up fairly neatly, into an ending that is quite satisfactory. I’m left feeling like this series probably didn’t garner the attention it needed in order to continue beyond a trilogy. Which is a shame, because I enjoyed it enough that I definitely would have kept reading it. 245
I just don't care enough to continue to waste my time. 245 Third in the Madison Avery urban fantasy young adult series about Madison herself as the Dark Timekeeper aching to change the status quo — save the person whose soul is in danger instead of simply killing them.
My Take
OK, I was not impressed; mostly a lot of sturm und drang. The basic plot is interesting, but this particular installment in the series is very skippable. Oh, I can't really say that as it does advance the basic plot, and you'll want to know this for when #4 comes out…I do hope Harrison improves her writing though…
At one point, Madison is in the police station waiting for hours for rescue when she decides to go hunting for her real body (she's been told it's in stasis somewhere). She almost manages to slip into it when Barnabas shows up to rescue her, and she gets all pissy and holds up the rescue, whining about almost retrieving her body. Well…she knows where it is, she can go back and get it!! Instead she whines on and on…oh lord, save me!
Then she whines on…and on, about oh dear, whatever will I do about taking back her body and becoming alive again. Well, duh, she already knows that previous Timekeepers were alive. She also yammers on and on about how the angels told her she had a choice. I don't know if this is page filler or no one was paying attention, but it's all this idiotic whining that has reduced this to a 2 for me.
My big question? How ever does Madison have the time to spend on saving one person? What happens to all the others who are on the brink?
The Story
Being dead, Madison has no need for food or sleep, although she still attends high school, has a boyfriend, an after-school job, and, oh yeah, she reaps the souls of those who are at risk.
Not happy with killing someone without giving them the opportunity to change their direction, Madison is keen to effect a change for the individual as well as the Reapers and Something Deadly This Way Comes revolves around convincing Tammy, the current target for the Dark Reapers, that she has worth.
The Characters
Seventeen-year-old Madison Avery became the Dark Timekeeper when Kairos, the former Timekeeper, tried to kill her and was killed instead. Technically dead, Madison was given an amulet that provides her with an aura that keeps the black wings from feasting on her soul. Now she's in charge of all the Dark Reapers who collect those souls that Madison sees as being in danger of being lost.
This is the best explanation I've come across for the difference between Light and Dark Reapers…although it doesn't do much for explaining the names…
I finally understand the role of Timekeeper. The position must be filled by a human as s/he understands Time while the angels don't grasp what was now, what was then, and what was to be.
The Dark Reapers scythe immediately to save a soul; life is not important, the soul is.
The Light Reapers (the bad guys!??; then why name them the Light??) save the lives of those targeted by the Dark Reapers at the expense of the person's soul.
She does have help along the way from Josh, Nakita, Barnabas, and Grace. An odd mix of living, human boyfriend; Dark Reaper and falling-from Light Reaper both converted to Madison's idea, and her personal angel.
Ron is the Light Timekeeper and eager to do anything he can to discredit Madison. Poor Ron has no idea how Madison is subverting his assistant.
The Cover and Title
Well, it is a pretty white-blonde girl on the cover with her pointed chin, cherry lips, and kohl-rimmed eyes. I do like the faint tracery of angel wings at the bottom. As for the title, Something Deadly This Way Comes, um, er, ummm, well, it's a stretch… 245 Upon reading the blurb to this book, I had been instantly intrigued and very curious to know what this story would be like. I did not, however, pay attention to the fact that Something Deadly This Way Comes is the third installment in Kim Harrison’s Madison Avery series so when I received the advance copy of the novel I had wondered if I would actually even enjoy the book because I hadn’t read the first two. Not only did I ABSOLUTELY love this book, I had trouble putting it down!
The cast of characters were terrific! Madison Avery is one of the best female characters I have read in a long time. She is determined and courageous. Even when she’s afraid she still marches on, knowing she has to listen to her heart, even if it means taking on some of the most powerful beings in Heaven. She is also wonderfully funny and cute. Madison ends up feeling like your best friend. Nakita is totally awesome! She is spunky, loyal, and heartwarming. She had once believed, like Barnabas, in the way the angels of Heaven did things: kill a human and save their soul instead of placing a guardian angel on them and hope the human manages to learn to live again to revitalize the soul. Nakita had only ever believed in fate, not in free will but when she met Madison and had ended up saving Madison from the black wings--they eat away people’s memories until there’s nothing left of them--she had been imprinted with a piece of Madison and now know what it’s like to feel fear. She feels like she is growing a soul and her perspective has changed.
Barnabas, the rogue light time keeper angel, was deliciously marvelous! He is a mix of terrifying power and tragic beauty. Choosing to fall from Heaven in order to protect a human girl he had been sent to kill, Barnabas went rogue not knowing what to believe anymore. He had wanted to change Heaven’s rules but did not know how. When he met Madison all of that changed. Barnabas is gorgeous and brooding but is never obvious or arrogant about it. He is an angel so his hotness can’t be helped *hehe*. Paul, who is the light time keeper in training, (they stop dark time keeper angels from getting human souls and place a guardian angel on the human--only if the human doesn’t manage to learn to overcome their depression and learn to live again, the black wings can eat away the human’s memories), wasn’t in the book very much but from what I gathered he was in the other two before. He is just as beautiful as Barnabas but also has a nerd like quality to him. Josh is probably the one character that I didn’t get a very good feel for. He’s your typical hot jock but is very sweet and charming. I just couldn’t connect to well to his relationship with Madison because I hadn’t read the first two books.
I also didn’t understand how Madison could have a body but not be alive or how she could be dating Josh who is alive *scratches head confused* Seems vampireish to me minus all the blood sucking nonsense. Madison could still faintly feel certain emotions but she didn’t have a heartbeat or need to eat or sleep so I didn’t get how she could just be living with her dad and going to school without anyone noticing she was dead.
I also didn’t understand fully the stories with Barnabas and Nakita since I hadn’t read the first two yet. In the third novel Madison and crew talk a few times of events that took place in the first two novels so I felt out of the loop sometimes.
Other than that though, Something Deadly This Way Comes was a delightful read! I have found new literary friends in Madison and her crew of rogue angels. I cannot wait to read the next one to find out what happens next since the ending was great and was left open for another book.
First thing first, definitely go read the first two: Once Dead, Twice Shy and Early to Death, Early to Rise BEFORE you read Something Deadly This Way Comes. That way you won’t wind up as confused as me about certain parts in the plot and character stories.
*scurries off to buy the first two books*
For more information on Madison and crew or on the author, Kim Harrison, check out the author’s site: http://www.kimharrison.net/index.html
245
[Trilogy Review - No Spoilers] If you can overlook a few flaws, the Madison Avery trilogy is a fun, light YA read.
However, I had a difficult time following my own advice. I have a lot of nitpicky things to talk about in this review and unfortunately, not a lot of positive takeaways.
Once Dead, Twice Shy, the first book, had a few glaring weaknesses – the most prominent being the main character’s propensity for making bad decisions. I don’t mind it when characters make mistakes – flaws and an occasional lax in judgement can go a long way in making a story feel authentic. However, I take exception when every single decision the character makes goes against common sense (and against advice from other characters actively stating it’s a bad idea). Thus the pattern would go: 1. Bad decision made 2. Fallout from the bad decision made 3. The character saying “I’m sorry” and then moving on to the next bad decision.
I lost count of the number of times the character said “I’m sorry” throughout the first book and got really tired of the same spiel over and over again. And what’s worse, those tendencies and attitudes were evident in all of the other characters as well… which I think equals out to a story cluster-you-know-what where perhaps if the characters weren’t getting in their own way, they could’ve focused on adding substance. I think had the book been longer (allowing me more time to get irritated), my rating would’ve dropped proportionately. As it was, the short length actually worked in its favor.
Here’s what bothered me most about that, though: the character never used those failures to grow. There was no reflection on what she could’ve done better (other than the self-blame and apologizing), and I see that as a missed opportunity for more depth. She did use those moments to solidify some convictions, so I guess that’s something, but overall I kept craving more introspection. Incidentally, my biggest negative takeaway from the entire series is that Madison Avery’s character was a flat-lined consistency through the whole thing (and not just because she was dead) and all the focus was on the external conflicts. I should lighten the blow a bit by saying I did actually like her character profile, I just wish she’d given me an opportunity to feel something for her.
The external conflict/focus of the series took a while to become clear. There were moments in the second book where it started budding into something really satisfying, but every time it gained momentum, the focus would shift and it would get ignored for a while. I wonder if part of that was to save the “big profound moment” for the end of the series, but for me, by the time it got there I found my enthusiasm in the pits because it danced around it for so long.
This is one of those cases where my initial rating was going to be a 3 stars (I liked it), but after writing my review and really analyzing how I felt about it, I downgraded to a 2 stars (it was just okay) rating. Does anyone else let their word vomit help solidify their opinions? It doesn’t happen often to me, but when it does, I run with it. Keep in mind that I’ve been unusually harsh on YA lately and had I read these when they first came out, I likely would not have been so critical.
Recommendations: this YA paranormal story is definitely more suited towards younger readers. It doesn’t have a very strong romance angle, which might be perfect for a few readers tired of the same old tropes.
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.nikihawkes.com
Other books you might like (…better?):
245 Flat out, this is isn't my favorite series. I have a really hard time wrapping my head around how the light reapers are willing to let their charges get EATEN INTO NOTHING on the very slim chance that they'll change and become a better person before they die. I guess I could get behind it a little more if their charges were allowed to keep their memories of meeting a reaper so that they could make a conscious decision to change or... or.... something. I don't know. I'm bothered by it. I get why Madison was trying to make changes and the things she was saying made sense and everyone was all This is the way it's always been done. This is the way it will be done. Get over it. I just ... *pulls hair out*
That said, we did get some resolution on that front in this book. Madison is making changes. They're not going to come about overnight or anything but change is in the air. On top of that, she finally sees WHY the dark reapers are willing to cut short a life to preserve the soul. On the opposite end of the spectrum, she knows that there are some who can turn their lives around and make something of themselves.
Honestly, I can't really say I like this series as a whole. While the idea was intriguing, it never grabbed me the way I like to be grabbed. I liked the characters enough but... it just didn't work for me.
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
245 busy so much past ten days, can't read, my mood is peevish. and unfortunately when I got a chance to read, choose the wrong series, at least I don't curious anymore.
for you who want to taste this author works, never try this one. go for the hollow series instead. this one is really horrible. and yeay, glad I can finished it.
the characters didn't leave a deep impression, can't bonding with them.
the storyline... weird and bewildered. the adventures okay, the romance blah, the plot not that good and lastly very DULL. 245 I’m actually a little sad the series ended at book 3, it seemed to be getting a little better as it went on.
The 2 things I really didn’t like were Madison’s wishy washy decisions about remaining The Dark Time Keeper and her interaction with Ron, it was very juvenile.
I really liked Nakita’s character she really started to grow on me since book one and I began to understand why she was on the dark reapers side.
This particular book had Madison and crew trying to help Tammy a high schooler with some issues who runs away from home and her soul dies.
I really didn’t like Tammy at first and was like who cares if her soul dies she an asswipe anyways. But Madison sees her future when she is dying and The Black Feathers come to eat her memories and it was the saddest most emotional thing. Maybe because I read it first thing in the morning so I was a little half asleep still but it got me teary eyed. So then I was on Team Save Tammy.
I really started to get into Madison trying to save people’s souls and lives not one or the other and how she was trying to change a “misguided” system. It’s kind of sad it ended so soon.
I have heard good things about Kim Harrison’s Hallow Series so I will have to pick that up. 245 2.5 I tried, I wanted to like it, I wanted to support one of my favorite authors. But the main character Madison, was too immature, too selfish, got my ;last nerve twitching. I just couldn't get past my dislike of her to enjoy the story. It is a shame , I liked the side characters and the plot was interesting.
It just didn't work for me. 245
