Review : Madly by Amy Alward

Summary (from Goodreads)  

Title : Madly
Author : Amy Alward
Publication Date : September 29th 2015
Publisher : Simon Teen
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

When the Princess of Nova accidentally poisons herself with a love potion meant for her crush, she falls crown-over-heels in love with her own reflection. Oops. A nationwide hunt is called to find the cure, with competitors travelling the world for the rarest ingredients, deep in magical forests and frozen tundras, facing death at every turn.

Enter Samantha Kemi - an ordinary girl with an extraordinary talent. Sam's family were once the most respected alchemists in the kingdom, but they've fallen on hard times, and winning the hunt would save their reputation. But can Sam really compete with the dazzling powers of the ZoroAster megapharma company? Just how close is Sam willing to get to Zain Aster, her dashing former classmate and enemy, in the meantime?

And just to add to the pressure, this quest is ALL OVER social media. And the world news.

No big deal, then.

Personal Thoughts

Fantasy seems to be all the rage lately - it's the new dystopia. So there was no doubt that I was looking forward to reading Amy Alward's Madly. What drew me into the book, however, was the cover (obviously!), but also the synopsis. It sounded like it would be different from all the other YA fantasy books I've read because it seemed to be more on the funny side. Madly ended up being exactly that and it turned out to be a very entertaining read.

The basis of the plot in Madly was pretty simple - the princess of Nova creates a love potion that she winds up drinking and she finds herself falling in love with herself and to cure her, the royal family organizes a nationwide hunt for alchemists. Our protagonist, Samantha, is one such alchemist. Madly definitely fell on the more adventurous side of YA fantasy and while it didn't have complex or dynamic world building as many other books genre do, it was fun to read. I thought it was the perfect sort of book when you're looking for something lighter and just want to turn your brain into mush.

The adventures that Samantha went on together with friends to procure the ingredients needed for the potion were so amusing. I found myself giggling and simultaneously, cheering on Sam. She encountered quite the few obstacles on her path, some of them quite deadly, but the book still managed to remain fun throughout it all. The setting threw me off a little bit at first because it seemed to be a modern world setting with fantasy elements and all kinds of supernatural creatures, like yetis and mermaids. I don't think I've actually read anything like the world in Madly before, but it was certainly interesting.

Madly wouldn't have been as enjoyable without the main character, Sam. She was a sweet girl, who was driven and really wasn't afraid of challenges that came her way. I liked that she was so resilient and could bounce back no matter what the situation was. Her motivations for participating in the hunt were also remarkable, with her doing it all for her family's name. As you may have guessed, family was a huge theme in Madly. I loved how close Sam was to her family and loved how involved they were in each others lives. More YA families like in Madly, please! Madly has a sweet romance between Sam and the son of a pharmacy mogul, Zain, but it developed on the sidelines. I would have preferred to have a touch more of a romance, but I think the next book will be stronger in that department.

Overall, Madly read a little young and I think it will appeal more to younger readers, but regardless, it was very entertaining. I'll be checking out the sequel for sure. If you're looking for a cute fantasy read, I definitely recommend this book.

Rating 

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5

Thank you to Edelweiss and Simon Teen for the e-ARC of Madly.