4.23.2014 | Wednesday

Madly

category: Book Reviews
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Madlytitle: Madly
author: M. Leighton
series: Madly #1
published: 13 June 2011
publisher: self-published
genre(s): fantasy, folklore, romance
pages: 53
source: bought
format: eBook
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | BookBub | BookHype | Goodreads

rating: five-stars | series rating: five-stars

the blurb

Madly is your average nearly-eighteen year old girl—for a princess, that is.

Madly James is thoroughly enjoying her internship in the small town of Slumber when the unthinkable happens—there’s a prison break in Atlas, the magically-protected home of Madly’s race. A traitor has set free eight Lore, the spirits of what humans know as fairy tales, and they are making their way to Slumber to awaken their descendants.

In order to save her home, the lives of her family, and all of humanity, Madly must learn to wield her exceptional powers and recapture the Lore before it’s too late and all is lost. But Madly’s only help are her two best friends and the Sentinel, Jackson Hamilton, that threatens both her heart and her destiny. Madly has loved Jackson as long as she can remember, but he is the one thing even a princess can’t have. Can she resist love to become the queen she was fated to be? Or can she find a way to have both?

This novelette introduces you to Madly and prepares you for the quest of a lifetime.


my review

This novella is the start to the brand-new Madly series, a mermaid series that blends threads of traditional lore with new mythology.  I love mermaid-themed stories and this one was really fun.  At 53 pages, it is a short read,, but it is a great introduction to the world of Madly!

Fairy tales are brought into the mythology of Madly through the Eight Lores, whom humanity believes are only that… fairy tales.  In reality, the Eight Lores are spirits of those fairy tale creatures who have escaped prison to awaken their descendants.  The story centers around that premise and creates a very different world than I have read before in mermaid fiction.

The four main characters are Madly, her BFF Jersey, Jersey’s brother Jackson, and Madly’s betrothed Aidan.  There are the typical teenage angst right along with the magic and fantasy of the mermaid world.  Madly is a princess and she has a bit of a rebellious streak, which can be awkward when there are some rather strict rules about what she can and can’t do in that capacity.  All four of these characters are fantastic, each one with their own story.

some quotastic goodness

If I closed my eyes, I could almost feel the humid sea breeze ruffling my hair, the hot sun shining down on my face.  I could almost smell the sweet hint of jasmine in the air, too (Loc. 31).

Jackson’s lips pursed as he kissed my fingertips, sending a shockwave of electricity scorching its way along my nerve ends (Loc. 396).

There is action, there is adventure, there is mystery, there is intrigue.  And there is lots of good swooniness!  I can’t wait to read the next book, Madly & Wolfhardt.

About M. Leighton

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, M. Leighton, is a native of Ohio. She relocated to the warmer climates of the South, where she can be near the water all summer and miss the snow all winter. Possessed of an overactive imagination from early in her childhood, Michelle finally found an acceptable outlet for her fantastical visions: literary fiction. Having written over a dozen novels, these days Michelle enjoys letting her mind wander to more romantic settings with sexy Southern guys, much like the one she married and the ones you’ll find in her latest books. When her thoughts aren’t roaming in that direction, she’ll be riding wild horses, skiing the slopes of Aspen or scuba diving with a hot rock star, all without leaving the cozy comfort of her office.

You can visit her blog for her YA novels at .

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