Title: My Funny Demon Valentine (Hell Bent #1)
Author: Aurora Ascher
Publisher: Kensington 2021
Genre: Romance
Pages: 368
Rating: 2/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; Romanceopoly - Krampus Night (Monsters)
Where I Got It: Library
Spice Rating: 6
Asmodeus, Prince of Hell, just wants to make music. Jazz, specifically. Unfortunately, he’s a demon. And he’s supposed to be evil.
Clearly, for Ash, a career as a musician isn’t exactly an option. Plus, he’s cursed. Sick of playing by the rules, Ash and his three brothers escape Hell in search of freedom on Earth. But it’s harder than they thought to keep their enemies off their tails . . .
Yet everything changes for Ash when he meets a beautiful violinist who can see through his curse. 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 Eva tells herself when, moments after she meets the man of her dreams, she sees him shift into a 7-foot-tall monster. Not believing her own eyes, Eva decides to investigate and soon finds herself in the middle of a supernatural clusterf**k.. But Ash isn’t the only one keeping secrets, and the search for answers reveals a shocking truth that will change Eva’s life forever. Or maybe just doom it. The path to love can be complete Hell.
I just… no. I was hoping for some fun enemies to lovers, some miscommunication (but keep it light), and lots of sexual tension. Instead I got a super bland insta-love story that relied way too much on clever sentences and profanity. Don’t get me wrong, I curse like a sailor in real life. But to constantly rely on profanity instead of actual dialogue is just lazy and not fun to read at all. Insta-love is one of my least favorite romance tropes because we usually are just supposed to buy these characters are perfect for each other, but we never really get to see why. I want to dive into the actual meat of relationships. Insta-love just skips over those parts. And don’t get me started on the fact that they are demons in here, but they’re all great guys. Um no. Well, at least here’s one series I can take off my TBR list.
Hell Bent
#0.5 My Demon Romance
#1 My Funny Demon Valentine
#2 My Demon Hunter
#3 Demon with Benefits
#4 Guardian Demon
#5 Beauty and the Demon
Next up on the TBR pile: