Publisher: Gollancz
Released: 7th of March 2023
Mariel Spark knows not to trust a demon, especially one that wants her soul, but what’s a witch to do when he won’t leave her side—and she kind of doesn’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 demon—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 awry—if he can strike a bargain with Mariel, he will earn back his deadly reputation. Ozroth can’t leave Mariel’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 she’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, she’ll lose all her emotions—including love—which will only spell disaster for them both.
What I Have to Say
This was a funny, easy read. It was full of wit and charm. While it was a bit too horny for me, I appreciated that most romance fans like a bit more sex in their books than me. There were parts that were predictable, but all in all I had a good time reading the book.
I really liked the characters. They were both relatable and had a good amount of humour in them. It felt like they were nice well rounded characters who had decent backstories. Though the backing characters were a little more like caricature, they were also fun to read about.
I loved Mariel's plant magic so much. I loved that she was so good at it even though she couldn't see it and how Ozroth saw it instantly. I also like how the demon realm was made out to be this society that was so much better than ours despite the whole soulless demon thing.
I don't know if I will read on or not. I might do out of curiosity, though I do think this would have worked well as a standalone.
4 stars
My thanks go to Netgalley and Gollancz for providing me with this copy for review.
