A Hilarious Romance with a Quest, Just One Bed, and Plenty of Spice
A Demon's Guide to Wooing a Witch
Glimmer Falls (Book 2)
Paranormal Romance, Romantic Comedy, Witchy Romance
Berkley
November 28, 2023
ebook, paperback, audiobook
432
Calladia Cunnington curses the day she met Astaroth the demon, but when he shows up memoryless, why does she find him so helpless . . . and sort of hot?
Calladia Cunnington knows she’s rough around the edges, despite being the heir to one of small-town Glimmer Falls’ founding witch families. While her gym obsession is a great outlet for her anxieties and anger, her hot temper still gets the best of her and manifests in bar brawls. When Calladia saves someone from a demon attack one night, though, she’s happy to put her magic and rage to good use . . . until she realizes the man she saved is none other than Astaroth, the ruthless demon who orchestrated a soul bargain on her best friend.
Astaroth is a legendary soul bargainer and one of the nine members of the demon high council—except he can’t remember any of this. Suffering from amnesia after being banished to the mortal plane, Astaroth doesn’t know why a demon named Moloch is after him, nor why the muscular, angry, hot-in-a-terrifying-way witch who saved him hates him so much.
Unable to leave anyone in such a vulnerable state—even the most despicable demon—Calladia grudgingly decides to help him. (Besides, punching an amnesiac would be in poor taste.) The two set out on an uneasy road trip to find the witch who might be able to restore Astaroth’s memory so they can learn how to defeat Moloch. Calladia vows that once Astaroth is cured, she’ll kick his ass, but the more time she spends with the snarky yet utterly charming demon, the more she realizes she likes this new, improved Astaroth . . . and maybe she doesn’t want him to recover his memories, after all.
Nice was too tepid a word for her. But loyal protective, and determined to do the right thing? Those were traits to admire. —Sarah Hawley, A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch
Sarah Hawley had my attention with her previous release A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I was equally enchanted with her follow up in the Glimmer Falls series: A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch. Between characters that are as charismatic as they are hilarious, and a storyline that is both gripping as it fast-paced, A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch was a treat to read from start to finish.
Readers of this series will have already met our main characters, Calladia Cunnington and Astaroth of the Nine. This witch and demon, respectively, made quite the impression on not only myself but each other during the climax of the previous book. Unfortunately for Astaroth, the events he expected to happen at the end of A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon didn’t pan out in the way he had hoped which meant that as we encounter him at the start of A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch, he is without a memory and banished from the demon plane. His rival, Moloch, is out for blood and will stop at nothing to end Astaroth and wipe out all demon and witch relations in one go.
That damn demon. He looked good and fought like hell, and if anything riled Calladia up, it was a display of competence. And oh, how competent he was. —Sarah Hawley, A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch
Calladia’s character surprised me in the best of ways. She’s a brawler and doesn’t back down from a challenge, even if that means she’s no longer welcome in a handful of bars in Glimmer Falls. Her friends are worried about her, even if her mother rags on her constantly. While Calladia isn’t the biggest fan of Astaroth, even she can see that he’s a demon who is down on his luck and takes pity on him. My favorite aspect of A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch is that Calladia and Astaroth are sent on a quest in order to restore Astaroth’s memory by none other than Mariel’s wizened ancestor, Alzapraz.
Between run-in’s with werewolves, a griffin, dodging a mother who cannot take no for an answer, and another mother who really fails to see healthy boundaries, Calladia and Astaroth end up finding some common ground on the issue of demon hybrid rights. I love when social justice brings enemies together. Both characters also are able to heal some internal wounds simply by opening up and listening to each other—a novel concept. Sarah Hawley writes with enough humor to make this romance light, enough spice to keep us all glued to the page, and an ending that made me want more. There truly isn’t a better combo.
A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch is available everywhere right now, and should be on your reading list at the very tippy top!
Jes is a self-proclaimed bookworm, who recently moved from the PNW back to the Midwest. When her nose isn’t in a book, she’s spending time with her husband, two kids, and her three fur babies, or exploring the globe. She also firmly believes that you should start the day with coffee, and end the day in bed with a good book.
