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

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

8 reviews

fromjuliereads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-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

4.5

I think the fact that I finished this book so quickly is a testament to how much I enjoyed it. I really loved this book! I wasn't sure if I would like following Astaroth and Calladia but I really liked them! I liked the twists and reveals, the way their relationship developed. I would have liked the friends being in it a bit more but hoping we get scenes with everyone in the next one 😊

Definitely recommend for friends who enjoy speculative romance!

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natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

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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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As humorously whimsical and steamy as its predecessor! Sarah Hawley’s second instalment in the magical (and deliciously chaotic) Glimmer Falls series was an absolute joy from start to finish. I urge everyone even remotely into fantasy or romance to check this series out.

I should start by saying that this is a sequel that continues right where book one left off. So, if you’re new to the series and don’t want spoilers, I highly recommend starting with A Witch’s Guide To Fake Dating A Demon before picking this up.

I LOVED every second of this! I knew before starting that I’d enjoy it as I loved the first book soo much, but I didn’t anticipate loving Calladia and Astaroth’s story even more than Oz and Mariel’s. The enemies to lovers dynamics (which includes some fabulously witty dialogue) was really entertaining, as was Calladia whose penchant for starting bar room brawls made her an instant favourite.

Given his actions in the first book, I was prepared to dislike Astaroth. But his redemption arc, which includes being left on earth with amnesia (and no one to help except a reluctant Calladia) was surprisingly quite endearing.

I enjoyed exploring a more vulnerable side to Calladia and Astaroth, both of whom are quite standoffish and emotionally guarded characters. And their chemistry was absolutely scorchingly addictive!

Calladia assertive demeanour and ability to not suffer fools fantastic and I loved that she’s described as being physically strong (her muscled calfs get quite a few appreciative mentions from Astaroth.) But most importantly, I loved that she’s (rightfully) proud of her strength. Given the complex emotional journey she undertakes, (with her mother and an emotionally abusive ex) it was great to see how proud she is of everything accomplished.

Astaroth, too goes through quite a huge transformation. Without his power or memories, the demon we all loved to hate is practically a whole new person. Which did make liking him a bit more palatable after his villainous performance in book one. We do get to delve into his past a little and explore his reasons for the villainous behaviour which I was really intrgued by.

There’s a lot to unpack that may lead to spoilers so I’ll just say, even you you disliked him previously— but love emotionally complex, morally grey characters who set off on a path to redemption then you’ll definitely like Astaroth in this. I was also impressed Hawley’s use of British colloquialisms and sense of humour for Astaroth. I find alot of non-UK authors struggle with making British characters (or characters with British accents) sound British—but Hawley absolutely nailed it!

The romance was also incredible and I adored that Astaroth’s initial attraction to Calladia stemmed from her ability to strong arm him. Their interactions were comedy gold and their chemistry gloriously intense.

I also have to give a shoutout to Astaroth’s mother, Lilith, who (despite being just a secondary character) was stole the show with her utterly hilarious antics— and AO3 obsessed penchant for NAFW Tudor Tentacle fanfics. The juxtaposition between her love and support of Astaroth, with Calladia’s cold & emotionally manipulative mother was also instrumental in helping Calladia finally stand up for herself, which I loved!

I’ve been eager to explore Demon realm in more depth so was really excited we were able to do so this time around, though I still look forward to seeing more of Glimmer Falls (and the rest of this magical world) in the next instalment.

Definitely a must read for fans witchy, paranormal Rom-Coms, trust me you’re gonna absolutely devour this!

Also, a huge thank you to Javerya over at Gollancz for the finished copy.

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blissofalife's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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

3.0

A fun, quick read and a decent sequel. Did I (like a child) audibley say "blech" throughout? You betcha. SUCH a cheesy read. There were many times I forgot I was reading a published book and not a fanfiction, such was the cheesiness. Don't get me wrong, I love fanfiction, I'm just not usually looking for that vibe outside of it.

I loved the variety of creatures and how they interacted with each other, very fun!

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cneighbors36's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted relaxing 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

4.5

I have loved this book and the series as a whole so far! It was a very easy-to-read, fun book. After reading the first book, I wasn't sure how I would feel about Astaroth in this book, but I believe the author did an excellent job making him likable. I also really enjoyed seeing Calladia's and Astaroth's thought processes and character development throughout the book. From the excerpt at the back of the book, I can't wait to read Ben's story next!

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adancewithbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

Thank you to Stephanie Felty and Berkley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyaway.

Any guide of the fantasy variety is always a good kind to me. Though if there is any kind of proper guiding in here, I do beg to wonder. However that doesn't take away from the fun reading this book is.

The start of this book doesnt start to far off from the ending of the first book of Glimmer Falls. They are celebrating triumphing over Ozroths enemy Astaroth and saving Muriel's soul. Calladia is one of Muriel's friends, who we met in the first book. She knocked Astoroth over the mountains with the power of her fist and spells. Yet when she comes across him in an alley, being beaten up, she saves him. It is the start of a whirlwind adventure.

There are things that I liked about this book and there are things I didn't quite like in this book. In the end the good did win out for me.

One thing that I initially struggled with was coming from Astaroth is the enemy to the helping him out. Calladia should have tossed him to the wind. Even if she couldn't stand seeing someone being beaten up, she didn't need to take him home. She certainly didn't need to do this all alone. She should have called her friends right from the start and figure this out together. There wasn't a good reason not to. It was also highly convenient that Astaroth lost his memory. Astaroth had a slight personality transplant to boot. It made the memory loss and them being alone together very convenient for the romance.

Once I was able to get over that, I did enjoy the book a whole lot more. It is an enjoyable fun romp. A good one to read inbetween your more serious fiction. That is not to say that it didn't touch on some serious topics.

Seeing where Calladia was coming from was important to understanding her. Why she deflects so hard, why she jumps into fights so fast. It was good to see that she realizes that the relationship with her mother is abusive. I think that sometimes when someone isn't outright calling you names or isn't hitting you, it can be hard to recognize it as abusive. But it can be for sure.

I also highly enjoyed that the quest brought them to this little town where they met a pack of werewolves. Especially the pack leader was a charm. But the restaurant owner was fun too. Seeing the group come together with Calladia's friends and Astoroth's mother, who is Lilith by the way, was awesome too. I love when groups that truly care for one another come together. That doesn't mean that there weren't any punches pulled.

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soulwinds's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing 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

4.0

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epellicci's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced

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

4.0

*Thank you to NetGally and Penguin Random House for a copy of A Demons Guide to Wooing a Witch in return for an honest review*

I hadn't read Sarah Hawley's first book, A Witches Guide to Fake Dating a Demon, but I was in dire need of something fun and easily lovable to read and the blurb for A Demon's Guide to Wooing a Witch hit the brief:
Fiery Calladia Cunnington grudgingly agrees to help Astaroth the demon after he is banished from the Demon Plane with non of his memories - vowing that once he is cured, she'll kick his ass. But the more time she spends with the snarky yet charming demon, the more she realizes she likes this new, improved Astaroth...

While the story carries on from events of A Witches Guide..., you don't need to have read that book to understand what is going on. Helpfully, Astaroth's lack of memory means that in reminding him of their history, Calladia gives readers a neat summary of the events of the previous book too.

I had a great time reading this book. It is light, and witty, and sexy, but also (somewhat to my surprise) vulnerable and inspiring. Both main characters go on a journey of self-acceptance and transformation, but for Calladia it is particularly moving. She is a woman used to feeling like the space she takes up is wrong - too loud, too angry, too masculine. Generally too much. With Astaroth she begins to unpick her past, lower her walls while also setting new boundaries, and embrace the courage to be herself. It is joyful reading, in which Hawley gets the balance of emotional depth against quest shenanigans just right. My only bug bare was that it all happened so fast.

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ikillsunflowers's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-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

3.75

I received a copy of this book as an ARC from the publishers but all thoughts are my own.

I was very excited to read this book as I really enjoyed the first one. We return to Glimmer Falls just after Oz and Mariel's happily ever after. This time we follow Calladia as she finds Astaroth being beaten up in an alley with no memory of how he got there.

I definitely enjoyed parts of this books. I really enjoyed Calladia and Astaroth's relationship as it went from enemies to lovers. There were a lot of deep parts to both of those characters and I enjoyed seeing them grow together. I also liked the little bit thrown in about how you don't need to fit into gendered expectations to be the gender you are. Also it was pretty spicy.

The mail plot line is based around turmoil on the demon plane and the rights of individuals with mixed demon heritage (e.g. one demon and one human parent). While I think it was done well something didn't sit quite right with me. It took me a while but I realised that the lack of main characters from marginalised groups made it feel a little flat. There are mentions of people with marginalised identies in the human realm but they are often very minor characters or it isn't explored (as in Themmie's case). It is made to feel like the human realm is all fine and dandy and only the demons have issues. Which is fine cause it's fantasy but since there is a fight for hybrid demon rights it would have been nice to have conversations about rights in the human realm.

Overall I did have fun with the book though. I think that Sarah Hawley does a really great job writing complex characters as well as a great redemption arc. I also loved Calladia's emotional healing. Parts of that resonated a lot with me.

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