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A review by jenniahw
Damned If You Do by Alex Brown
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
From the start of the story to the very end Damned If You Do is a wonderful book. It takes you on the journey of Cordelia who has lived for year with what feels like a whole in who she is after making a deal with Fred, everyone's favorite guidance counselor and demon, to send her abusive father to Hell. She also asks to forget, but when the demon who founded the town is close to becoming bigger and badder with his 100th deal Fred gives her a chance to fill that hole. But from the start it's clear that having that piece of her soul back won't free Cordy from the fear of being just like her father and the guilt for what she's done.
We get to see Cordy navigate this major task of trapping a powerful demon, coming to terms with the choice that saved her in the moment and her and her mother in the long term, and being pushed into really addressing her feelings for her best friend Veronica. And though there are many moments where one or more of these things feel like they're going to be solved, they happen when they should. Taking on the burden over the town makes way for Cordy to handle her personal demon aka her father. And she does that while knowing she has people in her corner and that Veronica, someone she feared would turn their back on her, supports what she needs to do in order to be at peace. And navigating a new romance with your best friend in the world is hard to do when you have life threatening things going on, so it being right after she handles everything else just fits. And yet again it shows her and us that as she goes about dealing with the strained relationship with her mother - and the new possible threat to the town - Veronica will be there by her side in a role that doesn't have her panicking about who has her back.
I would happily take so many more books about this group of people and how they take on things like what they're rushing off to handle at the end of the book. I love them all so much and I think that anyone who gives them a chance will too.
We get to see Cordy navigate this major task of trapping a powerful demon, coming to terms with the choice that saved her in the moment and her and her mother in the long term, and being pushed into really addressing her feelings for her best friend Veronica. And though there are many moments where one or more of these things feel like they're going to be solved, they happen when they should. Taking on the burden over the town makes way for Cordy to handle her personal demon aka her father. And she does that while knowing she has people in her corner and that Veronica, someone she feared would turn their back on her, supports what she needs to do in order to be at peace. And navigating a new romance with your best friend in the world is hard to do when you have life threatening things going on, so it being right after she handles everything else just fits. And yet again it shows her and us that as she goes about dealing with the strained relationship with her mother - and the new possible threat to the town - Veronica will be there by her side in a role that doesn't have her panicking about who has her back.
I would happily take so many more books about this group of people and how they take on things like what they're rushing off to handle at the end of the book. I love them all so much and I think that anyone who gives them a chance will too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Child abuse and Physical abuse