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A review by lady_smith
A Demon's Guide to Wooing a Witch by Sarah Hawley
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 endhow 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.
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
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:
I didn’t like how things resolved between Mariel and her parents in the last book,
It’s a fast-paced story that does a great job of balancing action & introspection & dialogue & sexy times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Body shaming, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Multiple descriptive sex scenes.
Calladia’s house is burned down at the start of the book . Her mother is emotionally abusive.
Calladia describes the toxic relationship she had with her ex, who was her college professor and 15 years older than her, with a history of dating his young students.
Both her mother and ex body shame Calladia for being fit & muscular and “not feminine.”
There are multiple fist fights that result in minor injuries.