What do you think?
Rate this book
Mal-adaptive
Malaika works at Cruel Beans... where the coffee is heavenly, and the lattes will mocha your day. Mal is joined at work by a case of fibromyalgia and her best friend, Ven. Mal's cup begins to runneth over as she is now the focus of an angel, a demon, and an evil corporation intent on starting Armageddon early... all while trying to keep her naughty friend and her religious roommate from boiling over. Mal's life is fraught with danger as she is pulled into a world of good and evil, sweet and bitter, and secrets even she isn't aware of. Can she survive the end of the world without getting steamed?
260 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 12, 2017
4 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 15, 2021
Armageddon, maybe.
A most unusual novel penned by Mike Burton. Mal has a demon to protect her. An angel to learn from her and Armageddon to stop. This is a really great story. It's fast paced. It has a lot of action with under tones of romance. I loved it for its very unusual flavor.
A most unusual novel penned by Mike Burton. Mal has a demon to protect her. An angel to learn from her and Armageddon to stop. This is a really great story. It's fast paced. It has a lot of action with under tones of romance. I loved it for its very unusual flavor.
December 31, 2017
This was an odd, roller-coaster of a read. There were moments I loved it, moments I was confused, moments I wasn't enjoying it, and moments where I was only still reading it because I was 70% of the way through it and it was too late to give up. I'd probably have given it 2.5 stars, were the possible, as it's really sitting in the middle for me, but given that the ending was my favourite part, I'm currently looking back upon it all a little more favourable. So, to break it down:
What I liked:
- The ending. A good twist, one that I didn't see coming, and it really wrapped up the story nicely. It probably could have been fleshed out a bit more, but overall it was good.
- The humour. It was used well throughout, and despite being a little odd at times, the metaphors and similes were also very good. They kept me going when the plot/characters were letting me down.
What I didn't like:
- The writing style/language. This was probably my biggest issue. The prose was too dense and wordy; I spent a fair portion of this book only reading the dialogue and not the prose, as I could still easily keep track of what was going on. That said, I think this could also have done with a little of "show, don't tell" at times; there was too much of people doing things "evilly", which could usually have been be circumvented by a bit of description, I think. Also, all the angles/demons were using "special" apps, and that also just really bugged me. But, that may just be a personal quirk and not necessarily something wrong with the writing, as I can't really pinpoint why I found it so infuriating.
- The overall movement of the plot. At times, the plot just felt all over the place. There was always something, something, something, that the characters were reacting to, and this felt tiring, unrealistic, and just not that interesting some of the time. I would have liked it to slow down in a few parts and flesh-out some characters.
- The fast-paced love interests. It just annoys me when characters fall head-over-heels in love after about 3 days! Although at one point a character describes their time together as "weeks", in reality, the whole story probably takes place in around 1-2 weeks. So, everyone falling in love just felt off, to me.
What I liked:
- The ending. A good twist, one that I didn't see coming, and it really wrapped up the story nicely. It probably could have been fleshed out a bit more, but overall it was good.
- The humour. It was used well throughout, and despite being a little odd at times, the metaphors and similes were also very good. They kept me going when the plot/characters were letting me down.
What I didn't like:
- The writing style/language. This was probably my biggest issue. The prose was too dense and wordy; I spent a fair portion of this book only reading the dialogue and not the prose, as I could still easily keep track of what was going on. That said, I think this could also have done with a little of "show, don't tell" at times; there was too much of people doing things "evilly", which could usually have been be circumvented by a bit of description, I think. Also, all the angles/demons were using "special" apps, and that also just really bugged me. But, that may just be a personal quirk and not necessarily something wrong with the writing, as I can't really pinpoint why I found it so infuriating.
- The overall movement of the plot. At times, the plot just felt all over the place. There was always something, something, something, that the characters were reacting to, and this felt tiring, unrealistic, and just not that interesting some of the time. I would have liked it to slow down in a few parts and flesh-out some characters.
- The fast-paced love interests. It just annoys me when characters fall head-over-heels in love after about 3 days! Although at one point a character describes their time together as "weeks", in reality, the whole story probably takes place in around 1-2 weeks. So, everyone falling in love just felt off, to me.
April 19, 2017
Mal-adaptive is an odd book, to say the least ('odd' in this case not being synonymous with 'bad'). The only way I could convincingly describe the way it reads is: "The novelization of the summer blockbuster made out of the coffee shop AU fanfiction of the 1990 masterpiece 'Good Omens', by Terry Pratchett". Take that for what you will, it's only a surface description.
Boiled down to a simple, no-spoilers overview, the book is about a girl working at a coffee shop who suddenly finds herself sandwiched between an angel and a demon with vague orders from their respective masters to never leave her side and generally make her life awkward because Armageddon is coming (hence, the Good Omens comparison). Initially, I thought the story would take a slice-of-life approach, using Armageddon as mere background noise, but the story quickly ramps up into what amounts to one of those bizarre action movies that never stops thinking it's secretly a slice-of-life comedy.
The second half of the book started to fall apart for me (it felt like my cup of tea, but maybe someone added too much sugar while I wasn't looking). Characters felt like they were being nudged along by the plot, rather than creating it themselves. It didn't stop me from reading, but it definitely seemed to trip up the flow of the story.
All in all, if you like cheesy action movies with unusual plot devices or setups, you'll probably enjoy this book. It could use a bit of editing for clarity in some spots, but that's often the price you pay for an indie book (I should know, right?).
Some free and entirely optional advice for the author: don't be afraid to invest in your characters a little more, to flesh them out so that the plot moves as a result of their wants and needs, rather than just having them react to the things going on around them. Your metaphors are wacky and entertaining, keep refining them! And it's also helpful to start a new paragraph every time someone else speaks, to avoid confusion.
Bottom line: not a bad read! Keep creating and keep refining, I'd like to see more from you in the future.
Boiled down to a simple, no-spoilers overview, the book is about a girl working at a coffee shop who suddenly finds herself sandwiched between an angel and a demon with vague orders from their respective masters to never leave her side and generally make her life awkward because Armageddon is coming (hence, the Good Omens comparison). Initially, I thought the story would take a slice-of-life approach, using Armageddon as mere background noise, but the story quickly ramps up into what amounts to one of those bizarre action movies that never stops thinking it's secretly a slice-of-life comedy.
The second half of the book started to fall apart for me (it felt like my cup of tea, but maybe someone added too much sugar while I wasn't looking). Characters felt like they were being nudged along by the plot, rather than creating it themselves. It didn't stop me from reading, but it definitely seemed to trip up the flow of the story.
All in all, if you like cheesy action movies with unusual plot devices or setups, you'll probably enjoy this book. It could use a bit of editing for clarity in some spots, but that's often the price you pay for an indie book (I should know, right?).
Some free and entirely optional advice for the author: don't be afraid to invest in your characters a little more, to flesh them out so that the plot moves as a result of their wants and needs, rather than just having them react to the things going on around them. Your metaphors are wacky and entertaining, keep refining them! And it's also helpful to start a new paragraph every time someone else speaks, to avoid confusion.
Bottom line: not a bad read! Keep creating and keep refining, I'd like to see more from you in the future.
April 18, 2021
This review was originally posted at https://bit.ly/3sre9HJ.
Mal is a normal enough girl. Works in a coffee shop with her best friend, Vin, has an apartment with her friend, Aalya, and has fibromyalgia. Nothing major happens in her life until two gorgeous men ask about her in one day at work. Turns out one is a demon, Corson, and the other is an angel, Ephra. They have orders to protect her and learn. Can this pair break from the molds they have always been in and what is so special about this little female anyways?
The demons are trying to force God's hand and begin Armageddon. In order to do so they must find the weapon. They know it is a person and that this person is somewhere on Earth, but not who they are or what kind of weapon they are. Can one person really be the catalyst to determine which side will win in the upcoming battle?
I loved this book, although the details about God at the end are weird. I suppose it is not so far fetched, but it isn't something you generally think about. In a way Supernatural (the tv show) did it, so maybe that is where the author got the idea from. Anyway, I loved Mal and the entire little group if I am honest. I don't have any real complaints about this book and I hope that you give the book a chance. I was suggested this book by the author a year ago and just now got around to reading it. I am sure you will love this book just as much as I did.
Mal is a normal enough girl. Works in a coffee shop with her best friend, Vin, has an apartment with her friend, Aalya, and has fibromyalgia. Nothing major happens in her life until two gorgeous men ask about her in one day at work. Turns out one is a demon, Corson, and the other is an angel, Ephra. They have orders to protect her and learn. Can this pair break from the molds they have always been in and what is so special about this little female anyways?
The demons are trying to force God's hand and begin Armageddon. In order to do so they must find the weapon. They know it is a person and that this person is somewhere on Earth, but not who they are or what kind of weapon they are. Can one person really be the catalyst to determine which side will win in the upcoming battle?
I loved this book, although the details about God at the end are weird. I suppose it is not so far fetched, but it isn't something you generally think about. In a way Supernatural (the tv show) did it, so maybe that is where the author got the idea from. Anyway, I loved Mal and the entire little group if I am honest. I don't have any real complaints about this book and I hope that you give the book a chance. I was suggested this book by the author a year ago and just now got around to reading it. I am sure you will love this book just as much as I did.
September 2, 2019
4.5 Stars!
In the fight between good and evil, which side would you choose if Armageddon hinged on it? What if you had no clue what to do except adapt?
This is the story of Mal and her two close friends, Ven and Aaya. Mal is your upscale barista, making coffee and calling out silly names to coffee house customers. Ven, her best friend and co-worker and Aaya her roommate. Life is pretty simple til an angel and a demon enter their lives and chaos and havoc take over. Mix in some humor, realize no one is as they appear, and what you have is a superb twisted, suspense tale of what could be the end of the world.
Mike Burton will tickle your fantasy fancy with Mal-Adaptive and leave you wanting more, more with these characters and more stories by him.
In the fight between good and evil, which side would you choose if Armageddon hinged on it? What if you had no clue what to do except adapt?
This is the story of Mal and her two close friends, Ven and Aaya. Mal is your upscale barista, making coffee and calling out silly names to coffee house customers. Ven, her best friend and co-worker and Aaya her roommate. Life is pretty simple til an angel and a demon enter their lives and chaos and havoc take over. Mix in some humor, realize no one is as they appear, and what you have is a superb twisted, suspense tale of what could be the end of the world.
Mike Burton will tickle your fantasy fancy with Mal-Adaptive and leave you wanting more, more with these characters and more stories by him.
March 11, 2017
I really enjoyed the humour-flavoured writing style of this book. If I'm honest, maybe the plot didn't always work for me, but this is also the first book I've ever read of the Armageddon-angel-demon genre (that's a whole genre, right?) and the hyperbolic nature of chosen-one-better-save-the-world hasn't captured me in the past -- having said all that, I think the reason I still wanted to keep reading this book is because the humour gives it a good amount of 'not taking itself too seriously'.
January 13, 2017
This is one of the best Armageddon based novels I've read in a long time! I stayed up to finish it because it had me on the edge of my seat with suspense, and my sides hurt from all the laughing I did while reading this novel! It is a must read for anybody who appreciates a good humorous novel that still has some suspense and keeps you on the edge of your seat!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews