• Once Dead, Twice Shy

  • Madison Avery, Book 1
  • By: Kim Harrison
  • Narrated by: Mandy Siegfried
  • Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (436 ratings)

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Once Dead, Twice Shy  By  cover art

Once Dead, Twice Shy

By: Kim Harrison
Narrated by: Mandy Siegfried
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Publisher's summary

"My name is Madison Avery, and I'm here to tell you that there's more out there than you can see, hear, or touch. Because I'm there. Seeing it. Touching it. Living it."

Madison's prom was killer - literally. For some reason she's been targeted by a dark reaper - yeah, that kind of reaper - intent on getting rid of her, body and soul. But before the reaper could finish the job, Madison was able to snag his strange, glowing amulet and get away. Now she's stuck on Earth - dead but not gone.

Somehow the amulet gives her the illusion of a body, allowing her to toe the line between life and death. She still doesn't know why the dark reaper is after her, but she's not about to just sit around and let fate take its course.

With a little ingenuity, some light-bending, and the help of a light reaper (one of the good guys! Maybe . . . ), her cute crush, and oh yeah, her guardian angel, Madison's ready to take control of her own destiny once and for all, before it takes control of her.... Well, if she believed in that stuff.

©2009 Kim Harrison (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"For ardent fans of the good-looking undead, this has plenty of verve, an enjoyable role reversal (Madison is constantly rescuing the good-guy hunk), and is quite fun when the supernatural characters are placed within a regular high-school milieu. Like it or not, a sequel is rising from the underworld as we speak." ( Booklist)

What listeners say about Once Dead, Twice Shy

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    159
  • 4 Stars
    118
  • 3 Stars
    106
  • 2 Stars
    29
  • 1 Stars
    24
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    129
  • 4 Stars
    68
  • 3 Stars
    52
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    12
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    112
  • 4 Stars
    70
  • 3 Stars
    66
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    12

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

THIS BOOK WAS JUST OK KIND OF BORING

I JUST FINISHED LISTENING TO THE WHOLE TRILOGY AND IT WASNT AS GOOD AS I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE. THE CHARACTERS WERE FINE BUT THE NARRATOR WASNT. I FEEL THAT HER VOICE IS BETTER SUITED FOR TEENS. OTHE THAN THAT, THE BOOKS WERE PRETTY BORING AND SHORT. THE ONLY BOOK I ENJOYED WAS THE 3rd BOOK.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Money wasted

I like Kim Harrison's Hollows series so I thought I would like this. But, I found it tedious to read, therefore, never identified or sympathized with the characters. I gave it two stars instead of one only because I like the author and hope for a better read in number two of this series.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good book for high school/college aged listeners

Where does Once Dead, Twice Shy rank among all the audiobooks you???ve listened to so far?

It was entertaining, but easy to put down. The teenage angst is too long ago for me. ;-)

Have you listened to any of Mandy Siegfried???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

The narrator did a great job.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me giggle out loud more than once. Pretty funny, I'm just not the right demographic for this one.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing!

Once Dead, Twice shy is something completely new and totally unseen before! Never before have you heard of being killed because you were too good. Or seeing a reversal view in good and evil. It is brilliant and captures you from the very first words that are spoken. This book is worth your time, and deserves more stars then just 5!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

If you read her other series this set not for you.

Would you try another book from Kim Harrison and/or Mandy Siegfried?

I have enjoyed the other series by Kim Harrison and assumed this was going to be similar and it is, if you are 13. This series is sweet but definitely a bore for adults. I think there should have been a symbol for series written with teens in mind. You don't get it from the brief sample and I was expecting more of the 'Hollows'. The cover art also indicated this was for an older audience. So I am listening but not really captivated.

Has Once Dead, Twice Shy turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, but again I would like to be able to really tell if a series is meant for adults or kids.

Which character – as performed by Mandy Siegfried – was your favorite?

Characters are nice, predictable and will appeal to the correct audience.

Any additional comments?

I happen to like the narrator for this series and the one who reads her other audio novels. The right voice really makes a difference. This one is a good match.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Don't Even Start

What disappointed you about Once Dead, Twice Shy?

That I even purchased the second book hoping that I could find the revelance to the first.

Would you ever listen to anything by Kim Harrison again?

Yes, but not this series.

What character would you cut from Once Dead, Twice Shy?

All of them. I listen to the second bookof this series (Something Deadly This Way Comes) because I was hoping because it was written by Kim Harrison there had to be a saving grace, I was wrong.

Any additional comments?

I read/listen to this series because of the Rachel Morgan. I now know that some authors need to stick with the winners, which this series is not.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Teenager Fiction

What disappointed you about Once Dead, Twice Shy?

The story was poor, what else can I say, I had to force myself to listen just to get to the end, as I hate not finishing a book.

Has Once Dead, Twice Shy turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, just this author.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The performance was really good, it was the best thing about the book.

What character would you cut from Once Dead, Twice Shy?

none

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Begins with Info Dump. Didn't Finish.

I'm not going to say that I only listened to the beginning of the book and stopped. I didn't. I stopped a good 3/4 through when I realized that nothing interesting has happened, or will happen. The info dump that begins the story wastes a good bit of the book; and this is a small book.

I picked Once Dead, Twice Shy because I thought the concept was pretty interesting, but when the characters sit around and converse about the mechanics of the world for the readers benefit? Nope. Sorry.

So, I'm going to go ahead and say that this book is unreadable. I love Kim Harrison and the Hollows series, but this was just weak compared to those books.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Once Dead,Twice Shy

The story line was interesting, but I feel that it was for teen age readers.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Story for kids

The story was very much for kids. The reader was a trial to bear. The whining tone, the sniveling tones…. It made me grind my teeth to suffer though. This didn’t feel like a Kim Harrison book at all. Disappointed

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