Everlong? Naughty?

I guess it must be, because I found a review for it on Naughty in the Backseat today. 😉

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.

Find the rest of the review here.

I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating. This is a book I didn’t think would ever be published. I knew it was different. I knew the characters were flawed and scarred and their situations aren’t exactly typical in romance. I can’t thank my editor at Samhain enough for loving this book as much as I do and being willing to give me the chance to tell a story the way I wanted.

(Okay, that part’s a lie. I do what the characters tell me to. Shh.)

Although I didn’t have concrete plans to write a sequel, reader response has encouraged me to write a second novel set in this world.

When I complete my revisions on Wicked Kin and submit it, I plan to start writing Everafter, which will be Harper and Emma’s story.

It will be told from Emma’s pov, and it will reveal how very little Maddie knew about her sister. In this novel, we’ll see the underbelly of the colony and Askara, instead of the often rose-colored version Maddie saw. And then there’s Harper. Emma survived his loss by coddling Maddie. Now Maddie has Clayton, and Emma has…a pissed off Evanti demon who has waited five years to claim his mate and consummate their bond.

Now I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking he won’t take no for an answer. 😉