I borrowed a copy of Aurora Ascher’s My Funny Demon Valentine.

Asmodeus, Prince of Hell, just wants to play music. Jazz, specifically.

Unfortunately, he’s a demon, and he’s supposed to be evil. A career as a musician isn’t exactly an option.
And he’s cursed, to top it all off.

Sick of playing by the rules, Ash and his brothers escape Hell in search of freedom on Earth, only to discover it’s harder than they thought to keep their enemies off their tail. The four rogues quickly become the Underworld’s Most Wanted, and if they’re caught…
The consequences will be dire.

Everything changes for Ash when he meets a beautiful violinist who can see through his curse. It must be too good to be true, but he can’t resist the temptation.
No matter the risk, he has to have her.

Evangeline Gregory is just your average human. She works at a jazz bar, plays gigs on weekends…
And, apparently, hallucinates demons.

At least, that’s what she tells herself happens when, moments after she meets the man of her dreams, she sees him shift into a seven-foot-tall, red-skinned monster.

Not believing her own eyes, Eva decides to investigate and soon finds herself caught in the middle of a supernatural clusterf**k of epic proportions. But Ash isn’t the only one keeping secrets, and the search for answers reveals a shocking truth that will change the course of her life forever.

Or maybe just doom it.

I hated the first half of this book. Honestly, I’m surprised I stuck with it to get to the second half, which I liked well enough. Look, I understand sometimes characters have to be unpleasant in the beginning to give them room to grow as a character. But, man, I am so freakin’ tired of reading male romantic leads (and their friends who will likily be romantic leads in future books) who basically hate women, just see them as pieces of ass.

This book is particularly bad about it. In fact, if you really think about some of the things they say to one another, they’re probably rapists on top of everything else. Yeah, yeah, their demons, whatever. That’s not why the characters are misogynists…or, rather, why the author chose to emphasize the men’s disregard and dislike of women as their primary character trait, instead of literally anything else. This appears to be just clichéd writing on the part of the author. It’s not plot or character-dependent. So, I really disliked the first half of this book. The casual and constant disregard for women was sandpaper on my skin.

The author largely drops this in the second half of the book, as the reader is supposed to develop some attachment to the characters. I appreciate that Ascher didn’t bother with artificial miscommunication or a third-act breakup. Ash is sweet, the brothers’ banter is endearing, and I liked Eva. I might be willing to continue the series, but I’m not in any hurry about it.

Other Reviews:

Amanda’s Book Corner: My Funny Demon Valentine