Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'
A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley
46 reviews
k_winchester's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was absolutely excellent. So much fun, genuinely funny - the amount of clever jokes/chuckling puns was high and I was smiling the whole time. (GhoulTube...)
Loved the characters - both strong, flawed, insecure, funny, surprising, grew so much, supportive, well-matched... There was so many fantastic bits to be had with Oz's lack of knowledge, there was so much greatness in Mariel and her nature magic, and great side characters (I'll get the spelling wildly wrong so the quirky elder relative A was incredible). I love how the world/setting is so easily infused with magical things and people and even social media (pixies, creatures, magical plants, etc).
Bonus, I did not see that climactic scene coming - excellent, great mystery, great build up, reveal, solution, etc (the visuals were EPIC and this book needs a mini series/movie. 100% casting Rege Jean Page as Oz....). And the actual ending was thoroughly delightful. 😊❤
10/10, totally enjoyed this. So cute!
(Personal Spice Note: TCA)
Loved the characters - both strong, flawed, insecure, funny, surprising, grew so much, supportive, well-matched... There was so many fantastic bits to be had with Oz's lack of knowledge, there was so much greatness in Mariel and her nature magic, and great side characters (I'll get the spelling wildly wrong so the quirky elder relative A was incredible). I love how the world/setting is so easily infused with magical things and people and even social media (pixies, creatures, magical plants, etc).
Bonus, I did not see that climactic scene coming - excellent, great mystery, great build up, reveal, solution, etc (the visuals were EPIC and this book needs a mini series/movie. 100% casting Rege Jean Page as Oz....). And the actual ending was thoroughly delightful. 😊❤
10/10, totally enjoyed this. So cute!
(Personal Spice Note: TCA)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Toxic relationship and Gaslighting
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.75
Such a bummer I didn’t like this book, especially because the title and synopsis really pulled me in.
I thought it started out alright. The writing style felt a bit young, but the side characters and their dynamics and well-established personalities really drew me in. I also thought Mariel and Oz had a really strong potential for matching arcs, each in a relationship with a a parental figure that puts a lot of pressure on them to be perfect in their destined path due to innate powerful magic.
Unfortunately I just didn’t feel like the book effectively followed through with those parts of the book. The main characters didn’t feel as vibrant as the side characters and I had a really hard time buying into the romance, especially as the book kept mentioning how little time had passed. The relationship itself generally felt kind of toxic, where a character would establish a boundary and the other would throw a fit about it. This was especially apparent in Oz trying to avoid hooking up with Mariel and her being angry about it and constantly pushing on the boundary. Overall the relationship didn’t feel like one that would last and generally felt unhealthy. Also the relationship felt almost entirely based on sexual attraction, especially when the characters were pretty consistently hooking up at what felt like weird times. (Like girl you’re protesting the against destruction of an area vital to the survival of an endangered species this is not the time for a quickie with your demon bf against a tree.)
I was also surprised about how little the characters knew about the world they lived in, especially with how much info dumping happened. It just made the characters look stupid when they would learn something and immediately forget it. Calladia was the only character I really liked and felt reasonable and the book tried to skew her as unreasonable.
Overall, it had a lot of potential but just fell flat. I’m willing to try again and am hoping book two is better, but only because Calladia is the MC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Violence and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Medical content, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Police brutality, Drug abuse, and Drug use
princesspumpkinhead10's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
alisbleu's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Emotional abuse
lecturerousse's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
tea_coffee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Gaslighting and Cursing
Minor: Death
amy_in_the_city's review
adventurous
emotional
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
4.0
This was a cute book. I loved Oz, the cinnamon roll demon. I would have liked for the timeline to have been stretched out a bit as I find falling in love to the point that you'll give up everything to be together in the span of about 2 weeks (I think?) to be unbelievable. The third-act breakup , while annoying, was understandable as it fit with the characterization. I think Mariel should have apologized more at the end. I appreciated Mariel's character journey dealing with her narcissistic mother and finding her own sense of self worth after years of being told she wasn't good enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Animal death, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Blood
greystory's review
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was cute. Quick, easy read. This felt more urban fantasy than anything. Demon was basically like a human with horns.
* Mild grumpy/sunshine (demon wasn't that grumpy)
* Accidental demon summoning (love that)
* Green witch
* Learning to establish firm boundaries and speak up for yourself
* Emotions are exhausting
* Learning to love life
* Dealing with shitty family
* Very supportive ride or die friends
* Mild fake dating (if you love this trope because of people genuinely pretending/practicing to be a couple, that doesn't happen much here)
Listened to the audiobook and the narration was decent. Ideally I would have loved a different narrator for the demon so it could have a male voice but I got used to the female narrator's fake dude voice pretty quickly.
* Mild grumpy/sunshine (demon wasn't that grumpy)
* Accidental demon summoning (love that)
* Green witch
* Learning to establish firm boundaries and speak up for yourself
* Emotions are exhausting
* Learning to love life
* Dealing with shitty family
* Very supportive ride or die friends
* Mild fake dating (if you love this trope because of people genuinely pretending/practicing to be a couple, that doesn't happen much here)
Listened to the audiobook and the narration was decent. Ideally I would have loved a different narrator for the demon so it could have a male voice but I got used to the female narrator's fake dude voice pretty quickly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Sexual content
Moderate: Gaslighting and Emotional abuse
Toxic relationship is with family, not the romantic interestzalouis's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Cursing, Classism, Emotional abuse, and Bullying
Moderate: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
direguard's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Gaslighting
Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, and Fire/Fire injury