A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon

By: Sarah Hawley

Narrated by: Helen Laser

Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Mariel Spark knows not to trust a demon, especially one that wants her soul, but what’s a witch to do when he won’t leave her side—and she kind of doesn’t want him to?

Mariel Spark is prophesied to be the most powerful witch seen in centuries of the famed Spark family, but to the displeasure of her mother, she prefers baking to brewing potions and gardening to casting hexes. When a spell to summon flour goes very wrong, Mariel finds herself staring down a demon—one she inadvertently summoned for a soul bargain.

Ozroth the Ruthless is a legend among demons. Powerful and merciless, he drives hard bargains to collect mortal souls. But his reputation has suffered ever since a bargain went awry—if he can strike a bargain with Mariel, he will earn back his deadly reputation. Ozroth can't leave Mariel's side until they complete a bargain, which she refuses to do (turns out some humans are attached to their souls).

But the witch is funny. And curvy. And disgustingly yet endearingly cheerful. Becoming awkward roommates quickly escalates when Mariel, terrified to confess the inadvertent summoning to her mother, blurts out that she's dating Ozroth. As Ozroth and Mariel struggle with their opposing goals and maintaining a fake relationship, real attraction blooms between them. But Ozroth has a limited amount of time to strike the deal, and if Mariel gives up her soul, she'll lose all her emotions—including love—which will only spell disaster for them both.

©2023 Sarah Hawley (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"I loved A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon! It's the most utterly witchy sort of meet-cute, and I loved their banter. I loved the awkwardness of the relationship - what exactly does a witch do with a sexy demon that she's summoned? Romance readers know this answer. It was quirky, witty, and sexy all at once, and Oz is a delicious swoon-worthy hero. The small-town-with-magic setting is just as charming as the characters and made me want to visit Glimmer Falls. Highly, highly recommended for Nalini Singh fans who like a side of Charmed to their romance."—Jessica Clare, New York Times bestselling author of Go Hex Yourself

"Sarah Hawley makes an outstanding debut with A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon. Reading this book is like standing in the bright heart of magic. I laughed, I swooned, I sighed dreamily, often on the same page. It truly was a sparkling delight, and I can't wait to see what spell Hawley weaves for us next!"—India Holton, bestselling author of The League of Gentlewomen Witches

"Hawley delights in her humorous and romantic paranormal debut...Hawley ably navigates life and love among toxic family members, fantastical chaos, and small-town politics—with some steamy scenes and plenty of dad jokes along the way. This is a treat."—Publishers Weekly

10/10

I love her, I love her friends, I love him. a great comfort read, and the narrator was very pleasant

Fabulous!

I absolutely loved this book! If you love fairytales then you will love this book!

Cute AF story, poor male-voice narrartion

This story is so damn cute! I love the banter between the characters (especially Oz and Mariel) and the world building. The narrator does a great job for all general narration and female-voiced characters....

That being said, her male voices are AWFUL. Not only do most of them sound the same, but they are bad enough that I kind of wanted to skip past the spicy parts (which, like, WHAT?!) because Oz's voice was so terrible and distracting from what were otherwise sexy scenes. Think 'really old, kinda-sorta British, white dude' voice. And by 'old' I mean like, not in the distinguished older man hot way, but ancient and decrepit sounding, on-his-deathbed croaky way.

The story was good enough that I persevered, but I just wanted to warn folks about the way the male voices are narrated.

Loved it!

This was adorable! Exactly what I needed right now during the Fall “witchy” season. Definitely recommend.

A FEEL GOOD STORY!

5/5 stars! need a palette cleanser, a feel-good story, a world that you wish was real? this is the book for you. fell in love with all of the characters! trust me, do yourself a favor and pick up this book!

Cute and quick!

Such a cute and silly story, and feels modern and fun. The narrator was great with the different personalities and voices, and didn’t overdo the emotion. Perfect story with a little spice to get into the spirit of spooky season. Who doesn’t love a demon?!

Enjoyable

Definitely probably would’ve enjoyed reading this more than listening, the accents made it hard to immerse yourself fully.

So close to a perfect book!

Loved the most of the story and the characters. Wonderfully sarcastic and snarky characters. Narrators version of the male lead was a bit weird that was my biggest complaint. Would have been a perfect story if the the author had left out the tired trope that the couple has to turn against each other at some point.

OK to pass the time

I really wanted to love this book based on the reviews and some parts of it I did. mostly I just found it predictable and boring except for a few highlights that did make me laugh

Pallet Cleansing and Refreshing

I laughed.
I related to the characters.
I cheered.
I yelled at characters I wanted to just shut up.
Most wonderful rom-com and easily could listen straight through in one day with no complaints. Absolutely engaging and the spice, chefs kiss.

The performance was done well though Oz could have sounded less like a snooty rich white guy lol.