Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Book Review & Giveaway - Near Death by MB Mulhall

 
Near Death by MB Mulhall
Series: Life and Death, Book #1
Published: December 2011
Publisher: Independent
198 pages (ebook)
Genre: Young adult paranormal
Acquired this book: From the author as part of the blog tour
Warning: may include spoilers
{GoodReads || Purchase this book Amazon || Smashwords}

Synopsis: So far the count is: Aya 2 - Death 0, but that’s a record that may be broken in the very near future.

The shy 16-year-old loner and her little brother narrowly escape being flattened by a bus when Gabriel, a classmate, is warned by a mysterious green-eyed boy of Aya’s impending demise. He races to her aid, not only saving her life but bringing with him new friends, his twin Marisol and best bud, Jackson.

The green-eyed boy, Christoph, is actually an Angel of Death banished back to earth. They don’t quite know what to make of him. Christoph saved Aya because she reminded him of a long lost love, but when he finds it hard to assimilate to modern time will he want to finish the job of crossing her over in an attempt to get back to where he came from?

Danger escalates when Gabriel's jealous ex, Sara, tries to win him back, her antics turning from annoying to potentially deadly; another Angel of Death appears spouting ominous and cryptic messages and secrets both Jackson and Marisol harbor threaten to tear the friends apart. They must put differences behind them and come clean because Aya may be running on borrowed time. If so, Death may win the game.


Near Death was a story with a very unique concept. There were a varied range of characters, and I found it interesting - and a nice change from the norm - to have different ethnic groups represented.

Out of all the characters, oddly enough, I think my favorite was Sara. She was completely psychotic, and I kept wondering what insane thing she would do or say next. She made me so mad! She was completely believable in her craziness though, and it added a lot of interest and suspense to the story.

The characters were extremely dramatic, and prone to violent reactions. If a friend slapped me across the face, I wouldn’t be friends with them anymore, but there seemed to be a lot of slapping and punching going on! Also, some of the characters seemed to have trouble making up their minds about anything - possible spoiler alert - first Jackson wanted Sara, then Aya, then Marisol, while Gabe wanted Aya, then couldn’t see her anymore because of Sara’s issues, but then almost right away, he was back to Aya and was in love with her.

The characters did become very loyal to each other though, and I appreciated that. It was obvious they cared about one another, and each other’s well-being. There was a nice mix of dynamics in the group, too - friends, siblings, exes, crushes, etc. I also enjoyed learning the characters’ back-stories - in some cases, it explained a lot about the characters motives, and could make you more sympathetic to them. 

Near Death was a very different, interesting story. The supernatural aspect was a nice, unique twist, and I enjoyed it very much. To me, the main story was about the group of friends, and the different dynamics and relationships within the group. It was like getting a glimpse into the inner workings of this little group of friends, and as someone who loves to observe human interactions, I enjoyed that.

 
As part of my tour stop, MB has been generous enough to donate an ebook of Near Death! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment answering the following question, along with your email address so I can contact you if you win. Open internationally, ends February 29th!

To enter, answer this question:
Have you ever had a near death experience?

11 comments:

  1. i have actually had a near death experience. it was about a year and a half ago and i was in a really bad car accident. along with breaking all the bones on one side of my face, i shattered part of my skull and had a brain bleed as well as a punctured lung. i don't actually remember much about it but i was told it was pretty severe and worrisome for a while. so yeah that was my near death experience, and thankfully it was just NEAR death : )
    ame1184 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good grief! That's so scary. I'm glad you're alright, and I think it's probably a good thing you don't remember much about it!

      Delete
  2. While I obviously don't want to win my own book, I will share my own Near Death experience which happened almost two years ago. I was driving home from a friend's house in a bad rain/wind and as I drove through an intersection, a tree fell, bringing down wires and a traffic light with it. The tree fell on the hood of my car, popping a tire, taking off the driver side mirror, etc. Thankfully, I was able to pull to the side, but had I been going any faster, it would have hit the windshield or roof and I would have been a goner.

    ***
    Heh Jack never really wanted Aya! He just liked to annoy Gabe and she was easy to talk to. He was definitely fickle in switching from Sara to Marisol though...but then again, teens like someone new every week it seems!

    Thanks for being a part of the tour and good luck to all who are entering!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cripes, that's scary! That's like something you see in a movie or on TV, you know? You never think it'll actually happen to you!

      Delete
  3. I have not had a near death experience. I am so greatful that I haven't.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's definitely something to be grateful about, especially after reading all the other stories!

      Delete
  4. Man - these stories are scary to think about. Happily everyone is okay. I have not had a near-death experience. But when something does happen (not this serious) to someone I love, it's hard not to think about 'what could have happened'. That's scary to think about and I try not to go there.

    Thanks for the giveaway!
    suzebomb@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is really scary, Susan! And you're right, it really is hard not to think about 'what could have happened'.

      Delete
  5. I'm the only one of my siblings to not have a near death experience. My sister almost drown and had hypothermia. My brother's appendix split and leaked into his body for days until he couldn't get out of bed. I have been very fortunate.

    helpersarah2009@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Crikey! Those are very scary things, Sarah. Glad your siblings are ok!

      Delete
  6. Damn, I see the contest has already ended.
    Wanted to write my near death experience here anyway.
    My parents have told me I nearly drowned when I was about 4 years old. Maybe that's the reason I can't remember that much about it...

    We were on holiday and I got pushed in the large swimming pool. I can only remember just standing there, looking around. My mom got me out of the water after a minute or so.

    Took me untill I was 8 before I wanted to learn how to swim, I was always afraid of pools. Maybe that was the reason why.

    Love to swim now!

    Love, Ellie

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting Ramblings of a Daydreamer! I love hearing what you have to say, and I appreciate every single comment. I hope to see you here again soon! ♥
~Marie

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...