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

funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.5

Mariel Spark is a very powerful witch as foretold by a prophecy at her birth, except she has only ever shown an affinity for nature magic which her family looks down on and belittles her for. She has difficulty doing simple spells for any other kind of magic. Case in point: while trying to summon flour to do some baking, she accidentally summons Ozroth the Ruthless and now she’s stuck with him unless she wants to make a deal and give up her soul. Oz really needs this deal to go well because he’s been essentially shunned from the demon world since he made a bad deal six months ago and ended up with a warlock’s soul bound to him. Now he has to eat and sleep like mortals do (ugh, so inconvenient!) and he’s struggling to handle so many emotions. The two have to learn to handle the forced proximity and their growing feelings for one another as the need to make a deal hangs over their heads. Not to mention now Mariel’s overbearing mother thinks they’re dating! 

I really adored this book and I’m delighted to see there’s another volume in this universe coming out in November 2023! The world is so fun and colorful and the characters (minus the overbearing families) are very charming. 

It easily could have been a five star read for me if the timeline wasn’t so tight. Serious feelings after the days is a lot and being fully in love after like two weeks is too fast for me. I wish the timeline was more spread out and less rushed, even if it meant a lot of that timeline was mentioned only in little snippets between existing scenes. For example: Oz could spend a full week or even a month coming up with silly deals that Mariel would never agree to while catching feelings for her human quirks that he finds endearing. It’s established that time means nothing to these immortal demons so Astraroth could set any time frame and it would be the same outcome either way. I also wouldn’t have minded another spicy scene or two sprinkled in there but that’s absolutely not a deal breaker. 

Content warnings:
Sexual content (on page):
Oz has a big demon dick and they put it to good use a few times, including a quickie against a tree

Toxic relationship, emotional abuse, gaslighting (on page):
I’m tagging this because of Mariel’s family, especially her mom. Her mom’s attempts to force Mariel into being powerful in the way she wants include belittling her privately and publicly, making her doubt her own abilities, and refusing to acknowledge Mariel’s strengths. This behavior is not written as cruelty but seems to be well intentioned but misguided. Her mom does apologize in the end and Mariel maintains the boundary she set for their relationship.
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