I requested this title from Netgalley thinking it was a horror novel because it was in the horror category. I must be more careful about hitting that request button without doing a little research first.

This book is a comedy about a demon gone rogue because his boss Satan is an unappreciative pain in the bum. Satan sends all of his bounty hunters out to drag the demon’s sorry butt back to Hell. But this is not a horror novel. At least not the first 25%. It is written in the sarcastic spirit of Christopher Moore and Clive Barker’s Mister B. Gone which is a book I pretty much loathed and I normally adore Barker so you can see how this going to go, can’t you?

Not well, if you were wondering.

I gave up on this book at the 25% mark not because it wasn’t the horror novel I was expecting (so don’t rag on me about that) but because the characters were all loathsome unlikable creatures and I wasn’t in any kind of mood to deal with them. I am also very particular about my humor. This was vaguely amusing but wasn’t making me laugh or snicker or any of those things it should’ve been doing. It was mostly frustrating me because it is written in the “tell don’t show” mode, the plot was extremely disjointed, the ARC had all kinds of pesky formatting errors and it was not keeping my attention no matter how hard I tried. I think a good pass through an editor could easily fix those things but as is, I couldn’t find the will to continue.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me the ARC. I wish it could’ve been a five star read for me but you can’t win them all. I'm sure there are many out here that will dig the humor but unfortunately I'm not one of them.

Our Frail Disordered Lives is a horror comedy novel that has some interesting twists and a really screwy demon who is out to prove to the Devil that he's not just another low-level demon.
Larry Kavanaugh has the married life that he wanted, but he also has all the problems that he didn't want. You see, Larry is all about himself. He wants the world to pay attention to him, be focused on him, and he wants everything. He wants the riches without the work. Well, what he has is a wife who simply wants him to do right, two intelligently gifted children, and a desire for a better life. So he decides to take a shortcut...make a deal with the devil...or one of his minions. A demon by the name of Roach. Roach wants to prove himself, plus...let's just say he's holding a grudge that is well over a few thousand years old. So he decides to go rogue and prove himself. He has some help, but let's just say things don't work out the way that he planned.
Our Frail Disordered Lives by Mary M. Schmidt is the first book that I have read by this author and I must admit I really enjoyed it. I love a good horror story, but this one leans more toward humor and comedy. Roach is a demon, but he's really the comedic force in this story. He wants to be taken seriously by the Devil, but he makes a few mistakes in the process. Larry is keeping secrets from his wife, but when he tells her what he's done...she doesn't react as expected. Kathleen, Larry's wife, is a timid woman in the beginning. I have some issues with her because of how she handles a couple situations. I do like that she develops as a character. It's not long before she grows a backbone and does what is right for her and her children. In a way, I can honestly say that I relate to Kathleen in certain situations in this story. I love the shifting dynamics of the overall storyline. Each of the characters in the story is interesting and bring uniqueness to the story.
The only issue that I have with this story is the editorial errors. There are quite a few. Misspelled words, improper spacing with others, just simple things really.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book. The author ties up all the loose ends in the story. We get closure for all of the characters as well. This is a fun story that will keep you engaged from start to finish. I am rating this book 5 out of 5 stars.

This is an odd book. It's written much like a play, with lots of dialogue and not much description. The idea is excellent - a demon obsessed with not being in Dante's Divine Comedy to the point of messing up his diabolical work. However, it's a little unsteady in places, and the plotting doesn't hold form, meandering between protagonist and his antagonists without clear links as to why the scene has jumped places. It reads a little immature, for want of a better word, like a first draft.
My recommendation for the author is to take the novel and polish it until it really shines, as the idea is a cracking one, and I really enjoyed the mundane aspect of hell, paperwork and the trappings of modernity bring used by demons as a necessary evil.
Three stars, as I did feel compelled to finish it, but feel it needs another round or two in the drafting process before the meat of the story shines through.