≡ Libro Gratis Carpe Demon Adventures of a DemonHunting Soccer Mom Book 1 Julie Kenner 9780515142211 Books

Carpe Demon Adventures of a DemonHunting Soccer Mom Book 1 Julie Kenner 9780515142211 Books

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Carpe Demon Adventures of a DemonHunting Soccer Mom Book 1 Julie Kenner 9780515142211 Books

I liked this, though not as much as I thought I would. On the surface, it reminded me a lot of J.R. Rain's 'Moon Dance' (Vampire for Hire #1), which I really enjoyed, in that both feature a woman trying to balance parenthood with various supernatural goings-on, both are set in California, and both use frequent pop culture references. But that's where the similarities end.

This starts well, as the heroine, stay-at-home mom Kate, tries to juggle her two kids, her aspiring-politican-husband's impromptu dinner party, her best friend (Laura - who turns out to be pretty awesome!), and murderous demons who have reentered her life after a 14-yr absence. Her family and friends do not know about her past as a Demon Hunter. This whole opening section is a lot of fun. As the book goes on past that, it does drag a bit in the middle before picking up the pace again in the 2nd half.

My favorite things: that opening section, Laura the kick-ass best friend, Kate's relationship with her teenage daughter Allie, and of course the generally snappy writing.

The heroine, Kate... I'm a little ambivalent about. I can't quite put my finger on why. It could be something about the depiction of her being emotionally torn between her old life and her current one, but I think it has more to do with her parenting style and complete lack of feminist consciousness. It's not entirely fair of me to factor that into my review, but it is what it is. There were a few times when Kate would make or think some sort of weird, off-hand, non-plot-related gendered comment such as "My 2 yr old son will never ever wear makeup ever!", and it would kick me out of the story. And with all due respect to stay-at-home mothers everywhere (and political wives, too), Kate is really over-the-top in her unquestioned commitment to Donna-Reed-like appearances.

Also, because the demon-hunting world here is rooted so firmly in Roman Catholicism, there is a little too much religion for me. I'm not a religious person at all, but I'm usually willing to take it with a grain of salt when reading books that have demons and vampires and whatnot in them. However, in this book, because Kate's a former hunter and therefore a self-proclaimed Believer, she's involved in her community church and all that. And the demonic mythology isn't even all that well-developed, actually, so the author could have gone a different route.

Lastly, although this is set in California, that setting wasn't really a "character". That is, it felt like it could have taken place in Anytown, U.S.A. I'm hoping that the second book will fix that. I mean, it's even called 'California Demon'! I will definitely be reading it soon.


Tags : Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom (Book 1) [Julie Kenner] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A one-time demon hunter who has put her career on hold, Kate Conner finds herself back in business when a murderous demon interrupts her preparations for a dinner party designed to get her husband elected to County Attorney. Reprint.,Julie Kenner,Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom (Book 1),Jove,0515142212,Horror - General,FICTION Horror,Fantasy - Contemporary,Fantasy - DarkHorror,Fiction,Fiction - Fantasy,Fiction Fantasy Contemporary,Fiction-Horror,General Adult,HORROR FICTION,Humorous,MASS MARKET,MysterySuspense,United States

Carpe Demon Adventures of a DemonHunting Soccer Mom Book 1 Julie Kenner 9780515142211 Books Reviews

I had gotten this book quite a while ago (about 3 years to the day) on special but lost it in my wealth of books. I did make a promise to myself this year that I would go through and find them all and read them this year.

I cannot say this was a hidden treasure. Like most of us I did read through some of the critiques and many said it was funny and though even by the tittle that it certainly could be. By the half way mark I was trying to find what was so funny about the book. Yes, there were plenty of sarcastic comments from the main character and plenty of times the 4th wall broken by the writer telling us so, again by the character. Perhaps these things went over my head because I am not a mom and never had a household that I needed to get out the door. Well unless you want to count my x-husband that never wanted to get up and there was nothing pleasant or funny about those mornings.

I did enjoy the mystery and certainly did not expect the end. For that I would add half a star but not enough to give the book four.

As for the characters themselves I did not feel that much depth to them. Teenagers were teenagers, and toddlers were just what you would expect and even her husband seeking political appointment giving her short notice for dinners and cocktail parties. A lot of surface but not much depth. I cannot even say I truly felt connected to any of the characters. For me these are very important points that make a great story.

I did enjoy the book but I do not see myself buying anymore in the series.
Carpe Demon is an enjoyable read. The setting is modern suburbia, but demons exist and can possess the recently deceased or those willing to ally with them. Our heroine is a retired demon hunter, pulled out of her suburban life to fight a powerful foe.

The _Buffy_ influences are evident, but well handled. It is "horror", in the sense of including demons, but there are no graphic descriptions of death, injuries, or foul evil. There is some mention of sex between the married protagonist and her husband, which is discretely handled). The fight scenes are brief. The book is suitable for, tho perhaps not interesting to, a teenage reader.

For the experienced mystery reader, the puzzle, clues, and red-herrings will be obvious too soon. This reader found herself impatiently waiting for Kate to figure out the problem at several points.

I found the the setting and the situations a bit too akin to Buffy and the underlying puzzle weak. I'd recommend it as beach reading from the library or used book bin, but not at full price.
I liked this, though not as much as I thought I would. On the surface, it reminded me a lot of J.R. Rain's 'Moon Dance' (Vampire for Hire #1), which I really enjoyed, in that both feature a woman trying to balance parenthood with various supernatural goings-on, both are set in California, and both use frequent pop culture references. But that's where the similarities end.

This starts well, as the heroine, stay-at-home mom Kate, tries to juggle her two kids, her aspiring-politican-husband's impromptu dinner party, her best friend (Laura - who turns out to be pretty awesome!), and murderous demons who have reentered her life after a 14-yr absence. Her family and friends do not know about her past as a Demon Hunter. This whole opening section is a lot of fun. As the book goes on past that, it does drag a bit in the middle before picking up the pace again in the 2nd half.

My favorite things that opening section, Laura the kick-ass best friend, Kate's relationship with her teenage daughter Allie, and of course the generally snappy writing.

The heroine, Kate... I'm a little ambivalent about. I can't quite put my finger on why. It could be something about the depiction of her being emotionally torn between her old life and her current one, but I think it has more to do with her parenting style and complete lack of feminist consciousness. It's not entirely fair of me to factor that into my review, but it is what it is. There were a few times when Kate would make or think some sort of weird, off-hand, non-plot-related gendered comment such as "My 2 yr old son will never ever wear makeup ever!", and it would kick me out of the story. And with all due respect to stay-at-home mothers everywhere (and political wives, too), Kate is really over-the-top in her unquestioned commitment to Donna-Reed-like appearances.

Also, because the demon-hunting world here is rooted so firmly in Roman Catholicism, there is a little too much religion for me. I'm not a religious person at all, but I'm usually willing to take it with a grain of salt when reading books that have demons and vampires and whatnot in them. However, in this book, because Kate's a former hunter and therefore a self-proclaimed Believer, she's involved in her community church and all that. And the demonic mythology isn't even all that well-developed, actually, so the author could have gone a different route.

Lastly, although this is set in California, that setting wasn't really a "character". That is, it felt like it could have taken place in Anytown, U.S.A. I'm hoping that the second book will fix that. I mean, it's even called 'California Demon'! I will definitely be reading it soon.