chez_jae

Hell for the Holidays: A 24/7 Demon Mart Christmas Special by D.M. Guay

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


View all my reviews

I stayed up half an hour past bedtime to finish reading Hell for the Holidays last night. It's by author DM Guay, and it's part of the "24/7 Demon Mart" series of paranormal lite. I haven't read any others in the series, even though it's recommended to read the first book in the series before this. I am a rebel! And, in any case, I did not feel as if I were floundering and wondering what was going on.

Lloyd Wallace is using his time off from working at the local mini-mart (which has a beer cave that doubles as a gate to hell) to build the perfect snowman. This year, he intends to win the neighborhood competition. Scooter Davis is going down! Lloyd must also help his parents get ready for their annual Christmas Eve party--the last gasp of fun before the dour relatives descend on them for Christmas day. However, when a blizzard is forecast, the relatives arrive early. Lloyd's mother is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and Lloyd himself is wondering how he let Kevin, the cockroach, talk him into a party invitation. Things go from bad to worse when a van load of new ghosts possess the local snowmen and go on a rampage, targeting the Wallace house. Now it's up to Lloyd and his co-workers, Doc and DeeDee, to save the day. And Christmas. All without letting the "normal" people realize that the supernatural is alive and well and coming for them.

This was hilarious! Crack at its finest! It seemed that every disaster that could befall Lloyd (and the party) did, from the cat peeing on the cords and shorting out the tree to a snobby socialite dropping in to lord it over everyone, to the booze running out. Lloyd was teetering on a meltdown, but his co-workers helped him remain focused, even when they sent him out as live bait for the murderous snowmen.

Favorite lines:
♦ Handmade sweaters, knit by the gnarled bony hands of Great Aunt Edna herself, from the scratchiest wool on earth, likely harvested from the meanest, most bitter sheep on the planet.
♦ "We are going to pretend to be a happy family, and we are going to have a fucking Hallmark Channel, It's a Wonderful Life, Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus picture perfect Christmas so help me God, or I will kill you all."
♦ "That's some Harry Potter shit right there."
♦ He was making the same sound an old man makes when he's honking out a dirt snake. *

I laughed my way all through this and would definitely read more in the series. Five stars!