Everlong

by Hailey Edwards

Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Synopsis:

Madelyn’s life is far from fairytale perfect. She is second in line for the throne of a corrupt, brutal monarchy. Or at least she was until her dark guardian sacrificed his life to hide her safely in a realm of infinite possibilities.

For years she’s lived among a colony of escaped slaves as her guardian’s widow. Even in this simple life, though, nothing is as it seems. Her hero kept a secret—a younger brother named Clayton Delaney. Warrior, winged demon…and the man who now wants to lay claim to her heart.

No longer cast in his brother’s shadow, Clayton meets all obstacles head on, including one named Maddie. His infatuation with her reaches the breaking point when she undergoes a royal rite of passage, going into heat and pushing them both over the edge.

Just as Maddie learns that some risks are worth taking, she discovers that her guardian may be alive. And she’s forced to make a choice between the man she’d thought she loved, and the demon willing to lend her his wings.

Warning: This book contains virginal angst, a hero who’s too nice for his own good, wings, claws, and convenient use of glamour. It contains heartbreaking loss, conversation with a woodland creature, and sweet, sweet demon loving.

Everlong by Hailey Edwards

Review by Pepper

Everlong by Hailey Edwards is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Edwards has created a complex world filled with danger and intrigue. Her characters are complicated and well developed. The pace is fairly fast for most of the book, and even when it slowed a bit, the characters and their world were enough to hold my interest. And the touches of humor only add to the appeal.

Everlong is told from the point of view of Maddie, the demon princess with her tragically amputated wings, who is thrust into a new life in a strange place, where her royal blood is more of a handicap than an asset. In this earth-like world, where coffee is addictive —the demons’ drug of choice—our hero, Clayton Delaney runs a settlement for demon who have escaped the slavery enforced by the queen, Maddie’s mother. When Maddie ends up in his settlement, she blames her attraction to Clayton on his resemblance to his brother Harper, Maddie’s long-lost first love. She tries to resist Clayton, but he refuses to be denied. Gotta love a demon that just won’t give up!

One of the things I particularly liked about Edwards is that she wasn’t afraid to have Maddie fall for someone other than Clayton prior to their first meeting. So many times in romantic fiction, the hero and heroine come together never having loved anyone before each other. Which to my mind, isn’t the way the real world works. In Everlong, Maddie comes to Clayton, not only still harboring feelings for her first love, but thinking that first love is dead. That makes him almost a legend in her mind, so Clayton has a great deal to overcome.
Maddie’s life is no picnic either, especially with all the complications of being a demon about to come into her first heat. Still, with all the luscious demons she had to choose from, I’d put up with all the problems just to be Maddie’s situation myself. Too bad things like this only happen in fiction.

Maddie’s story is told in first person, which I normally don’t care for, but Edwards handled it well-enough I could lose myself in Everlong despite my obvious bias. Read it and see if you don’t agree.

See More of Hailey Edwards Books at her Site: http://haileyedwards.net/

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