Monster in My Closet (A Monster Haven Story) [Kindle Edition]

R.L. Naquin (Author)

Book Description

A Monster Haven Story, book one

I stopped believing in monsters long ago. But I knew I wasn't imagining things when I found one in my kitchen baking muffins. I'd seen him before: lurking in my closet, scaring the crap out of my five-year-old self. Turns out that was a misunderstanding, and now Maurice needs a place to stay. How could I say no?

After all, I've always been a magnet for the emotionally needy, and not just in my work as a wedding planner. Being able to sense the feelings of others can be a major pain. Don't get me wrong, I like helping people--and non-people. But this ability has turned me into a gourmet feast for an incubus, a demon that feeds off emotional energy. Now, brides are dropping dead all over town, and my home has become a safe house for the supernatural. I must learn to focus my powers and defeat the demon before he snacks on another innocent woman and comes looking for the main course...

77,000 words

Product Details

• File Size: 413 KB
• Print Length: 209 pages
• Publisher: Carina Press (July 30, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00814M3A2
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,512 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fresh New Kind of Urban Fantasy July 30, 2012

By akb--bookworm VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition

4-1/2 stars

What do you do when the closet monster from your childhood nightmares shows up in your kitchen one morning reading the paper and makes you breakfast? He's splitting from his wife, a gargoyle, and needs a closet to stay in. Naturally, you think you are hallucinating. Then there's the skunk-ape who lurks in the nearby forest, the hag who wants to have tea, the brownie family living in your Barbie dream house, the pygmy dragon, and the herbalist who can see auras who matter of factly tells Zoey what she never realized: Zoey is an empath. Zoey always helps people, always has. She's parlayed that into a wedding planning business with her best friend. When she walks into (literally) an incubus-demon who feeds off the emotions around him, Zoey knows she has problems...especially when brides start dying all around her.

MONSTER IN MY CLOSET offers a new take on Urban Fantasy with a lighthearted story, a realistic heroine, and fresh worldbuilding. This isn't a gritty dark story trying to be edgy but a story that I could easily see play out in any neighborhood.

Zoey isn't a kick-ass heroine with a weapons fetish, nor is she a clumsy, love-struck heroine who waits for others to do everything for her. She is an empath who has the unique ability to help those around them because she can feel what they feel and help them work through things. When Zoey realizes she's an empath, she's quite shocked to learn not everyone can do this. Her response: "But how can people communicate? If they don't know what the person next to them is feeling, how do they know what to say? It would be like driving at night with your headlights off."

The world building felt very effortless and real.... It almost felt like there wasn't any need to set up this world as this could be anybody leaving their house on any regular day. The integration of "The Hidden" and "Normal" was so seamless and effortless that it felt very real.

The humor in the story was light and fun without the slap-stick, the snark, the sarcasm, or over-the-top craziness at the heroine's expense.

The storyline with the demon was well done. The author didn't try to bog down the story with so many twists and red herrings that the story got lost, but told a clean story with the focus on Zoey and her adventures discovering her powers and the friends she makes along the way. The secondary characters were well fleshed out never feeling clichéd.

I really loved this story and look forward to Zoey's continued adventures.

Monster Haven Series
Monster in My Closet
Pooka in My Pantry - March 2013 Read more ›

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Maybe too light for me August 18, 2012

By Kindle-aholic VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition

Zoey, a free spirited wedding planner who has a need to be helpful (even to her good for nothing ex), wakes up to find the monster from her childhood nightmares in her kitchen. Turns out it was all a misunderstanding, his gargoyle wife has left him, and now he needs a place to stay. He is a very accomplished chef, and even though it's all crazypants, Zoey agrees. This is the equivalent of letting the barn door open - soon she finds a Brownie family needing refuge, cares for an ailing dragon, catches the eye of a dangerous incubus, and learns that the reason she is so in touch with everyone's feelings is that she's an empath. Throw in a very hot EMT who is on hand at the deadliest of times, a wedding from hell (actually not literally in this case), clients experiencing death by incubus, and Zoey is in over her head.

The overall tone of this story is pretty light - closet monsters making scones and Zoey's effervescent nature. I actually was pretty into it in the beginning and thought it was a nice break from my usual. However, the nature of the murders - death by sex - is pretty freaking dark and disturbing if you stop to think about it. The incubus is basically a walking magical roofie that kills you. This felt incongruous to the otherwise light tone, especially when the incubus is targeting people that Zoey knows. It was difficult for me to go from a murder to Zoey's new kooky outfit, and I couldn't wrap my head around many of her actions. I also found it hard to believe she didn't realize what was happening to those closest to her (can't elaborate more without spoilers).

There is a bit of romance, but nothing hot and heavy. I liked that part. I felt the slower progression of the relationship fit. There is the hint at a broader mystery involving Zoey's mom.... I found myself wanting to know a lot more about that. I also really liked the supporting characters, especially Andrew, her new aura-reading ally, and Maurice, the closet monster.

Once Zoey finally started acting instead of evading I liked it better, but couldn't get over the disconnect.

[I received an ARC to review.] Read more ›

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Mommy! August 3, 2012

By M. Grigsby

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Most of us have a memory or two where we called for our mommies and daddies in the middle of the night because we saw a shadow or we thought there was a monster in the closet or under our beds. Well, what if instead of a bad monster it was really a creature that was temporarily living in your house until a more suitable home could be found for it? Zoey is a wedding planner in Sausalito, California. She recalls screaming for her mother in the middle of the night when she saw a monster come out of her closet and smile at her with big sharp teeth. Her mother would always send the monsters away and eventually she grew out of it, or did she?

Early one morning Zoey awakens to the smell of coffee and muffins baking in the oven. When she sneaks down the hall to see who has broken into her home, she sees a monster from her childhood sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper. He introduces himself as Maurice and explains to her that he in fact was the monster temporarily residing in her closet when she was a child until her mother managed to find him another home. It seems Zoey's mother had a secret. She aided the supernatural community whenever there was a need. Maurice goes on to further explain that Zoey is an empath and that is why she always feels the misfortunes of others including causing her to want to help including the user ex-husband of hers, Brad.

As Zoey attempts to come to gripes with what she has learned she goes to work in the city where she and her BFF from college, Sara work as wedding planners. Due to a lack of sleep, Sara insists Zoey leaves early for the day. Maurice texts a list of things he would like Zoey to pick up from the store. As Zoey is leaving the store after helping one of the clerks with a problem she witnesses a man being struck by a bus.... That is when she sees a handsome paramedic smile and wave at her. She has a major migraine causing her to sink to the ground. Unfortunately, she is assisted by a strange man in a velvet smoking jacket who scares her. One of the merchants from a herb store steps in and saves Zoey from the menace. Andrew the herbalist takes Zoey into his shop where she meets his pet a cuddly fennec fox named Milo. Andrew makes an awful tea that immediately takes away her migraine. Then he teaches her how to build a wall to ward off so many emotions.

A Zoey attempts to come to gripes with all she has experience in the day, she discovers that the strange man that approached her on the streets is a inncubis. He has had a taste of her now and he will not stop until he drains her of everything she has. Fortunately, Zoey will have aide from the most unique sources but will it be enough to help her defeat her greatest enemy yet? This is not some childhood monster, this is the real deal.

I just loved this story and the potential for this new series. It's quirky, fun, and heartwrenching at times. R.L. Naquin knows how to weave a great new world and the characters are outstanding. If I had a criticism it would be that at times, I was disturbed by the actions of the villian. However, what is a good story without a dastardly villian, right? Treat yourself and give this book a try. You will be in for a great adventure. Read more ›

More About the Author

Rachel is an urban fantasy novelist and short story writer. You can find her on the Web at: www.rlnaquin.com

Rachel lives in a world slightly askew from the rest of us. She is an expert in monsters, urban legends, and mythological creatures. In her spare time, she ponders the care and feeding of cryptozoological creatures -- and shares her tips via Twitter: #monstertrivia.

Originally from Northern California, Rachel has a tendency to move every few years. She has lived in seven different states, and had a six-year stint in England. Currently, she's hiding in the Heartland, planning her next grand adventure. She has one heroic husband, two genius kids, three annoyed cats, and an imaginary dog named Waffles. She doesn't have time for a real dog.