Loved it! It was a great read and I loved the journey J.J. McAvoy took me as a reader on a fantastic voyage as I learned more about the eternal love affair between Malachi and Esther. It is a romance novel of the ages as one love story told another and another that led star-crossed lovers together time and time again.

I wanted to like this book SO much more than I actually did. I loved the idea - two people who live a thousand lifetimes and fall in love in each one, inspiring some of the world-famous romance stories throughout time - and there were moments where J.J. McAvoy stunned me with her words and knowledge of history, and made me literally laugh out loud at some of the funny stuff Esther said and did. But there were also times where the writing was juvenile and disjointed and I found myself wondering if it was the same person writing it. I loved Esther's goofiness, but I never really got any deep emotion from her, which made it hard to be invested in her storyline with Malachi. The Yamauchi backstory was really interesting, but it didn't seem to really "go" with the rest of the book and I wondered why it got so much space. I think McAvoy herself summed it up really well in the words she wrote Malachi saying to Esther:

"You're a terrible writer... (but) You're a beautiful thinker. I can see what it is you want to say but you're just making things complicated."

Wow what a brilliant and unique story!A beautiful yet tragic love story, that takes us on a journey into the past. The two main characters are destined to be together, and they are over and over again. A thousand times, to be exact, they find each other and die shortly after, doomed to repeat this cycle in their next lives. Should I say anything else? I think this is enough to make you read it!I absolutely loved the premise and the characters!

“We’ll make it. You’ll see. This is the last one. Our last life.”

We absolutely love when an Author takes what can be considered a risk, writing something completely different to what came before. Daring to be brave and following the path on which her characters tread. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, however it is always such a wonderful thing to experience. This time it completely worked for us.

“I’m a firework. Only here briefly and then I fade. While the stars stay where they are.”

JJ McAvoy wrote a story that we have a feeling is going to be a bit of a marmite book; it was so unique yet a tale as old as time, it was original and intelligent. It was without question one of the most well researched stories we’ve come across in a long time. It was an epic journey of grand proportion. It was a story of love through time. It was a story where you felt the Author’s intense love of literary history.

‘It was as though the ground beneath me broke away when he kissed me. I was falling and he was falling with me. All around me I felt the sun rise on us. I felt snow and rain and the wind blowing. I felt the sand under my feet, then grass and I couldn’t help but hold on to him tighter.’

We fell in love with Malachi and Esther as the story progressed, both inhabiting characteristics of that JJ McAvoy personal stamp to her characters. They had such depth, such inner strength and eccentric idiosyncrasies. The subject matter is at times heart-breaking yet well timed sparks of humour eases the heart.

“Our next life shall be our last.”

The premise of this story was fabulous, the message it brought absolutely brilliant. It was relevant whilst steeped in history and so very intriguing; we loved every moment spent travelling an epic history of love. Bravo JJ McAvoy for daring to be bold and brave.

‘Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away. Doesn’t sound very exciting, does it? But it is!’ – Louis de Bernieres

I am a true fan of J.J. McAvoy and enjoy many of her stories. I did like this one yet not as much as some of her others. This story had a different take on what she usually writes, it shows how diverse her writing style is. This is a love story of two people whose love and lives have surpassed time. Unfortunately their love is strong but each time they meet, tragedy happens. To be born again, suffer again, which brings us to present times. Malachi has learned that to stay away from her will prolong their lives. But, time is a fickle thing and no matter how hard he tries to stay away they are always bound to come together. This is the story of their last life.

I often use the word "smart" when I am referring to Ms. McAvoy 's writing, and so is the case with Malachi and I .
What a wonderful trip through time, visiting the original love stories that have spanned time. There are certain bullet points that I like to be checked off when I am reading and reviewing a book . This one meets, if not exceeds most of them.
We get just enough angst to keep going, wondering how it is going to pan out.
The vivid picture Ms.McAvoy painted with her spot on storytelling and her natural ability to paint a clear picture.
Esther is so captivated by Malachi's stories, not knowing that they are a retelling of lives he has lived. She is so funny in the first half of the book, I laughed so much. Oh, but Malachi, he broke my heart! The retelling of his past lives, although BRILLIANT writing... My heart was so heavy and hurting for poor Malachi. The flashbacks were the high point of this story, so wonderfully written. I wish there had been more.
Esther's character grows throughout the book and that NEEDED to happen. She was a bit aloof at times and that didn't sit well with me. I loved that she became more, serious throughout the second half of the story. The heartbreaking stories that Malachi retold her were like torture. I was deeply moved by the way it played out.
The midway point in this story was a bit lagging, but it is brought back to life in the second portion of the book.I did miss the "hot factor" in this book, but really was this the book for that kind of thing?
I did enjoy this but I do honestly believe there is a definite audience for this book. I would say the 16-25 age range, with a vivid imagination, a lover of fairy tales, with a splash of angst!

4.5 stars!
WOW....What did I just read?

JJ McAvoy has outdone herself with this mystical story.

Love transcends time.  Love transcends life and death.

I was captivated from the first page onward.  JJ is one of the authors I just read.  I don't read blurbs or synopsis, I JUST READ. So I had no idea what this book was about.  As I continued to read the story slowly began to unfold.  A thousand lives, a thousand deaths and a love story with each one.

I don't want to give you too much in the story because, like me, you deserve to watch this unfold, over and over again.

Beautiful story written by an author who has proven herself over and over again.  She has written contemporary romance, to mystical romance to my all time favorite MOB series - The Untouchables.  Her versatility is beyond anything I have seen in another author in a long time!

e absolutely love when an Author takes what can be considered a risk, writing something completely different to what came before. Daring to be brave and following the path on which her characters tread. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, however it is always such a wonderful thing to experience. This time it completely worked for us.

“I’m a firework. Only here briefly and then I fade. While the stars stay where they are.”

JJ McAvoy wrote a story that we have a feeling is going to be a bit of a marmite book; it was so unique yet a tale as old as time, it was original and intelligent. It was without question one of the most well researched stories we’ve come across in a long time. It was an epic journey of grand proportion. It was a story of love through time. It was a story where you felt the Author’s intense love of literary history.

‘It was as though the ground beneath me broke away when he kissed me. I was falling and he was falling with me. All around me I felt the sun rise on us. I felt snow and rain and the wind blowing. I felt the sand under my feet, then grass and I couldn’t help but hold on to him tighter.’

We fell in love with Malachi and Esther as the story progressed, both inhabiting characteristics of that JJ McAvoy personal stamp to her characters. They had such depth, such inner strength and eccentric idiosyncrasies. The subject matter is at times heart-breaking yet well timed sparks of humour eases the heart.

“Our next life shall be our last.”

The premise of this story was fabulous, the message it brought absolutely brilliant. It was relevant whilst steeped in history and so very intriguing; we loved every moment spent travelling an epic history of love. Bravo JJ McAvoy for daring to be bold and brave.

‘Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away. Doesn’t sound very exciting, does it? But it is!’ – Louis de Bernieres

We read an unedited ARC copy of Malachi and I, and did find a few chapters to be confusing with sporadic errors.

This is one book that I had been waiting to read, and as soon as I saw it come up on NetGalley, I was so excited. It's taken me a couple of weeks though to write the review as Malachi and I is a hard one to write I have found. The one thing that readers need to know is that this book was amazing and will set your hearts alight as you are drawn into the different stories of the past. The book starts off in present times with Malachi Lord being a hero and rescuing a woman from a car crash and then flipping over to a small publishing company owned by Esther's grandfather who raised her. Esther lives and breathes Malachi's words but doesn't realize they are true stories. When a chance arises for Esther to stay with Malachi, her grandfather sends her to stay with him. Malachi sees no harm and reluctantly accepts and thus starts a tumultuous relationship as they seem to bring out the worst in one another. We learn that every thirty years Malachi seems to die as also his true love and then they are reborn - Malachi still with his memories but his true love's slate is wiped clean until they meet and all comes flooding back, only to die again and love to be lost for another three decades. If you love soulmate romances with love and tragedy - just like all the greatest romances in the world, then you will not be disappointed with Malachi and me. A book that will keep you reading as you wait in hope for this time that Malachi and his true love finally get an HEA ending.

All the stars!!
My favourite book of the year so far. I couldn’t put it down, and I’m already thinking about buying a few copies for Christmas gifts.
A beautiful yet tragic love story, that takes us on a journey into the past. The two main characters are destined to be together, and they are over and over again. A thousand times, to be exact, they find each other and die shortly after, doomed to repeat this cycle in their next lives.
As tragic as it may sound, the book is rather amusing at times thanks to Esther, who is just one of those people who you can’t help but to like.
The bottom line is, you are getting a thousand epic love stories for a price of one.

Original, sweet and wonderful. Malachi and I bring an innovative, original and romantic. J.J. McAvoy brought to its readers a romantic story that is not just one more among many, she tells the story of a couple and also makes us review and analyze, the greatest romantic classic.I really enjoyed the story, the characters were great, the story well told is well tied, reading captivating and original context, which came out of the obvious, it is a love story, but at the same time is so different from anything I've ever read.If at first I was afraid to pick up this book, I can say that at your end I have not regretted it. I smiled, cried and I fell in love with this story.

3 Stars

First off, thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC for this book!

Well, this book had such a rocky start. I couldn't find any way to connect to the characters. Esther was a girl who seemed so flaky and plain boring and indecisive, just your regular young adult. Not at all impressive nor could I relate to her despite being the same age.

Malachi, well at least your name was cool? He was such a blank page and that's so ironic since he had 999 lives to pull from. He got better as time progressed and I seriously felt bad for his soul.

The story, once it kicked off, was awesome! I loved their interactions in the first half because they were just so funny! The juxtaposition of their relationship was great. Her craziness complimented his sombre and serious tone and it was just what I needed.

The flashbacks were the shiners! I loved learning about their past lives and UGH, my heart broke.

The writing was rocky at times and I know some errors were due to the fact that this is an early copy to this book but they caused enough of a hiccup to hinder my reading experience since I didn't know what she was trying to say. The message got lost in the wrong words. The pacing was great though, I loved their progression of their love story and the second half was a lot more seamless than the first half.

Will I read more from this author? I dunno, I might. I hope her published books are more better with errors and more relatable characters.

Malachi and I is a love story that transcends time. It’s original, historical, and beautiful. JJ McAvoy gave us a thousand love stories all in one, and I loved the way it was told! It’s not every day you read a romance that’s different from the ones you normally read. I love that this was out of the box and it kept my attention from the start.

The story starts with Malachi, an author who has been the leading man in many the great and tragic love stories of all time. His goal in this life is to stay away from his one great love. He doesn’t want that tragic ending. But fate has other plans…

I don’t want to delve too deep into this one, because I liked the surprised turn it took. This story kept me on the edge of my seat. It made me laugh, made me tear up at times, and made me swoon! I think JJ did an excellent job researching all the ‘past lives’ and I found that part so interesting. Definitely a unique read!

I’m surprised that I really enjoyed this book. I felt like I was there. Loved it. Thanks.

From the intriguing cover to the heart-wrenching blurb, Malachi and I is unlike anything J.J. McAvoy has done before. A story between two lovers, who are destined to fall. Only to be brought back to life, and relive the tragedy all over again.

In each life, Malachi is drawn to his lost love like a moth to a flame. Due to his own selfishness he can't let her go. But this time, he swears an oath that he will keep his distance. No matter how hard it will be, his love will finally have a life filled with happiness and joy, while he wallows in despair.

It doesn't last long.
Esther and Malachi are given another chance at life, to live the life they were meant to have. . .

Together.

Why 3 stars?
Don't get me wrong I liked the storyline, especially with all the hidden messages. But I felt the ending was too cliché. I could see where the story was going a mile away, sadly. But overall it was a cute love story, that totally reminded me of the KDramas I like to watch every now and then.


*Special thanks to the publisher for providing me a review copy.*

Up until now, I’ve enjoyed every book I’ve ever read by this author. This time around though was a huge miss with me. Just know the writing felt off, and the storyline seemed to jump around all over the place. Here’s to hoping others enjoy it. It was a huge disappointment to me.

Title: Malachi and I, Author: J.J. MacAvoy, Pages: 400, 9/27/17

(I received a free advanced reader copy provided via NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. No type of compensation was given to this reviewer. There is no relationship/affiliation between the reviewer and the author/publisher/NetGalley.)

I absolutely love everything JJ McAvoy writes!! Such a beautiful romance...*sigh*. As always JJ's writing is beautiful, lyrical even. She always engages me on page one and doesn't let go until the last page as was the case with this book. I loved this story, I love the thought of reincarnation and finding your soulmate through the ages. Love JJ McAvoy!!

3 stars!

From the blurb you can tell this is a story about the same people being reincarnated and I was so excited for that, I haven’t read that many reincarnation stories and I wanted to read something different from the author.

The story starts in modern times, one of our main characters is Malachi and he is going through his 99th life, he’s obviously been through so many thing in life, we visit a lot of popular love stories and he offers a bit of inside info which I found utterly cute, like a little time traveling movie commentary. Our other character is supposed to be a mystery, from the title but Malachi and us know who she is. She doesn’t though. The story goes like this, each lifetime, they meet and fall in love but die shortly after, so now Malachi is doing the opposite, staying away from and have no contact whatsoever.

That obviously doesn’t happen here.

Up until a certain moment of the book, Malachi and I was a solid 4 star, but after that happened, I had to go back to 3. Have you ever predicted an utterly cliché twist, or revelation and thought to yourself, nah that’s too easy, that would never happen and then BAM it happens? Yeah…

I don’t want to spoil it because it’s a big reveal and you see it coming from a mile away but I was still hoping it wouldn’t because it was too easy and even the book itself was kind of pointing out that this wasn’t happening. And when it did, I was like, really book? Really?

This was unlike anything McAvoy has done before, the flashback scenes of other love stories were done to perfection, I wish they were longer because I loved being in different times and different places with all these people, I just loved it. The story itself had a unique twist and a few intense moments that made me tear up to be honest. I wish it had gone down a bit different and not go from zero romance to 100 in just a few pages but overall it was decent.

3.5
I received a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

I absolutely love J.J. McAvoy’s books and usually I’m pretty up to date with her release dates so I was quite surprised when I came across this book on NetGalley because it was the first time I’m heard about it. Anyway I automatically requested it and not just because I know that the author has an astonishing writing style but because the synopsis intrigued me quite a bit, not to mention the stunning cover.

I was happy when I got approved and I started the book immediately and finished it in one day. This story is a really beautiful mystical romance with a hint of supernatural in it. I enjoyed the story quite a bit but it wasn’t my favorite. The writing style is brilliant and smooth, easy to read and follow and it has quite a few little clever and hidden messages and clues (like the name of the publishing house Penohxi, which is the anagram for Phoenix or the apple motives) in it that gives the whole thing a different almost witty atmosphere. I really liked this.
What I liked even more is the small flashes from the reincarnating couple other lives; it was really interesting I just wish we saw more of them other than their deaths.

The story is told from dual point of views. One is Esthers the young, sometimes even immature, klutzy, introverted but happy and open woman, who is the granddaughter of the owner of the publishing house. She is a really funny character and I liked her. She has a really traumatic event happen to her in her childhood but she didn’t let this to drag her down, she is incredible forgiving and stubborn. She is an eternal dreamer and optimist. But she also changes a lot during the story; she became a bit more serious but still had the spark in her.
The other point of view is Malachi’s, who is one part of the reincarnating duo. He is more gruff, blunt and insensitive towards other people. He acts like a jackass but he has his reasons, since he remembers all of his life and relives them daily. So he does everything in his power to avoid meeting his other half and to spare her the unending death circle. He loves her but he is also tired of living in fear of the inevitable.
The relationship between the two starts out on a rocky path, it’s almost reaches into the hostile territory but with time Esther stubbornness breaks down Malachi walls. Slowly they build a friendship which gradually becomes something more, but their story is nowhere near easy, it’s really complicating. How could something be easy when the shadow of fate is looming over them?

I could separate the book into two parts. The first one is the funnier one, full of easy banter between the characters but its also the part which filled me with frustration because its seemed like the story is not going in the direction I wanted it too. However the second parts has a heavier atmosphere and while it has a lot of surprising twist in it and even happy ending. I liked this one less because it not only was quite predictable but I also think it was missing the usual spark I find in the author books.

I enjoyed the story but it’s not my favorite for some reason I expected something a bit more emotional with the premise of the book, or maybe the emotions just didn’t came through for me. Still it’s a great read

I always love a mystical romance, especially when it involves reincarnation.
This book took me on a historical journey allowing me to relive some of the most famous tales of love, like Romeo and Juliet, and it includes also an Igbo tale of Obinna and Adaeze's love.
The story opens with Esther, her grandfather Alfred, and their publishing house talking about the release of Malachi Lord's next book and the team talking about the pre-release preparations. Malachi is the author who is aloof and loves his own space for fear that he might meet the live of his life, falling live again and watch her die as the case has been for four hundred years. He relives every time he's lost her and that's until Alfred asks him to take in Esther, his granddaughter who happens to be Malachi's super fan, until he's sought treatment.
What starts out as an invasion of space for Malachi soon turns out to be the one thing he was afraid of. You'll have to read the book to get what Malachi fears
I loved this book and the chemistry between Malachi and Esther. It's the first book I've read as written by McAvoy and one thing is clear for me, I'd love to read more of her books. Receiving an advanced readers copy of this book from NetGalley has been a wonderful trip into history and I'd read it a thousand times over.