By Meghan Mazzaferro
Content warnings: animal death, bullying, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, violence, fire, fire injury, alcohol, injury, injury detail.
In A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon, a prophecy claims that Mariel will be the most powerful witch seen in centuries. She’s happy to just use nature magic, but her overbearing mother will not stop until Mariel does magic “worthy” of the family name, which is how Mariel ends up accidentally summoning a demon who can’t leave her side until they strike a soul bargain. Ozroth the Ruthless’ reputation has taken a bit of a hit, and Mariel’s soul is the only thing that can save him and his people. In a crazy attempt to hide her latest magical mistake, Mariel tells her family that he’s her boyfriend, and now it’s only a matter of time before one of them gives in—either Mariel will lose her soul, or both of them might lose their hearts.
This is such a fun witchy rom-com with a delightful romance, a beautiful magical town, and a great nature conservation plot. Mariel is a fantastic main character, she’s kind and compassionate even in the face of a toxic family and a town of people who judge her for her lack of magical ability. Ozroth is a grumpy, disgruntled demon with a heart of gold and so many emotions. The two of them make a perfect pair, and their relationship develops so naturally. While things do move a bit quickly, I really appreciated how this book explored Ozroth and Mariel’s growing relationship. In many grumpy/sunshine books I find the grumpy character can be a bit toxic, but in this book, Ozroth does very little manipulating for a manipulative demon trying to trick someone into giving up their soul. I thought that the two of them complimented each other really well, and I was invested in their relationship. I also loved both characters’ personal journeys and how the development of their romance complemented their growth.
The plot of this book is also super entertaining. The whole premise of a witch and demon having to fake date while the demon tries to steal the witch’s soul is fun enough on its own, but this book also deals with how the town’s magic is connected to nature. I loved reading about Mariel’s plant magic, and her fight to protect the magical hot springs was fun and impactful to read. I’m a big advocate of having lots of magic in my witchy romcoms, and this book delivered with Mariel’s fight to protect the magic of the town by fighting for the hot springs.
The side characters in this book felt well-developed, the pacing was good, and I loved how this book blended magical shenanigans with sweet romantic moments. I laughed a lot, but I was also emotionally invested in both Mariel and Ozroth’s individual journeys and their fight to protect Glimmer Falls’ magic. I was also really impressed with the worldbuilding this book sets up, both for Glimmer Falls and its magic, and for the demon plane. I will definitely be checking out the next book in this series (which, based on the preview we get at the back of this book, is going to be a doozy!). If you’re a fan of witchy romcoms with lots of magic and fun, a really sweet romance, I would highly recommend checking this book out.
Thank you, Penguin Random House Canada, for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.