Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - A Demon's Guide to Wooing a Witch

Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

A Demon's Guide to Wooing a Witch by Sarah Hawley

37 reviews

jenny_bean_reads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I loved that this one picked up right where the first left off. The continuity was really well done. I also really enjoyed the growth arc of both Calladia and Astaroth, even if Calladia's felt a little more forced into the story than Astaroth's. The climax of the story was great to read, especially because we are living out something similar at the moment and it was a joy to have it turn out how I would prefer.

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carlyjoann's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was a fun sequel that picked up right where the first book left off! I enjoyed the new pairing and their development throughout the story. I wasn’t expecting the plot to get as deep as it did towards the end but it was good world building!

It was a little unbelievable at first that Astaroth was a completely different person but as the story went along it made a lot more sense.
I wasn’t a big Calladia fan in the first book but getting to know her more made me like her in this one.
The emotional abuse to the MCs by their parents in this series is kind of a lot though so be warned if that is hard for you to read.

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lindsaymck's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was so ridiculously FUNNY in addition to being about love, acceptance, and overcoming prejudices. Calladia and Astaroth begin as enemies (he tried to bargain away the souls of her best friend and best friend’s boyfriend and she kicked his ass), but become lovers who see and appreciate one another exactly as they are. She nurtures his softness and he respects her strength, which is exactly what they both need.

The journey to that emotional growth is a literal quest on which Calladia helps Astaroth find a witch to break his curse and heal his amnesia. His amnesia is actually an unexpected gift that has allowed him to decide who he actually wants to be rather than who his six centuries of ambition has turned him into.

I enjoyed this sequel more than the first - Mariel and Oz are the sweet, stable, supportive couple. Calladia and Astaroth are just as supportive, but are completely chaotic and competitive, which made for better banter and super spicy spice. There are definitely similarities to the first book in their tropes, witch/demon pairings, overbearing/cruel mothers, absent fathers, and a big conflict that resolved very quickly at the end. I’m interested to see how book three explores newer territory with two different species as our new main characters.

Calladia and Astaroth’s adventure is packed to the brim with moments both hilarious and heartwarming. Honestly, the banter, bravado, and verbal sparring between these two had me grinning and giggling as I listened.

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chelbelle122's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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jellifer28's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I prefer the first book in the series to this one, however the characters in this are sweet, lovable, and this is an overall charming and lighthearted read with a magical twist!

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lauralizbuckley's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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witcheep's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The plot of this book feels like an erratic fever dream that interconnects random places, people, and sub-plot events with a loose quest arc masked with horniness. The small happenings (such as bar brawls for fun and driving around) that don't have much impact on the world get a lot of space, whereas the grand events that alter the course of the realms seem to be managed very fast with seemingly simple solutions. This makes the book feel like it was written in a rush and pushed out into the world as fast as possible. It's a fun read, but the book could have benefitted from some more editing and refining. The first book was certainly better.

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lady_smith's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I didn’t like Calladia while reading the first book in this series and was not really looking forward to a whole story focused on her AND the piece-of-work demon Astaroth. But in the end I liked this book more than the last one!

I found Calladia much more likeable but it also became clear that she isn’t the type of person to care what I think. I may not understand her enthusiasm for solving problems with her fists, but she’s not looking for my approval, and gosh darnit if that doesn’t just make me appreciate her in a whole new way.

Using temporary amnesia with Astaroth was a great way to make his character’s evolution believable. The author used this trope really effectively, particularly by having both him and Calladia ruminate on what might happen if/when he regained his memories and at the end

how Astaroth reconciles who he was vs who he is and how he couldn’t have shaken off his obsessive pursuit of power without the experience of losing his memories.

I loved that while these two were deeply flawed in some ways, the story prioritizes them realizing how right they are for each other just as they are, instead of forcing them to change. Example:

Calladia shot him a damning look. “You do not get to hop off the redemption train just to get on the murder train.” That seemed unfair. “What if I only kill annoying people?”

I didn’t like how things resolved between Mariel and her parents in the last book,

so it was immensely satisfying that Calladia made a different choice.

It’s a fast-paced story that does a great job of balancing action & introspection & dialogue & sexy times.

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readwritemads's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

my recommendation: skip book 1 and start here!

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bree_h_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I was really hoping my appreciation of Calladia and her characterisation in the last book would make me enjoy this book more. Like A Court of Silver Flames did to the ACOTAR series with Nesta. Alas, it was not enough to save the book.

I’ll give the book this, it did get a few laughs out of me. It was genuinely funny in some places and could make me forget my issues with the book overall at times. I also really liked the themes/struggles Calladia had to work through. It was interesting and while I think some aspects could have been done better OVERALL it was pretty solid.

These things, however, weren’t really enough to forgive the book’s flaws. To start, the book happens over the course of five or six days and the characters are deciding they love each other by day three or four. Overall it just felt like the romance moved WAY too quickly and the author doesn’t get the different between romantic and sexual attraction. This feeling was further emphasised by completely brushing over by the fact that MAJOR conflicts and issues were kinda brushed over. It doesn’t matter how hot someone is if they tried to steal my bestie’s soul, caught their greenhouse on fire, and tried to kill their bf they’re not to be some SERIOUS talks for me to not hate them. And even then I’d never date them. The book’s excuse is Astaroth amnesia, but it’s not like anyone else lost their memory OR like he did those things against his will. It just felt weak, especially when Calladia’s friends found out about them hooking up.

FINALLY, as in the last book, they were really horny at weird times. Calladia has an intense emotional moment and the next thing we know they’re hooking up. It just felt really odd. Like, let the emotional moments linger and have their impact.

Overall it wasn’t great, but it certainly could have been worse. I do recommend it for anyone that read and enjoyed book one though! I think it’s just a little bit better overall.

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