Rating: 3.5 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


Sammy has lost his parents, but he’s found a new family with a group of friends who attend the book club at his book store. It just so happens that the group of friends are all paranormal beings, but human Sammy fits right in. He’s happy and content with his life. That is, until, he’s knocked unconscious and offered as a sacrifice to a demon.

Dresalantion has felt the call for the past week and a half, but he’s been able to ignore it, just like all demons can. It takes a lot to actually summon a demon and force them to appear. Dre finally decides to answer the summons, simply to get them to stop. But though he scares the would be summoners away, he quickly realizes that Sammy is much more than he appears. Dre helps Sammy home and, on the way, the two banter and share their love of common things. Dre is drawn to the human, and Sammy is drawn to Dre, so they decide to try and date.

Sammy’s friends are wary of his association with a demon, but Dre quickly proves how sweet and attentive he is. And it’s clear Sammy and Dre have a connection. But unlike shifters and vampires, demons can’t tell their mate by scent. It’s only after they have sex, and the demon delivers a venomous bite, that it’s made clear. Despite their connection, and the very real possibility that they are fated mates, Sammy and Dre decide to wait. They’ll enjoy their time together and make lasting memories before finding out for sure, just in case they aren’t fated for one another. But their love won’t be denied, they are clearly meant to be together, even if they aren’t fated mates, and they decide to take the risk. In the end, everything is worth it.

I was intrigued by the blurb on this one. A demon who falls in love with a human who was intended to be his sacrifice is a really interesting premise. And while there were definitely fun and funny moments, and it’s a relatively low angst book, I have to admit that there were parts that didn’t work for me.

There were definitely things I enjoyed about this book. The characters are all fun and unique, and add to the story in their own way. Both Sammy and Dre, as the MCs, are particularly well drawn. It was easy to see their connection, and I liked all the little things the author used to connect them. They had a lot of common interests and that worked to cement their instant attraction, and very quick descent into love. So as a romance, this mostly worked. Even if Dre, and his entire family, aren’t what you would normally think of as demons.

In fact, it would be easy to forget that Dre was a demon at all. He read very human, so much so that, at times, the constant “demon” reminders were necessary. And while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it was certainly a different take on demons as a whole, I would have liked to see a bit more in this regard. For me, essentially, he read as human with magic capabilities. I would have liked to see more “demon” about him. 

The world building isn’t super detailed, and if you’ve been following along, you know that’s a sticking point with me. But here it didn’t bother me so much, which worked in the book’s favor. But, I think, my biggest issue was with the narrative style. While I thought the interesting quirk of Sammy and Dre trading trivia knowledge and trying to one up each other was cute, the way it was written just felt like regurgitating Wikipedia info, and was a bit jarring at times. The dialogue didn’t flow as well as I would have liked, and at times, it was stilted and seemed incongruous with the rest of the narrative. It took me a little while to get into the story, and I felt the first chapter in particular was bit of a slog. I’m glad that I kept reading, but the same slow pace popped up again and again throughout the book, as different discussions slowed the narrative as a whole.

So this one was just okay for me. There were definite high points, and I liked all the characters, but I wanted more from this book and said characters. Even still, I wouldn’t be opposed to reading the next one in the series, to see where the author takes it. The characters are likeable enough, the romance was sweet, and the very low-angst narrative made it a quick read.