** spoiler alert ** I really liked Once Dead, Twice Shy, but until recently I didn't know there were plans for a sequel. Once Dead, Twice Shy seemed like it could be a stand-alone novel, but I was excited for the sequel all the same. Early to Death, Early to Rise did not disappoint. Although I didn't like it as much as Once Dead, Twice Shy (I should really stop writing that over again, but I can't come up with an abbreviation right now), it was definitely good.

From here on may be slightly spoiler-y (not much, but some), so beware...

Plot: Good continuation of the first book, fairly predictable, made sense. The plot also showed just one scything (is that what they called it?), so the series can go on for a while doing what the author did in this book. It was kind of like an episode, now that I think about it. And, it all wrapped up nicely, with a hint of a cliffhanger at the very end.

Main Character: I liked Madison, but I liked her better in the first book. She has less of an attitude in this one. But, I did still like her. I liked how she was coming into the timekeeper job a little more, but I wish she'd learned more over the course of the book. When are they going to teach her how to use that amulet?

CharactersNakita was my favorite character in Once Dead, Twice Shy but I liked her a little less in this book. Not to say I didn't like her, I just didn't like her as much. I liked Barnabas a lot, and I like how he switched sides in the Light/Dark battle. (I also loved how light doesn't mean good, and dark doesn't mean evil). I liked Shoe, and hated Ace (I think I was supposed to), and I liked the guardian angel Ron sends (especially when she disobeys him). I still loved Grace, and her limericks. And Josh was really absent in this book. I liked him okay in the first book, but in this one it seemed like the author was pushing too hard to make him the love-interest when he wasn't around enough. I hope to see more of him in the next book, and for the Madison/Josh relationship to make a bit more sense. One new character I really want to see more of is Paul. Is he even supposed to be the light timekeeper? He doesn't believe in choice, and Madison does, but they're on the wrong sides for those opinions. I wonder what will happen.

Ending: It ended okay. Everything wrapped up well, and the semi-cliffhanger was good.

Writing: Really good. Sometimes the descriptions of characters got repetitive (how many times was it mentioned that Nakita was carrying an empty purse, or that her nails were black?), but the overall writing was really, really good. Plus, the world Kim Harrison creates and the ideas in these books are fantastic.

Cover: I know I shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but the cool simple cover of Once Dead, Twice Shy made me pick it up, so the cover does mean something. This cover is another great one, and I like the color-scheme.The one complaint I have is that Madison's hair is purple at the ends in the book, but isn't on the cover.

Overall Really good. If you liked Once Dead, Twice Shy, you should read this one. And if you want a new take on heaven v. hell and dark v. light, you should definitely read these books. My one warning is that things get confusing fast if you miss one thing (it seems everything is plot-related), so start with the first book and pay close attention.