Title: A Demon's Guide To Wooing A Witch
Author: Sarah Hawley
Genre: Paranormal Rom- Com
Publisher: Gollancz
Pages: 415
Release Date: 30 November 2023
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Hello fellow booklovers! Today I'm sharing my review for A Demon's Guide To Wooing A Witch by Sarah Hawley. As humorously whimsical and steamy as its predecessor! Sarah Hawley’s second instalment in the magical (and deliciously chaotic) Glimmer Falls series was an absolute joy from start to finish. I urge everyone even remotely into fantasy or romance to check this series out.
I should start by saying that this is a sequel that continues right where book one left off. So, if you’re new to the series and don’t want spoilers, I highly recommend starting with A Witch’s Guide To Fake Dating A Demon before picking this up.
Synopsis
Calladia Cunnington curses the day she met Astaroth the demon, but when he shows up memoryless, why does she find him so helpless . . . and sort of hot?
Calladia Cunnington knows she’s rough around the edges, despite being the heir to one of small-town Glimmer Falls’ founding witch families. While her gym obsession is a great outlet for her anxieties and anger, her hot temper still gets the best of her and manifests in bar brawls. When Calladia saves someone from a demon attack one night, though, she’s happy to put her magic and rage to good use . . . until she realizes the man she saved is none other than Astaroth, the ruthless demon who orchestrated a soul bargain on her best friend.
Astaroth is a legendary soul bargainer and one of the nine members of the demon high council—except he can’t remember any of this. Suffering from amnesia after being banished to the mortal plane, Astaroth doesn’t know why a demon named Moloch is after him, nor why the muscular, angry, hot-in-a-terrifying-way witch who saved him hates him so much.
Unable to leave anyone in such a vulnerable state—even the most despicable demon—Calladia grudgingly decides to help him. (Besides, punching an amnesiac would be in poor taste.) The two set out on an uneasy road trip to find the witch who might be able to restore Astaroth’s memory so they can learn how to defeat Moloch. Calladia vows that once Astaroth is cured, she’ll kick his ass, but the more time she spends with the snarky yet utterly charming demon, the more she realizes she likes this new, improved Astaroth . . . and maybe she doesn’t want him to recover his memories, after all
Review
I LOVED every second of this! I knew before starting that I’d enjoy it as I loved the first book soo much, but I didn’t anticipate loving Calladia and Astaroth’s story even more than Oz and Mariel’s. The enemies to lovers dynamics (which includes some fabulously witty dialogue) was really entertaining, as was Calladia whose penchant for starting bar room brawls made her an instant favourite.
Given his actions in the first book, I was prepared to dislike Astaroth. But his redemption arc, which includes being left on earth with amnesia (and no one to help except a reluctant Calladia) was surprisingly quite endearing.
I enjoyed exploring a more vulnerable side to Calladia and Astaroth, both of whom are quite standoffish and emotionally guarded characters. And their chemistry was absolutely scorchingly addictive!
Calladia assertive demeanour and ability to not suffer fools fantastic and I loved that she’s described as being physically strong (her muscled calfs get quite a few appreciative mentions from Astaroth.) But most importantly, I loved that she’s (rightfully) proud of her strength. Given the complex emotional journey she undertakes, (with her mother and an emotionally abusive ex) it was great to see how proud she is of everything accomplished.
Astaroth, too goes through quite a huge transformation. Without his power or memories, the demon we all loved to hate is practically a whole new person. Which did make liking him a bit more palatable after his villainous performance in book one. We do get to delve into his past a little and explore his reasons for the villainous behaviour which I was really intrgued by.
There’s a lot to unpack that may lead to spoilers so I’ll just say, even you you disliked him previously— but love emotionally complex, morally grey characters who set off on a path to redemption then you’ll definitely like Astaroth in this. I was also impressed Hawley’s use of British colloquialisms and sense of humour for Astaroth. I find alot of non-UK authors struggle with making British characters (or characters with British accents) sound British—but Hawley absolutely nailed it!
The romance was also incredible and I adored that Astaroth’s initial attraction to Calladia stemmed from her ability to strong arm him. Their interactions were comedy gold and their chemistry gloriously intense.
I also have to give a shoutout to Astaroth’s mother, Lilith, who (despite being just a secondary character) was stole the show with her utterly hilarious antics— and AO3 obsessed penchant for NSFW Tudor Tentacle fanfics. The juxtaposition between her love and support of Astaroth, with Calladia’s cold & emotionally manipulative mother was also instrumental in helping Calladia finally stand up for herself, which I loved!
I’ve been eager to explore Demon realm in more depth so was really excited we were able to do so this time around, though I still look forward to seeing more of Glimmer Falls (and the rest of this magical world) in the next instalment.
Definitely a must read for fans witchy, paranormal Rom-Coms, trust me you’re gonna absolutely devour this!
Also, a huge thank you to Javerya over at Gollancz for the finished copy.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5