A review by etymoye
A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley

emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes

1.0

 The good:

  • I loved the setting, the small, magical town of Glimmer Falls. It has kind of Harry Potter-ish vibes but for grown ups. Once the bad taste of book 1 has left my mouth, I think I’d be up for book 2 to see if it’s more my style based solely on the setting. 
  • The beginning and the ending are pretty decent. They’re honestly the only parts that feel like there’s anything happening, plot-wise.
  • Also, I LOVED Calladia, the heroine’s friend. And book 2 is her book. So I could see myself giving it a shot at some point.

Calladia’s dating history had left her with a hair trigger when it came to shitty men, and she loved fighting, especially when defending a friend, but Mariel wasn’t sure she wanted to sic Calladia on the demon just yet.

Calladia’s a real one. 

The not-so-good:

Honestly, most everything else, unfortunately. 

  • For most of the book, I kept thinking how the pace of the plot felt really strange. Like we were meandering through events. Like, at one point, the heroine admits she needs to go to the library to research demons, but doesn’t want her mom to find out (it’s a small town, her mom is a powerful witch and a big deal). So she doesn’t go, until she just randomly does, and…nothing happens? Her mom never finds out, and what’s even weirder is that the scene happens on-page, but it’s all information the reader already knows. So it ends up feeling really boring and a waste of time. 
  • There were multiple scenes like this, where the characters don’t know something and the reader does, but the author chooses to go into detail about it as if it’s new information to the reader. And it really ends up messing with the tension and momentum of the plot.
  • Once I read the afterword, the strangeness of the plot made sense. This was Reylo fanfic at one point, right? I love fanfic and have no problem reading it, but this, to me, read like a really good fanfic and a not-so-good professional novel, like it needed a little more reworking before publication. 


Safety Stats:
Ages:
The hero is two hundred years old, the heroine is an adult in her late twenties, I believe.
Cheating:
None.
Other OM/OW:
None.
Separation:
Well, the third act breakup feels pretty random, but they’re still tied to each other through the bargain. So even though they “break up” for a bit, nobody goes anywhere.
Triggers:
The heroine's mom is pretty toxic and borderline verbally/emotionally abusive, but otherwise none.
HEA/HFN?:
Honestly, I’d almost call this more of a HFN. The hero is mortal and they agree they want to spend the rest of their lives together, but there’s no marriage or anything.
 
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