Tag Archives: cozy fantasy

Book Review: Dealing with a Desperate Demon, by Charlotte Stein

I won an ARC of Dealing with a Desperate Demon, by Charlotte Stein, through Goodreads.

Nancy has just about given up on finding her special person when Jack Jackson—big, scary and the town loser—walks into her bookstore. He’s apparently even more desperate for help in the romance department than she is. And after a bit of gentle persuasion, he finally accepts her guidance in securing his dream girl. Practice dates, lessons in tenderness—you name it, she can teach it.

There’s just one his dream girl might have more than an issue with his dating skills. Because Jack isn’t just a little clueless; he’s actually the demonic son of Satan, from the deepest depths of hell. He’s spent his entire long underlife dragging evildoers to their fates, while really trying not to live up to his Dad’s expectations.

Now, it isn’t just about getting a date with his dream girl. He needs to become a better man to win over the woman he’s been cosmically bound to, in a Beauty and the Beast style pact. If he fails, everyone he cares for will face a terrible fate. Luckily for him, Nancy may well be the witch she’s always tried to pretend she wasn’t. She can save him, he knows it—and she’s starting to know it too. Even if every day spent with him is an agonising reminder that she isn’t the girl he’s fated for.

But as the deadline approaches she’s starting to wonder… Could it be that she’s finally found her Prince? Or is she about to lose her heart to hell?

This was super cozy and sweet, somewhat ridiculous, but heart-warming. I think as long as you go into the book knowing that’s what you are going to get, and not expecting something else, this could be a big win. It was for me. Jack is a giant golden retriever marshmallow with a scary face. Nancy is just the nicest nice girl you can imagine. Watching her be kind to him and him learning to lean into that is lovely. There are no big surprises in the plot. It’s pretty apparent where the whole thing is going from page one. But go in for the feels. I dare you.

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@bbrittanylee

📚 just finished Dealing with a Desperate Demon by Charlotte Stein and I’m OBSESSED! I really loved how descriptive it was! ✨ awkward demon + fake dating + a talking truck? 🖤 so funny, spicy, and weirdly sweet only wish the FMC had more of a build-up before just rolling with the magic lol ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 – give me more chaotic cinnamon roll demons pls 🌶️.5 – spice level #charlottestein #BookTok #RomComReads #plussizebookrecs #SpicyBooks #ParanormalRomance #booktokfyp #CharlotteStein #BookishHumor #DemonLoveStory #WitchyReads #FakeDatingTrope #BookReview #DealingWithADesperateDemon

♬ original sound – Brittany📚✨🐝

Book Review: The Spellshop, by Sarah Beth Durst

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I purchased a copy of Sarah Beth Durst‘s The Spellshop.

Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she and her assistant, Caz—a magically sentient spider plant—have spent the last decade sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite.

When a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz flee with all the spellbooks they can carry and head to a remote island Kiela never thought she’d see again: her childhood home. Taking refuge there, Kiela discovers, much to her dismay, a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor who can’t take a hint and keeps showing up day after day to make sure she’s fed and to help fix up her new home.

In need of income, Kiela identifies something that even the bakery in town doesn’t have: jam. With the help of an old recipe book her parents left her and a bit of illegal magic, her cottage garden is soon covered in ripe berries.

But magic can do more than make life a little sweeter, so Kiela risks the consequences of using unsanctioned spells and opens the island’s first-ever and much needed secret spellshop.

This was really quite marvelous, super sweet without being cloying or overly sappy. Kiela is an impressively practical heroine, and I do so love a practical heroine. The love interest is shy and awkward, while the town and townspeople are wonderfully accepting. But the real star of the show for me was the sparkling banter between Kiela and her best friend/assistant/sentient spider plant, Caz.

Yes, it plays a little loose and fast with the world-building and magic system. And yes, as much as I adored Kiela and her practicality, she is also a little too naive and socially awkward to be believed. I thought for a while that perhaps she was supposed to be autistic-coded. But in the end, I decided that not every character who is oblivious to social cues is written to be autistic. Regardless, I see there is a second (standalone) book coming out, and I’ll definitely be picking it up.