Review: Carpe Demon

Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner
3.5 stars

Reasons for reading: My husband spotted it at Barnes and Noble and thought I'd like it based on the blurb on the cover from Charlaine Harris: "Shows you what would happen if Buffy got married and kept her past a secret. It's a hoot."; New-to-Me author for the Triple 8 Challenge

From the back cover: "Lots of women put their careers aside once the kids come along. Kate Connor, for instance, hasn't hunted a demon in ages. . . That must be why she missed the one wandering through the pet-food aisle of the San Diablo Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, he managed to catch her attention an hour later - when he crashed into the Connor house, intent on killing her. Now Kate has to clean up the mess in her kitchen, dispose of a dead demon, and pull together a dinner party that will get her husband elected county attorney - all without arousing her family's suspicion. Worse yet, it seems the dead demon didn't come alone. . . It's time for Kate Connor to go back to work."

First line: "My name is Kate Connor and I used to be a Demon Hunter."

My thoughts: Being Buffy fan, I just couldn't resist the premise of this one. And it really delivered - Kate may not be as young as she once was, but she's still got what it takes to fight evil. The book mixes the supernatural battle with Kate's hard-won domestic bliss, as she struggles to parent Allie, her mall-crazy teenage daughter from her first marriage (to a fellow Hunter) and Timmy (who's a real cutie - I'm a sucker for well-done cute kids in books), her toddler with her new husband Stuart. Oh, and to be a helpmeet to her ambitious husband as he strives to get elected. There's action, secrets, surprises, holy water is flung about, and Kate learns that she alone can save San Diablo from Goramesh, the Decimator.

I'm not sure if I'll read the rest of the series - I can't decide if the novelty will hold out for more than this book, but it might. Either way, this one was definitely fun on its own.

Review: Miss Julia Throws a Wedding

Miss Julia Throws a Wedding by Ann B. Ross
4.5 stars

Reasons for reading: it's a wonderful series!; Southern book for Triple 8 Challenge

Amazon review: ". . . Miss Julia finds herself at a loss at the beginning of Miss Julia Throws a Wedding. Although her own marriage was about as uplifting as a burned pot roast, she is mortified to learn that Hazel Marie, her dead husband's mistress, proposes to move out of Miss Julia's house and into a life of sin with the perpetual bachelor J.D. Pickens. At least Deputy Sheriff Coleman Bates and attorney Binkie Enloe, longtime lovers, have finally decided to do the right thing. Now if only they would do it the right way. Intent on preserving the niceties, Miss Julia takes over the wedding for Coleman and Binkie, vetoing their plans for a quick courthouse union and struggling to pull together a tasteful formal event with one week's notice. To complicate matters, a neighborhood thief and troublemaker, Dixon Hightower, has escaped from police custody. With only her imperious nature and the force of her convictions, can Miss Julia create the wedding of her dreams for Binkie and Coleman?"

First line: "I've a good mind to sell this house."

My thoughts: Miss Julia doesn't disappoint in her 3rd adventure! I liked this one more than the previous book, Miss Julia Takes Over, because it didn't focus on Brother Vern trying to get Little Lloyd's inheritance and it focused Binkie and Coleman, whom we didn't see much of last time. Plus, I love a wedding!

Miss Julia is in her usual fine form of wanting to fix everyone's problems (whether they want them fixed or not) and wanting them fixed in a way that meets her code of propriety. But she does show some vulnerability, which helps make her more human and lovable, when she worries that everyone will go off to their own happy endings and leave her alone, which is what prompts the first grouchy line about selling the house. For all of her primness, she really does love all the young people in her life. It's particularly touching how much she's come to love Little Lloyd, the byproduct of her late husband's affair with Hazel Marie.

The wedding turns out to be a hoot and a holler. And the wedding combines with the mysteries of Dixon Hightower and why people are gathering at the new church "family life centre" (read: gymnasium) across the street to make a hilarious ending.

One review called the book "thin," which I find a bit irritating. It's not going to win the Booker Prize, but the series is fun, lighthearted and charming, and I'd much rather enjoy a thin book than endure a "worthy" thick one. Get to know Miss Julia, you'll be glad you did!

For another Miss Julia endorsement, here's Raidergirl's review of this installment in the series.

Review: Aurelia

Aurelia by Anne Osterlund
3 stars

Reasons for reading: the cover; Young Adult Challenge

Book description: "Princess Aurelia is next in line to rule the kingdom of Tyralt, but she would rather be one of the common folk, free to learn and roam and . . . not marry the next tyrannical prince that comes courting. Naturally, the king wants Aurelia to marry for political power. Aurelia wants to marry for love. And someone in the kingdom wants her . . . dead. Assigned to investigate and protect Aurelia is Robert, the son of the king’s former royal spy and one of Aurelia’s oldest friends. As Aurelia and Robert slowly uncover clues as to who is threatening her, their friendship turns to romance. With everything possible on the line—her life, her kingdom, her heart—Aurelia is forced to take matters into her own hands, no matter the cost."

First line of chapter one: "On the night of her younger sister's coming-out party, Aurelia almost died."

My thoughts: This book isn't very long, but it seemed to take me a long time to read. It's not a bad book, but it didn't set me on fire. I think part of the problem was there seemed to be a lot of description where I didn't need it - one particular passage stands out in my mind, a description of a table that a character tosses something onto - just too many little bits like that, for my taste.

Still, I liked Aurelia - a smart, independent-minded young woman who truly cares about the people of her kingdom. She even manages to save herself without Robert's help and ends up helping to save him . And Robert was smart, kind, and brave. The storyline of the assassination plot wasn't bad, either.

I have a feeling I've just read too many fairy-tale-esque YA books already this year and I've had enough for a while. And I think teens would probably enjoy it more than I did.

Review: Murder With Peacocks

Murder With Peacocks by Donna Andrews
4.5 stars

Reasons for reading: I've read several positive reviews of the series in the book blogosphere; Mystery for Triple 8 Challenge, Agatha Award (for best first novel) for Book Awards Challenge

Book description: "So far Meg Langslow's summer is not going swimmingly. Down in her small Virginia hometown, she's maid of honor at the nuptials of three loved ones--each of whom has dumped the planning in her capable hands. One bride is set on including a Native American herbal purification ceremony, while another wants live peacocks on the law. Only help from the town's drop-dead gorgeous hunk, disappointingly rumored to be gay, keeps Meg afloat in a sea of dotty relatives and outrageous neighbors.And, in whirl of summer parties and picnics, Souther hospitality is strained to the limit by an offenseive newcomer who hints at skeletons in the guests' closets. But it seems this lady has offended one too many when she's found dead in suspicious circumstances, followed by a string of accidents--some fatal. Soon, level-headed Meg's to-do list extends from flower arragements and bridal registries to catching a killer--before the next catered event is her own funeral..."

First line: "I had become so used to hysterical dawn phone calls that I only muttered one halfhearted oath before answering."

My thoughts: What a fun book! Thanks to the bloggers who have been posting about the series lately, I don't think I'd have come across it otherwise. I liked everything about it, here are just a few things:
- I think it's very cool that Meg was a decorative blacksmith (the upper body strength it gives her comes in handy when people are trying to kill her!).
- The three weddings were a hoot, particularly her friend Eileen's Renaissance-themed one (I was at a Ren Fest recently, so I could really visualize everything!). I felt Meg's exasperation with the brides who were either flaky, lazy, or way too demanding.
- I liked all the crazy relatives and that the Langslows are basically related to the entire town of Yorktown. Meg's retired doctor/wannabe CSI agent is particularly funny - he doesn't care how many people don't want to hear about dead bodies at the supper table and he still loves Meg's mother dearly.
- The titular peacocks are hilarious and are featured prominently throughout the book.
- I liked the little Vietnamese ladies who work at the bridal store and are constantly around stuffing women into dresses and are either giggling or fierce if their work is questioned.
- The love interest, Michael, is hunky and sweet (that's maybe my only small qualm, that it took him the whole book to tell her he wasn't gay, although that was the point, I guess, that she was so distracted he couldn't get a word in edgewise).

I'm really looking forward to the rest of this series!

(If you've reviewed this book, leave a link in the comments!)

Review: Your Oasis on Flame Lake

Your Oasis on Flame Lake by Lorna Landvik
3 stars

Reasons for reading: I love Lorna Landvik; it was my Minnesota-author book for our trip to Minneapolis this year

Book description (fr0m Booklist}: "In a small Minnesota town, two friends chafe at being voted "Least Changed" at their twentieth high-school reunion. Timid Devera has an affair with her night-school teacher; BiDi, known for her still-perfect figure, gets pregnant by Sergio, her second husband. Devera's husband, Dick, a car salesman who dreams of performing his joke songs in a cabaret, opens "Your Oasis" in their basement and provides a town gathering place. When opposing hockey players ambush BiDi's daughter, Franny, the hulking product of her first marriage and the town mascot for making the varsity team as a freshman and a girl, the families and town must make peace with the fragility of loved ones."

First line: "I asked my dad once if he was sorry he didn't have any sons, and after he made a face he put his hand on my forehead like he was checking for fever."

My thoughts: This isn't my favourite Landvik book, but it was still serviceable. The multiple-narrator device took some getting used to and I never really could distinguish between BiDi and Devera's chapters easily. Sergio had a very distinct voice, for example, being Mr. Macho/Sentimental and also having English as his second language.

What I liked:
- Dev's daughter Darcy - a precocious 11 year-old who talks like she's in a 40's movie and is an enthusiastic wearer of hats - "I"m what my mom calls a 'headwear connosissuer' I'm not that into fashion, but I do love hats, which give you automatic style anyway."

- The setting of White Falls, with all of its lovely surrounding lakes, including Flame Lake. It sounds like a typical Minnesota small town, complete with many "residents of Scandanavian descent" (Dev's father's appliance store has a Syttende Mai sale to honour Noway's independence day). There are some colourful local characters and Your Oasis really becomes a beloved gathering place for them.

What I didn't like:
- Both Sergio and Devera have affairs (not with each other) but only Dev's is portrayed as a negative thing. I realize that since Sergio doesn't think he's doing anything wrong (because BiDi doesn't sleep with him very often, he feels justified with sleeping with his assistant at the bakery over and over), that's how his affair is portrayed by him. His affair is never revealed tohis wife, but Devera's brief affair with a sleazy, pathetic professor is revealed to her husband by the professor and ends up causing a rift in their marriage. I suppose that's life, but it rubbed me the wrong way.

- Either BiDi or Devera. Devera is a bit more sympathetic, as she appears to be having a bit of a midlife crisis, including panic attacks. But she's definitely self-centred. And BiDi just seems mean - she admits to not liking being a mother, she harps at her daughter Franny for being too big and playing hockey, doesn't give much affection to her husband, and basically is a bitch to everyone in town.

- The plot had a few too many things going on - BiDi didn't need a prescription drug addiction in addition to her other issues, for example.

Overall, it's not a bad book at all, it's just that knowing her other work, it was a bit of a disappointment. This was Landvik's second book, so it might be a sophomore slump (I enjoyed her debut, Patty Jane's House of Curl). If you don't have a lot of reading time, I'd suggest her Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bons and last year's wonderful The View From Mount Joy.

Also reviewed by Kate/Susan.

Weekly Geeks #19 and 20

Okay, I've been away from WG for a while, but now I'm back for a challenge to find the best books published in 2008. I didn't think I'd read that many newly-published books this year, but apparently I did read some.

Here's my top 10 (so far, I might read something else by the deadline of October 25):

1. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

2. The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square by Rosina Lippi

3. Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch

4. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

5. Deep Dish by Mary Kay Andrews

6. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

7. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

8. Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

9. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

10. Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West

Now, for WG #20 - everyone in the book blogosphere is invited to make lists to help find the Best of 2008! So please visit Weekly Geeks #19 for the details and to post your list on Mr. Linky. It can even be just one new book that you've loved. Plus, Dewey's doing a draw for a box of 11 books out of people who've signed up with their lists - bonus!

What's in a Name? Challenge Wrap-Up

Hooray, another challenge finished!

My books were:

Book with a colour in the title:
Beige by Cecil Castellucci (3.5 stars)

Book with an animal in the title:
Dear Sad Goat: a roundup of truly Canadian tales and letters compiled by Bill Richardson (3 stars)

Book with a first name in the title:
Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (3.5 stars)

Book with a place in the title:
Looking for Alaska by John Green (4.5 stars)

Book with a weather event in the title:
Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy (3.5 stars)

Book with a plant in the title:
Revenge of the Kudzu Debutantes by Cathy Holton (3.5 stars)

Favourite books:
I'd say entertainment-wise my favourite was Agnes and the Hitman - it was funny and sexy, had elements of both a thriller and a romance, and was a bit odd.

I rated Looking for Alaska the highest because it was very well-written and definitely deserved its Printz Award. It was a gripping, tragic story with just a bit of humour thrown in for balance.

I enjoyed all of the books, thankfully, so I don't have a least favourite.

Thanks to Annie/Debi for hosting - it was really fun to find books that fit the categories. Apparently there are already plans to do the challenge again next year and I'll be sure to sign up!