Book Review: A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating A Demon by Sarah Hawley

A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating A Demon
Publisher: Gollancz
Pub Date: 9 March 2023
Genre: Contemporary Paranormal Romance

Panda Rating:

(3 pandas)

๐Ÿ“– SYNOPSIS

Mariel Spark knows not to trust a demon, especially one that wants her soul, but whatโ€™s a witch to do when he wonโ€™t leave her sideโ€”and she kind of doesnโ€™t want him to?

Mariel Spark is prophesied to be the most powerful witch seen in centuries of the famed Spark family, but to the displeasure of her mother, she prefers baking to brewing potions and gardening to casting hexes. When a spell to summon flour goes very wrong, Mariel finds herself staring down a demonโ€”one she inadvertently summoned for a soul bargain.

Ozroth the Ruthless is a legend among demons. Powerful and merciless, he drives hard bargains to collect mortal souls. But his reputation has suffered ever since a bargain went awryโ€”if he can strike a bargain with Mariel, he will earn back his deadly reputation. Ozroth canโ€™t leave Marielโ€™s side until they complete a bargain, which she refuses to do (turns out some humans are attached to their souls).

But the witch is funny. And curvy. And disgustingly yet endearingly cheerful. Becoming awkward roommates quickly escalates when Mariel, terrified to confess the inadvertent summoning to her mother, blurts out that sheโ€™s dating Ozroth. As Ozroth and Mariel struggle with their opposing goals and maintaining a fake relationship, real attraction blooms between them. But Ozroth has a limited amount of time to strike the deal, and if Mariel gives up her soul, sheโ€™ll lose all her emotionsโ€”including loveโ€”which will only spell disaster for them both.

TL;DR: This has been one of my hotly anticipated paranormal romances and while it started out strong, the overall execution fell a bit flat for me. At first, I found the writing witty, the characters funny and their narration entertaining but somewhere along the way, I found myself connecting with it less and less until I was glad that it was finally over. Mariel and Oz have interesting arcs, the mystery of the sick forest was compelling and I was all for standing up against the environmental destruction of such a magical place and against toxic families. Ultimately though, I think there was too much stuffed into this to really do each part of it justice and I wanted more despite also thinking that this could have been shorter. Considering how well-loved this is though, this might just be an “it’s not you, it’s me” thing so take this review as you will! ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ

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