(Image from mybookshelf.com)

Kate Connor's got enough on her plate - she's a SAHM to 2 kids, wife to a lawyer with political ambitions, best friend to a woman who suspects her husband may be cheating, and a homemaker with piles of laundry to sort, dinner to make, and a house to clean. Her schedule is jam-packed; she really doesn't have time to resurrect her early career as a Demon Hunter. Resurrect it she must, however, because Demons have descended on her once safe hometown, and only she can stop them.

The problem with coming out of retirement is that her family doesn't know anything about her Demon-Hunting past. She prefers it to stay that way. Besides, this is a one-time gig - as soon as she rids her town of unwanted presences, she's going right back to being Kate Connor, plain old soccer mom. First, however, she's got a mystery to solve. She must determine why her old enemy - a nasty High Demon named Goramesh - is haunting San Diablo, California. The town boasts a large cathedral housing bones of saints and other relics - such powerful religious items should be keeping Demons far, far away. So, what has drawn Goramesh to sunny Cali? Kate begins a desperate dig through the Church's archives to find the answer. Not that anyone's going to let her focus on her task, however - her husband keeps throwing surprise dinner parties in her lap, Demons are lurking around every corner, her 2-year-old's throwing tantrums to get her attention, and her best friend is starting to get susicious. Kate must find the answer to her dilemma, rid the town of Demons, and get back to her normal life before it all disappears in a puff of smoke. A difficult task, yes, but this Demon-hunting soccer mom is up to the task. Or is she?

Okay, I know the plot of Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner sounds a little hokey. It is, but the book is a lot of fun. There was plenty in it to irritate me (how often does one person really say the word "schlep?" and what toddler can ask his mom, "Do you have holey sheets?"), but I actually enjoyed this one. It's the first urban-fantasy-with-a-domestic-bent that I've read. I know there are plenty of these kind of books out there, so I don't know whether Julie Kenner is an original or a copycat, but still ... this was a fun foray for me.

Grade: B-

I forgot to mention this in my last post, but I was reading another blog (once again, I can't remember whose - I think that's a sign I read too many blogs) and the author was talking about blogrolls. She mentioned that she always looked on other people's blogs to see if they listed her blog on their blogrolls. Anyway, she said it much better than I did, but I'm in the same boat: I love all of your blogs, but I haven't updated my links in awhile, so don't freak out if your name isn't on there. It will be. As I've mentioned before, I read TONS of blogs (about 200 at last count), and I always forget to stick them on my blogroll. I'm working on it - I promise. If you don't see your blog listed, will you please let me know? I don't usually ask permission to list a blog, so yours may be on their already without your knowledge! Hee hee. Thanks, you guys. This book blogging community is fabulous.

My reading has been a little pokey lately, mostly because my head is swirling with the decision my husband and I just made: We are going to try to adopt a baby girl. We have been thinking about adoption ever since our youngest was born, and my doctor strongly encouraged us not to have any more children (all 3 of ours were preemies). Since then, the idea of adoption has been in the back of my mind. On our way to Disneyland (dh and I really should not go on long drives together - we tend to make life-changing decisions while in the car), we decided that we wanted to pursue adoption. Since then, I have debated, researched, prayed, meditated, and prayed some more to know if it was really the right thing for us. Well, let me tell you, I got a burning in my bosom such as I have never felt before - seriously, it was like really bad heartburn! I know this is right for our family.

Currently, I am filling out applications for various adoption agencies. We are going to certify through LDS Family Services, but we will be working with several different agencies as well as "advertising" on our own. I thought I should mention it here in case you or anyone you know is looking for a good home for your/their baby girl. Now, I know you're probably saying, "But you already have 3 kids," and that's true, but I know there are lots of kids out there in need of good, stable homes. I'm blessed to have one. Anyway, if you know of any situations, or if you have been through the adoption process and have advice/encouragement, I would love to hear from you. You can email me anytime at blogginboutbooks[AT]gmail[DOT]com. I'm working on a blog that birthparents can check out for all our information. It may take me awhile, but eventually all the info will be at: http://leadusguideus.blogspot.com/.

Anyway, enough about that ... let's get on to some more bookish topics:

**Chelsea over at The Page Flipper is giving away 6 books from Simon & Schuster. Check it out! You get an extra entry if you mention her giveaway on your blog.

**I mentioned the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest in one of my previous posts. Basically, writers submitted their manuscripts, Amazon customers reviewed excerpts of each one, and 10 manuscripts were chosen from those with the best ratings. The winner gets a publishing contract from Penguin Books. You can read excerpts of the Top 10 and vote for the winner. The one with the highest reviews wins. Now, I'm a little miffed because Amazon promised an award to the best reviewer, and never delivered (winners were supposed to be announced Feb. 29, but it didn't happen). Not that I expected to win, but I rushed to do reviews so that I could be among the contestants for the reviewer prize. ANYWAY, my point is, if you think this sounds fun, go check out the Top 10. There are some really good entries. Unfortunately, only 1 of my favorites (The Wet Nurse's Tale) made it into the Top 10 :( Oh well. Even if Amazon hasn't handled the contest well (which seems to be the general consensus among the writers and reviewers), it's a fun idea and I enjoyed reading a lot (not all) of the entries.

**I promised myself I would read a review book this week (The Sister - I'm woefully behind), but I got sidetracked by Julie Kenner's Carpe Demon. It's light and fluffy (sounds like a meringue), but lots of fun. I'll report on it soon.

**Thanks for reading this long, dense post. Happy reading!