Demon Envy

I loved this book. Picked it up and couldnt stop reading. It has just the right mix of action, budding romance, friendship, mystery and teen issues. Well worth any price and a wonderful addition to your keeper shelf.

Kenzie Sutcliffe is your average teen, existing on the fringes of being noticed or being ignored. She has two younger siblings, fairly normal but distracted parents, and a best friend a bit cooler than she is. Nothing that would make her stand out in a crowd, or get her noticed by her hottie crush Adam Birmingham. Not until the fateful day she takes a shower with her zit cream...and opens a demon portal, and out pops Levi, your friendly, neighborhood demon of envy . Sad thing is, he looks just like every other teenage boy Kenzie has ever come across, so he's not all that cute, and he's driving her crazy. All she wants is for him to figure out a way to close the portal so she can just use her bathroom again. But this boy has plans while he's in town: he needs to feed off the jealousy and envy of others, or he'll starve. Luckily, he showed up in the right place, because where could there be more envy and jealousy than in the pit of low self-esteem known as high school? Erin McCarthy tries her hand at the young adult genre with this funny, sarcastic, sweet look at being a teenager in today's world. Writing as Erin Lynn, she's created a setting in the life of a young girl who struggles to be accepted by her peers, who tries to understand her parents, and to survive the day with her younger brother and sister all while hanging with her BFF and daydreaming about that one elusive boy who doesn't even know she exists. Kenzie is a likable girl, one who really doesn't want to change but rather be accepted as she already is, and I dug that about her. She has her moments of angst but for the most part is pretty okay with her life, and doesn't become a silly airhead when talking with Adam, the boy who gives her butterflies, but instead lets him see her as she really is, a klutzy, artistic girl with streaks in her hair and the occasional pimple on her chin. And despite being a demon, Levi is a pretty cool one, and turns out to be a good friend to Kenzie and is there for her when she really needs him. Even though his job is to create envy in others, he only does it to survive. He doesn't particularly care for what he is required to do, but he does it because he has to, and tries to help Kenzie close the portal so other demons won't cross over, or worse yet, have her grabbed by a prison guard. I like how his relationship is developing with Kenzie, where he's more protective of her yet also lets her do her own thing, sort of like an older brother, but....not. Definitely not. Reading this book brought back memories of my teen years - the incredible intensity of feelings for the boy you're crushing on. The agony of trying to fit in and the slight resentment you feel when you realize you just don't. Being embarrassed by your parents. (Some things never change). This was just a fun story, and it made me laugh, and I could definitely relate to some of the agony Kenzie faced as she just tried to make it through the day. I am really looking forward to the next book

In Ohio sixteen years old Kenzie is a normal junior at West Shore High School. She ignores her younger siblings, fourteen years old Brandon and five years old Zoe; has a best friend "Iz"; hates perfect Amber; loves Adam; and uses acne medicine. In other words, she is a typical American teenager. Everything abruptly changes for Kenzie when she applies her newest acne cream while taking a shower; she dropped the glob down the drain accidentally, but somehow that opens a portal in her bathtub to the demon world. Levi steps through it. He looks like an American male teen to everyone but his mage Kenzie. She sees his blue wings and green scales that no one else notices. Levi has spent six months in a demonic prison for failure to carry out the first commandment of demon survival: thou shall cause jealousy amidst humans. If he fails to raise the envy level, he will starve to death because greed and spite are what sustains his kind. Kenzie reluctantly agrees to help Levi escape demon bondage forever; a feat no one has ever achieved, but as she knows she is an American teen queen. This amusing chick lit fantasy will hook readers the moment that Kenzie has cardiac arrest when her expensive cream flows through the drain and Levi flows up into her shower. The fast-paced lighthearted story line is fun to follow as Kenzie wants the geek to go back to demon world, but feels responsible to help him get his freedom. Although the story line is thin, young teens will enjoy the antics of Kenzie as she is the focus of DEMON ENVY. Harriet Klausner

Kenzie is a normal teenager - envious of her friends and questioning her own self-worth. One day she accidentally opened a demon portal in her tub, and Levi, an envy demon, popped out. He performed some demon mojo on her parents and the school officials, now he is living with them indefinitely and his class schedule at school is ridiculously easy. Oh, and did I mention he starves if he doesn't feed off the envy of the people around him? Demon Envy is a great story, full of character, plot, a little romance, and loads of laughs. The characters are all colorfully described with traits everybody can relate to, whether you are a teen or an adult. Kenzie struggles with acne, her body, her relationships, her driving tests (yes that is plural) as well as all the other angst teenagers have. Levi is your typical teenage boy, with a little more depth to him that we see as the story progresses. He definitely has the makings of an alpha hero! As a mom of teenagers, I really loved this book and recommend it for everybody - from teenagers to adults. I hope to read more from Erin Lynn in the future.

Lotion meant for acne treatment is supposed to help remove those huge craters on your face, not open the portal to a whole other world. At least that's what Kenzie Sutcliffe thought -- that is, until she accidentally dropped the bottle into the bathtub, having more than half of it spill into the drain, resulting in a guy appearing out of nowhere. Who cares if her mother is going to kill her for wasting all that lotion and all that money, there's a guy in her bathtub, and a demon at that. If only he was cute, than the situation wouldn't be so bad, but his jerk comments do not help, either. It's bad enough that Kenzie has to focus on finally getting her drivers license, after so many tries, and to get Adam Birmingham, longtime crush and hottie, to ask her out. Those are now the least of her worries. The portal to the demon world is officially open in her bathtub and it's up to Kenzie to figure out how to close it and help Levi, the demon, from having to go back. Life just couldn't get any worse... well, for Kenzie it can. It only takes one day for Levi to become popular, whereas Kenzie still goes unnoticed. And having Levi live with her isn't all that better, since her siblings do seem to like him more than they do her and he is using her bathroom. Let's just hope that Kenzie can remove herself from all of this jealousy, which is what Levi feeds off of, and can successfully close that portal before more demons enter her life. Hilariously funny and absolutely unique, DEMON ENVY makes demons look better than vampires. Move over Buffy because Kenzie Sutcliffe is the new girl in town, but she just doesn't really know what to do... yet. DEMON ENVY just screams `READ ME' and readers will want more of Kenzie and her whiny ways -- and Levi and his jerky but caring attitude. Erin Lynn definitely knows what readers want, and let's hope she knows that what this reader wants is a sequel! Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen