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cerianh 's review for:
A Match Made in Hell
by Charlotte Ingham
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Willow has unceremoniously died at 21 after a night of drinking at the beach with her friends and wakes up in a type of purgatory, a realm called Asphodel. Clearly she’s not too pleased about this turn of events and desperately wants to return home and live; to have a second chance to live up to her mum’s expectations and be ‘good’. She makes a deal with the ruler of Asphodel, a mysterious man called Sath, to face a series of trials based on the 7 deadly sins to return home.
There was a lot to like about this book. I found the concept of Asphodel and the 7 deadly sins trials intriguing and that was what drew me to the book initially. I was also intrigued by Sath - who doesn’t love a mysterious, broody MMC with powers and an inexplicable yearning for the FMC. I enjoyed how Asphodel was set up and the way the residents carved out lives for themselves in an in-between realm. The presence of the demons raised the stakes and added another dimension to the story.
Unfortunately there were also some issues I had when reading this. I found the world building a bit weak, and I had a lot of unanswered questions about how things worked exactly with Asphodel, Elysium and Tartarus. Sath’s character was a bit underdeveloped as well - we have to be left in the dark about his motivations for the plot and the ending to work, but I think that meant that we didn’t get to know his character as much as I would have liked. This also impacted the romance which felt flat overall. They had some cute interactions as they progress through the trials but it did lack some depth.
I liked Willow’s character, and she does have some character development and growth through the story, though I would have liked to see her confront some of the emotionally manipulative / abusive relationships she had in life more.
Though I did have some reservations about the twist at the end re the trials (which I’ll keep to myself to avoid spoilers!), it was unexpected and I enjoyed that.
Overall, I liked this but I definitely had some issues for it which did impact my enjoyment of the book at times. I think it’s a good debut and the author shows a lot of promise - it just didn’t quite work for me at times.
*I received a review copy from the publisher - this is my honest opinion.