A Warm Place to Call Home
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
Frederick is a demon living life to the fullest ... Except, it's other people's lives.
KIRKUS REVIEWS reluctantly called it “A well-spun, engaging supernatural tale ... with a devilishly ambiguous ending.”
UNPAID READERS ARE SOMEHOW SAYING:
★★★★★ “Prepare yourself to root for what’s wrong and to hope for the worst” ★★★★★ “Draws you in from the outset…” ★★★★★ “I love him! He’s a jerk! I love him!” ★★★★★ “…couldn’t put it down until the last page was turned.” ★★★★★ “…a moving story, and all-too-real.” ★★★★★ “engaging characters, interesting settings, plot twists galore, and a very satisfying ending.” ★★★★★
SURPRISING NUMBER OF ACTUAL AWARDS:
★WINNER - Next Generation Indie Book Awards®★
★WINNER - Novel Grounds Literary Awards★
★WINNER - Rebecca’s Reads Choice Awards★
★WINNER - SOVAS™ Voice Arts Award (Audiobook Edition)★
OK, OK, HERE'S THE DAMNED DESCRIPTION:
As far as he call tell, Frederick is a demon. "Born" in Virginia in the early 1980s, he hasn't a clue where he came from or why, but his irresistible desire to occupy a human body seems pretty demony to him. Plus, a number of a-hole priests have tried to exorcise him from some of his favorite bodies. Yeah, it works, but not for the reasons they think. It's just super annoying being yelled at in Latin and sometimes the priests get really, really into it, and their mouths get all frothy and spittle droplets shoot out and land on your cheek or in your eye. It's just gross. So f--k it. He leaves with a heartfelt "Enjoy the drooly meatsack!"
What those morons never realize is that once Frederick takes over a body, the previous occupant's consciousness and memories are forever erased. It's an inevitable side effect that gives Frederick pause when switching bodies, but not so much as to actually halt his ongoing enjoyment of human lives. Departures are not so much "Good lord, what have I done?" moments as much as, "Aww. How sad." Frowny face emoji - not crying face emoji. You get the point.
After a few decades exploring the world in various bodies, Frederick finds himself burnt out on the wild life, deciding he'll return to America, explore the mystery of his origin, and maybe even find someone tolerable enough to love for more than a month. In his hometown of Leesburg, Virginia, his mission bears fruit much faster than expected. He meets an enchanting woman, and her current boyfriend looks like a great foot-in-the-door. Typically, Frederick avoids maintaining a bodies' prior relationships (it requires agonizingly boring pre-research to avoid detection) but - as noted above - he's loose with the phrase "f--k it."
And everything falls into utter chaos. Spoiler alert. Oh wait, those are supposed to go before the spoiler. Oops. But you're still gonna want to read how all this goes down. I mean, look at all those awards and reviews up there! Unless you're deeply offended by naughty words and a couple brief, awkward descriptions of sex, you're pretty much guaranteed to fall in love with Frederick. So says Frederick. };)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A demon's evolution into a caring "human" is the refrain of this quirky novel. Frederick delights in taking over bodies and deleting the personalities of their owners, and he is indifferent about the consequences to the usurped. Attracted to 34-year-old Melanie, Frederick occupies the body of her boyfriend, Joseph Cling. Siemsen injects some humor into Frederick's improvised relationships with Melanie's family, but focuses on Frederick's increasing devotion to Melanie, especially in the face of a suspected rival. Siemsen throws in startling revelations from Joseph's brother James to force Frederick into a stark choice. The transformation of Frederick from brash, self-centered demon into a concerned person provides a central motif, but the ludicrous evolution of events somewhat undercuts the intended moral lesson.
Customer Reviews
Weak at best
I was robbed