Mariel Spark is prophesied to be the most powerful witch in centuries of the famous Spark family – but to everyone’s displeasure, Mariel prefers baking to brewing potions and can more often be found gardening than taking on more difficult hexes. When a spell to summon flour ends with her accidentally summoning a demon instead, Mariel makes a deal with the devil, so to speak. Ozroth the Ruthless, a legend among demons and known to be powerful and merciless in his collection of mortal souls, hasn’t had the best of time lately. After a bargain went tragically awry, his reputation has suffered quite a lot. If he can strike a bargain with Mariel, he might earn back his reputation. But the witch refuses to give Oz her soul. And she’s funny. And curvy. And disgustingly charming and cheerful. What starts as awkward roommates as Oz waits for Mariel to give up her soul turns into fake dating to appease Mariel’s mother and then…leads to something more. Can Oz and Mariel make a relationship work that literally seems to spell disaster for everyone involved?
Listen, as someone who grew up bingeing all eight seasons of Charmed on a loop, I am convinced that there can never be enough witchy romances in one’s life. A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon is a perfect example of why this genre just always hits the mark.
We have fake dating, opposites attract, goals that do not align with that of their counterpart at all, and so much situational comedy that you’ll be grinning at the mess these characters make on a daily basis. Disclaimer: you’ll facepalm. A lot. But you’ll be doing it with a stupid smile on your face, so it’s all good.
Mariel was such an entertaining character to follow. I love how we both get to see her struggling with these expectations that have been placed on her since before she was even born but also get to see how snarky, funny and overall wholeheartedly kind she is. Meanwhile, I love how Oz tries his hardest to reclaim this ruthless reputation—meanwhile he’s pretty much a stilted ball of sunshine who just needs the right person in his life to fully bloom.
The highlight in this book is of course the relationship between Mariel and Oz—whether it’s while they’re pretending to fake date or when they realise there might be more to this arrangement, their chemistry was palpable on nearly every page and the progression of their feelings blossoming felt very authentic. Their banter made me chuckle quite a few times and I loved how supportive they were of each other. While you wouldn’t think these two were made for each other, they absolutely worked as a couple.
A delightful, smile-inducing romantic comedy between a witch and the demon she fake dates to save face in front of her demanding family, A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon is perfect for all fans of unlikely soulmates, banter galore, hilarious family dynamics and April Asher’s Not the Witch You Wed.
A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of March 7th 2023.
Will you be picking up A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Mariel Spark knows not to trust a demon, especially one that wants her soul, but what’s a witch to do when he won’t leave her side—and she kind of doesn’t want him to?
Mariel Spark is prophesied to be the most powerful witch seen in centuries of the famed Spark family, but to the displeasure of her mother, she prefers baking to brewing potions and gardening to casting hexes. When a spell to summon flour goes very wrong, Mariel finds herself staring down a demon—one she inadvertently summoned for a soul bargain.
Ozroth the Ruthless is a legend among demons. Powerful and merciless, he drives hard bargains to collect mortal souls. But his reputation has suffered ever since a bargain went awry—if he can strike a bargain with Mariel, he will earn back his deadly reputation. Ozroth can’t leave Mariel’s side until they complete a bargain, which she refuses to do (turns out some humans are attached to their souls).
But the witch is funny. And curvy. And disgustingly yet endearingly cheerful. Becoming awkward roommates quickly escalates when Mariel, terrified to confess the inadvertent summoning to her mother, blurts out that she’s dating Ozroth. As Ozroth and Mariel struggle with their opposing goals and maintaining a fake relationship, real attraction blooms between them. But Ozroth has a limited amount of time to strike the deal, and if Mariel gives up her soul, she’ll lose all her emotions—including love—which will only spell disaster for them both.
