Madly (Madly series book 1) by M. Leighton

     Madly by M. Leighton
          Kindle Edition: $0.00
          Print Edition: N/A
          Length: approx. 53 pages
          Reading Level: Adult
          Madly on Amazon (opens in a new window)

And now for something completely different... Mermaids! And the cover shows it rather nicely without totally giving it away. I like this cover, aside from the title font. I like the sketch-like way it's done, but I wish there were more colors. It seems almost abrupt going from the silver to green. But it's still pretty.

Madly is a princess. Literally. She's heir to the throne of Atlas, her underwater home. But for now, Madly, her friend Jersey, her soon-to-be fiancee Aidan, and Jersey's older brother Jackson (along with several others, I'm sure) are attending school on dry land in the coastal town of Slumber, where descendants of fairy tales come to live. Everything is normal, until the Lore escape. Suddenly everything that matters, all of Atlas, all of the world is threatened. And it's up to Madly to save it.

This novella serves to introduce readers to the world of Madly and provide a base for the subsequent novels, of which there are two for now. The print version of book 2 includes this first novella, which, realistically, is how it could've been all along. But I understand doing it this way, because it entices people to continue to buy the books. So, it is what it is.

Now, there really isn't any "adult" content in this first novella. That's saved for the next two. But because this is the first in a series...

The writing is good. Not great. It's good, and it increases throughout the story. By the next two books it is ramped up to "great" status. If anything, it took Leighton awhile to hit her stride here. But the way she writes is so casual and engaging, you find yourself wrapped up in the narration.

I haven't really made my mind up on Madly as a character, other than I hate her name. There isn't much character development in this one for anybody, so I'll reserve judgement until my next post.

Madly serves its purpose. It sets the stage for the next two, and gets the exposition out of the way. And since it's free, it's a great way to decide if you're interested at all in the series. But I know I was, at the end of this novella.

It's free, so you really have no excuse. And besides-mermaids!

-Kayla