Review: Melody by Jo Michaels

Goodreads Summary:

Melody Acworth sounds like an angel. If she's not careful, she'll become one soon. Enrolled in singing lessons at age seven, she took to the stage and began to get fan letters. Some were good, some were detrimental to her psyche.

When Melody sees magazines laden with beautiful girls, she begins to look at herself in the mirror and think she should look more like them. Her mind takes the cruel letters to a dark place and she stops eating altogether. Before long, she's in the clutches of death.

By the time Markaza, a mystic with purple hair and tattoos, shows up, Melody's on her last legs. It's either eat or die. Markaza works furiously to try and repair the mental damage done so she can get Melody to New York; where she must learn to use a power hidden deep within herself to save the world.

They're running out of time. As December 21, 2012 approaches at an alarming rate, Markaza's visions turn dark and foreboding. The creature grows stronger every day. Soon it will rise and destroy mankind unless all six women band together to fight it.
Melody must be saved or the world will be destroyed.

Publication Date: September 24, 2013

To be perfectly honest, I was a little nervous going into Melody. Although I really enjoyed the other Mystic novellas, anorexia and bulimia are diseases that I take very seriously and are close to my heart. I was pleased to see how well Jo handled the topic and how the relationship between the central characters are growing with each entry.

Jo is certainly one of my favorite feminist authors (although I’m unsure if she would label herself this way). Women in her books face serious problems but they are able to overcome not because they’ve found a man to rescue them but because of female camaraderie. Overcoming an eating disorder isn’t easy and Jo didn’t shy away from how many difficulties Melody faced.

The book was a lovely read and I especially loved the descriptive writing. There was a part where Melody compares herself to a wilted flower and it was very touching. My only complaint was I wish a few more of the sub-plots were fleshed out. Jo’s been stingy over revealing anything about the big bad that the women are going to face. I also wanted more of the romance developed. However, since romance isn’t really the focus of the novels, I kind of understand why not a lot of attention was placed on Lily’s romance with Melody’s doctor.

The novellas are short and I usually breeze through them in an hour or so.  I’m looking forward to the next novella and I hope Jo plans to combine the series into one edition once the final book has been released.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Review: Lily (Mystic #2) and Shelia (Mystic #3) by Jo Michaels

Summary:
Lily Conyers is a twenty-year-old who had it all going for her until a car crash left her with terrible scars, no modeling job, and an addiction to pain killers. When she meets a strange young woman named Markaza, Lily begins to re-build her life with encouragement from her new friend.

Problems arise when Lily leaves the safety of her apartment for the first time since her accident to venture back into the world she used to know. Her so-called friends shun her and her boyfriend recoils at the sight of her face. She rushes home with thoughts of suicide only to find a letter on her step from a company called WSTW; promising her a new life.

Lily packs her bags, bids Markaza goodbye, and sets off for the city. But going to New York is only the first hurdle Lily must jump. She must learn to use the power inside herself to help defeat an evil that is threatening to destroy the world. Once there, she meets a girl named Bronya and the two help one another re-build what was so negligently broken.

As Lily is boarding the plane bound for New York, Markaza boards another headed to Tennessee so she can collect the next young woman on her list: Shelia.

Publication Date: October 30, 2012

Summary:
After a horrible accident takes the lives of her parents, Shelia Morgan is placed in the care of her Aunt Ivy and Uncle Melvin. For six years they work her like a slave. On her twelfth birthday, Uncle Melvin makes Shelia an offer that will destroy her life.

When she turns 19, the ugly truth about her past comes out during a therapy session, Uncle Melvin is arrested, and she's placed in the sights of everyone in town. Hurling insults, objects, and threats, the townspeople side with her uncle and call Shelia a liar. She loses her job, her boyfriend, and her freedom in one day. When a girl named Markaza shows up and tells Shelia she's part of a group of young women destined to save the world, Shelia begins to dream of a new life and true freedom from her personal demons.

She tells the jury her story and boards a plane destined for New York and her new life. Once there, she meets Bronya and Lily: Two other young women with special powers they must learn to harness in order to fight an evil that will rise on December 21, 2012, and destroy the world.

Markaza boards a plane to Atlanta to save the life of a young lady named Melody before her mind destroys her from the inside out. As Markaza fights for Melody's life, Shelia, Lily, and Bronya throw themselves into their studies and learn that even power from within can get out of control.

Publication Date: December 21, 2012

Lily and Shelia are the sequels to Bronya from the Mystic series by Jo Michaels. The premise of the series is that a group of powerful women need to band together to save the world from Armageddon. I’ve liked all of the books in the series so far and I’m curious how it will all end.

Lily: Each story in the Mystic series deals with a woman who has endured some type of tragedy. Lily’s fall from grace revolves around her becoming scarred after getting into a drunk driving accident. Her modeling career is over and she has to learn how to love this new scarred version of herself. It was touching to see her growth as a character and to witness how she comes to fully appreciate her inner beauty.

I would’ve liked more backstory on Lily. I’m interested to know what kind of person she was before the accident including more about her relationship with Wilhelm and her friendships. Overall, more character development was needed in order to lend believability to how awful her boyfriend and friends treated her after the accident. I also think that Markaza and Lily’s friendship was too instantaneous. I was surprised at how easily Lily let the girl take over her life. I felt in Bronya, the two girls got to know each other in a more natural and realistic manner.

The prose is easy to read and flows at a great pace. The descriptions were well done, especially the ones involving Markaza’s visions. The end of the book was a nice set-up for the next one and I’m eager to see what happens when all of the gifted girls come together.

Shelia: I think I enjoyed Shelia the most out of the three Mystic books. Her story was truly heartbreaking. The author didn’t shy away from writing hard to read scenes. Shelia’s interactions with her uncle turned my stomach and her behavior in response to the abuse seemed realistic.

There was also more action in the latest installment of the series. The girls finally start experimenting with their powers while Markaza has more visions of the future. I was on the edge of my seat during a particularly harrowing scene where an attempted rape occurs.

Although the books are quick reads, they are not without packing an emotional punch. Almost EVERY PERSON is awful. It makes you wonder why the girls are even bothering to save humanity if these are the kinds of people they come across.

The book deals with tough subjects, but it was refreshing to read a very pro-feminist novel. The pacing was excellent and I finished the book in only two sittings.

Ratings:

Lily: 4/5 Stars

Shelia: 4.5/5 Stars