Courage and Other Demons by Jill Daugherty is a young-adult urban fantasy, & is the first book in a series. Maggie O’Neill is just a regular girl living in the suburbs of Denver, until Simon Brady moves to town from Ireland. He’s nice, funny, and handsome. He excites her in a way no one ever has. He’s also a faery (something that Maggie has believed only exists in kids’ books) & his world brings danger not just to Maggie, but every human on Earth. As her world is turned upside down, Maggie has a choice to make: fight to save everyone or be killed.
When I was first contacted about reviewing this book, I thought it was a very interesting premise and was eager to read the book. I was not disappointed. The story is very well written, flows well, and the characters are well rounded & developed well through the story. The fantasy is woven in perfectly & doesn’t feel forced.
Maggie’s character is very believable to me and reacted the way anybody would when tossed into her situation. I also sympathized with her when she was dealing with her old boyfriend, being that I think most girls deal with someone similar at least once. I know I did. Simon’s character is the same, but even though we got to know him fairly well in the book, there is still a lot that is left in the dark. It makes me very excited to read the next book to find out more, and to see what Maggie decides to do as far as her fate.
Overall, it was a very good read and a great teen book. There is action, fantasy, and romance. The book is available in both print & ebook formats on Amazon & Goodreads. The book will be free on Amazon starting July 17 through the 22nd. The second and third book, Abandoned Courage & Defining Courage, are already out (the synopses are below). You can stalk keep up with Ms. Daughery on Facebook, Google+ & Twitter, as well as her website.
I received the above mentioned book for free to help facilitate my review. All opinions are 100% my own.
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Abandoned Courage (Book 2):
Maggie O’Neill had a rough junior year… She fell in love with Simon. She found out Simon was a faery. She spent some time with her dead ancestors. An evil faery with control issues came after her and brought his groupies to kill her. …but that was nothing compared to what’s in store for senior year. She’s the new girl at faery boarding school and is subjected to something she never thought she’d have to deal with in her entire life—mean girls. To make matters worse, she’s seeing less and less of Simon, her faery guard is smothering her in their efforts to protect her, and the evil faery is still stalking her, determined to kill her before she can kill him. She starts to wonder if she’ll make it to graduation. Then the unthinkable happens and she wonders if she’ll be able to survive even one more day.
Defining Courage (Book 3):
Eighteen-year-old Maggie O’Neill is a high school dropout. If her parents knew, they’d probably kill her, but that’s the least of her worries. Balor—the evil faery from hell—is still stalking her, someone is still betraying her, and the mean girl at school is still mean. The worst part of her life, however, is figuring out how to live it without Simon. Will Maggie discover a way to defeat Balor? Will she ever be able to out-snark the mean girl? Will she find Simon? Tune in next week—uh, read the book—to find out.
Thank you so much for the wonderful review! I think that one of the best things an author can hear is that her characters are believable!
My kids and I read this book during a rainy week end. It was so engrossing for all of us (kids are 10,12, and 15) that we immediately ordered book two. I found the fifteen year old sneaking it into her room to read ahead and not wait for family time. the characters are so real that we have begun to talk about them like they are friends we really enjoy. Ms. Daugherty is a talented writer and is especially gifted at character development. Great read.