Review: Got me from the first line!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 10, 2012
4.5 StarsSometimes a book comes along, and from the first sentence I know that I will love it. When Monster in My Closet started with "Of all the possible weapons I might have grabbed, I choose a toilet brush", I knew that this was one of those books.Zoey wakes up one morning to find her greatest childhood nightmare sitting at her kitchen table, drinking coffee and reading a newspaper. Turns out, his name is Maurice and he didn't want to scare her when she was 5 years old, but wanted to play. Soon, her house is full of Hidden creatures needing her help, and Maurice becomes a permanent addition to her household. She also meets a very fashion challenged incubus, who decides that Zoey is the best possible meal out there. She is in grave danger, but has no idea about how to protect herself, so she must learn fast. Good thing that she has all the new friends protecting and helping her, something she is not used to, since she spent her whole life helping others.I already said it, but I was simply blown away by this book. It is lighthearted and fun with just enough seriousness and danger to be "real". I loved Zoey and Maurice (he can come and live in my closet any time he wants), along with everyone else in the story. Even the Big Bad was likable in a way, even if I wanted to punch him more than once. I started reading it thinking it will be a paranormal/urban romance, but I was pleasantly surprised because Monster in My Closet turned out to be an urban fantasy book, so the romance did not take over the book at the expense of everything else. Instead, I was treated to just enough of romance to be interesting and believable, and a lot of personal relationship between the rest of the characters.The book was very easy to read, and I literally could not put it down. I loved Naquin's writing style, and how she poked fun at some of the usual things in the genre (like the typical thousand years age difference between a hero and heroine). I giggled and kept turning pages. Zoey's personal style made me smile more than once, and made me wish that we could be friends. Oh we would get along so well, and she would love my funky shoes collection! Riley was very cute and lovable, and I'm definitely want to know how their relationship progresses.Not everything was great though, but the issues I had were pretty minor, and did not distract from the overall greatness. Naquin hinted at the bigger mystery with Zoey's mother, but that was not explored beyond figuring out that something was going on. I'm hoping this means that there will be a SEQUEL! Another thing I didn't particularly care for was the final showdown with the Big Bad because it felt pretty anti-climatic. I appreciated that the big conflict was not to save the world from destruction, or something along those lines, as it seems to be in every other fantasy book, but at the same time I wished that it was just a little bit more dangerous? Or maybe just explained a little more how Zoey got to the conclusions she got, and how she figured out how to defeat the incubus. Or even more about the mythology behind him, and other Hidden.(view spoiler)Overall, this is a great book and I recommend it to those who would want to read about somewhat different take at the paranormal creatures, and those who love more lighthearted books.Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Carina Press via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.