Unusual and a little bit odd. It’s interesting, but it's not for everyone.

Thank you to Netgalley and Beaver's Pond Press for providing this book.

Emma Addison has been through a lot in life. Her older brother died when she was young and she felt somewhat responsible for the death. Her parents die soon after. She is left with an aunt who does not like her and an uncle who likes her “too much”. Running from that bad situation to an eventual grown-up life with a job, a boyfriend, and surrogate parents. Eventually that all falls away too. So Emma turns to the supernatural and inadvertently summons the devil. Whether what Emma sees next may be real or may not be but it sure is interesting.

The cover and the summary for this book drew me in. I was raised Catholic but have questions about religion. I, like Emma, have found interest in many ideas from all religions intriguing. So many things that Emma goes through mirror some of my life in ways I can not explain. As weird as it sounds I feel like this book was meant for me. Even though this is a fictional book with fictional characters that tie in our reality with many religions and myths it just seems feasible.
The book is fast paced and sometimes scary. At least to me. As I begrudgingly read the end, I was okay with how it did end.

I would not change anything in this book. I do submit a warning for Christians who feel strongly in their beliefs and do not like to question them. This book may not be for you. If you have an open mind, give it a shot but just warning you.

I have looked all over the web for more by author Virginia Weiss. Alas, I can not find her or any more works. Just throwing this out there but Miss Weiss if you read this I would like an interview for Confuzzled Books Blog. Eager to see more of your writing.

https://confuzzledbooks.blogspot.com/

This book was a baffling, jumbled-up mess filled with pop psychology, made up mysticism and serious misconceptions about Christianity and God.
Its such a confusing mess, that it took me months to read it, it was like running a marathon, I had to just keep slogging through it.
I tried to give it a fair shot, but I don't like or understand this book. With apologies to the author, I simply cannot recommend this book.

Emma Addison, a timid agoraphobic, accidentally summons the Devil, awakening powers in her she never knew she had.

This is an odd book. With such a simple, straightforward premise, you would think the plot would move in a certain direction but nope. The story meanders all over the place. Emma loses her boyfriend, her job, gets magic powers, loses, them, meets new people, the Devil pops in from time to time, and all the while I’m wondering; “Where is this going?” I compare the feeling of reading this book as a walk in a beautiful forest on a trail you have no map of but everything is lovely to look at. The writing is good, Emma is a bit of a saint but I enjoyed following her on her journey; even if it did lack focus. 3 out of 5.

I tried to get halfway through it but it's not my thing. I got really bored of the endless conversations interspersed with endless ruminations on religion. Way too wordy, in my personal opinion, though it's a very intriguing plot. I just didn't get into it.

I don't know, this story seemed to be all over the place - Christmas, the devil, supernatural, eastern religions abusive boyfriends, violent punks, an evangelical tv preacher, a young pregnant girl and an angry anti abortion crowd. It reads like a feverish dream that I would rather just wake up from and be glad it wasn't real.

4.2 stars
An intriguing read, especially for people comfortable and interested in exploring a variety of religions through a fictional tale. We start with Emma Addison, a lonely young woman with Issues, who manages to her surprise to summon the Prince of Darkness himself to her living room on Christmas Eve. At first, my impression of Emma and the setting was of Bridget Jones' Diary as the only reason we are given at first for this daredevil act is that Emma just broke up with her boyfriend Henry. However, as more is revealed of Emma's background, then she became more like Job from the Bible. Suffice to say she has been dealt a bad lot in life and has experienced much loss and pain, almost to the point where I felt the author was overdoing it. (At one point, I thought she was the Angel of Death since everyone around her seemed to drop dead).

Lucifer, well, he is charming, suave and sensual. Persuasive, sarcastic and cynical. Glimpses sometimes of hidden grief or rage at God. The characterization and appearance remind me of Lucifer from the TV show of the same name. Through an 'exchange,' he leaves Emma with certain powers which all have their own consequences. Through her journey, Emma interacts with other celestial personifications, notably Buddhist Goddess of Compassion and Mercy Kuan Yin and Hindu Goddess Bagalamukhi, a mahavidya or wisdom goddess. Emma seemed to be more enthralled with female goddesses. She also learns about or references tantricism, tarot card reading, Sufism, other members of the Hindu pantheon and aspects of Buddha, the Jewish faith. However, the base foundation for discussion seems to be still Judeo-Christian with Lucifer, the Christian God, Christian concepts of heaven and hell, Adam and Eve, angels Gabriel and Michael. In a jarring surreal scene, Lucifer interacts with Kuan Yin and tells her not to bother waiting for him (in a sly reference to the Buddhist Bodhisattva's vow). However, if we are to adopt a Buddhist mythological world as a framework, then there is no Satan but a King Yama who is Lord of the Underworld. Reincarnation plays an important part in both Buddhist and Hindu belief, which was missing in this theological discussion. Chinese legends also reference 18 levels of hell and not just one. Instead, Kuan Yin in this novel oversees a card game (?!) with high afterlife-changing stakes.

A compliment of this novel was that I could never predict what was going to happen next. Emma goes through some thoroughly fantastical situations, also goes to hell literally. Sometimes she is almost unbelievably naive or kind-hearted. Does she enter into a Faustian bargain with the devil and what happens?

A very unique and thoughtful work which raises interesting questions about the duality of good and evil, the importance or futility of intent, faith. I hope it gets a wide readership and the invariable discussions to follow.

Thanks to Netgalley and Beaver's Pond Press for providing this book for review.

Enjoyed reading. Ms Weiss was able to capture my attention from the first page, her descriptions of Lucifer were chilling & real. I found myself processing good, evil, faith versus timing & bad luck. A good escapism read .

A very interesting telling of what *really* happens when you summon the Devil. If he feels like it, of course. And then, too, there's all the others he lets in through the now-open door.