Dagon Gunthersson—a powerful demon warrior and a renowned member of Hell’s nobility—stands accused of treason by his commander. His abrupt escape leads him to the last place he expects: the human world. Stuck in a decrepit manor haunted by lesser demons, Dagon masterminds a plan to return to Hell and take his revenge.
Josephine Gardiner’s sheltered life vanishes the moment she escapes her controlling parents. When she’s offered the opportunity to claim a mysterious manor, no heaping trash, nor the looming threat of eviction will stop her from building the home she’s always dreamt of. But the ghastly creatures scurrying in the shadows might.
While Heaven and Hell gamble with war, the manor inhabitants stand against greedy lawyers, hostile angels, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Can an arrogant demon and a strong-headed woman stop pretending they don’t care about each other and save the only home they’ve ever loved?
I committed to starting every review by saying that I was blessed to receive Elisa Menz’s free ARC copy and I’m corresponding with this review more because I loved the book than I have to.
Honestly, I expected to find the wholesome, lighthearted, slow-paced rom-com novel that the cover and the synopsis referenced, and it was! For, like, the first quarter. But then, a lot of hidden plots appeared and we were fast pacing toward this really big-grand scheme to attempt to-… no, I will not tell.
But yeah, you can sense the plots growing underneath your feet until it’s impossible to keep balance. And it’s that the wholesome, lighthearted, slow-paced rom-com novel is just the smallest part of the whole story. And what a story! We see a great development there, of all the characters (well, more or less, villains are villains and only have one outcome, don’t they?). There isn’t really a lot of communication, but it shows what a healthy relationship is! And not only the romantic one. With family, and friends, and even as professionals, in the workplace. It shows you what it is to be a person and to treat all people as equals.
I loved our sassy queen. I will not say that she underwent a great change, rather she showed her true personality, though it can be seen as the truest change. I would love to be more like her, not only about the sassy part 😉.
Though, in the end, I’m not really sure if we learn an easy way to escape hell. In fact, I think we found a way to go to hell. It’s not as bad as it sounds, I promise.
Phrases that I liked so much that I marked them while reading
«There was no reason to fight anymore. Gunther had broken Dagon’s hardened heart since he was a child, and one more disfavor from his father wouldn’t kill him. Dagon almost chuckled. I guess it will.
No way to cheat death twice in one day.»
— Chapter 1.
«He pocketed the key and turned to walk away, trying not to run to keep his pride intact. But halfway through the garden, all the windows of the house began to rumble with incredible force, threatening to shatter in pieces and shower him in broken glass.
Screw pride! He ran all the way home.»
— Chapter 3.
«Coming to the human world was the best thing that could have happened to him since the soft at heart were prey in Hell.»
— Chapter 4.
She sucked in a breath and the dust made her reconsider trying that again.»
— Chapter 5.
«If Rosier and the others thought he could be convinced to go on with this charade, they were utterly wrong!
This one time only.»
— Chapter 9.
«“Now,” he said, “my name is Dagon Gunthersson. You will address me as ‘my lord’ and show me respect.”
He let go of her and turned on his heels, leaving her behind. She was obviously terrified, and Dagon knew she would start dispensing the reverence he deserved from now on. After all, his superiority and merit were unmistakable.
“Hey, Horns!” she shouted. “The name is Josephine!”»
— Chapter 9.
«Another bow. They would have to work on that.»
— Chapter 10.
«They looked as marveled as little children hearing music for the first time, and her heart filled with warmth. Her audience was easy to please, and she couldn’t wait to play for them again with a perfectly tuned piano.»
— Chapter 10.
«The rain fell hard, and even though the fire was lit, all the warmth faded when she left the room.»
— Chapter 12.
«To be honest, she hadn’t given much thought to Dagon’s appearance until he lay unconscious on her bed. Before that, he either tried to kill her, threatened to kill her, or vividly explained how he would kill her if only wasn’t illegal in the human world.»
— Chapter 13.
«For the past few days, the guilt for causing him pain diminished to the point she hoped for permanent damage.»
— Chapter 13.
«Sighing with relief, Josephine chuckled at the image of an offended Dagon, stomping away with his milk mustache.
Arrogant, surly, and most likely deadly, but cute. Not cute enough for her not to wish he was also lactose intolerant, though.»
— Chapter 13.
«“What the hell, Dagon? Why did you do that?”
“She was upsetting you. Why do you waste time listening to someone who calls you mediocre?”
“That was my mother!”
“Then she should know better!”»
— Chapter 15.
«Dagon had learned to identify when her exhaustion was more emotional than physical, and it usually involved her parents.
“What did they do now?” he asked.»
— Chapter 17.
«How bothersome, to be limited by silly laws preventing assassination. Now healed, Dagon trusted he could travel beyond the neighborhood walls undetected and kill whoever harassed Josephine. Sure, she would object at first, but once the evident benefits came to light, she’ll have to thank him.
“Don’t,” she said.
“What?”
“Stop thinking about killing people, I’ll deal with this my way.”
Dagon pouted. “What makes you think I was considering—?”
“You have your murder face on.” She smiled and traced a finger over his eyebrows. “You frown and a vein in your temple throbs, and the fire in your eyes gets brighter.”
Dagon slapped her hand away, annoyed at the heat creeping over his cheeks. “Don’t be stupid, I don’t do that.”»
— Chapter 17.
«It wasn’t the fact she was a woman. All right. It wasn’t only the fact she was a woman.»
— Chapter 17.
«“Well, f*ck him!” She flinched and raised her hands. “I mean, with all due respect.”»
— Chapter 17.
«“Good luck tomorrow. If you don’t pass the inspection, we can always make the inspector disappear in the forest.”»
— Chapter 18.
«What was that? She sounded like a squeamish high schooler. She was a fierce woman! Act like it! But the words seemed to have escaped her mind.»
— Chapter 23.
«She offered him her brightest, fakest smile. “You, sir, are the reason humans have a middle finger.”»
— Chapter 24.See AlsoThe Face in the Abyss
«Dagon didn’t dare to tell her the safest place he could think of was by her side.»
— Chapter 24.
«“I should live out my days making her smile.”»
— Chapter 25.
«“She loves me?”
“She might if you apologize and never again hurt her feelings.”»
— Chapter 25.
«She couldn’t decide if she wanted to jump into his arms and kiss the brains out of him or find a more homicidal way to remove his brains.»
— Chapter 25.
«No cute-looking demon will make her forget he still owed her an apology.
“I didn’t sleep at all. I was thinking about you.”
Okay. He wasn’t making this whole angry thing easy.»
— Chapter 25.
«“Please, be patient with him. He’s clumsy and hot-headed, and kindness is something he has never experienced before. But if you let him, he’ll love you with all his heart.»
— Chapter 26.
«“You’re the only one who can decide what your life is going to be like. Forget about your father’s ambitions, duty, or any other crap they forced on you. You do what makes you happy, and if you really love her, you do what makes Josephine happy!”»
— Chapter 27.
«If you spend your life being told you are unworthy, accepting someone’s love isn’t so simple.»
— Chapter 28.
«Realizing her childhood resembled that of a demon sociopath made her wonder if she should invest in therapy.»
— Chapter 28.
«and Josephine knew what followed the scarce occasions hope entered the picture. It was time to do something stupid. She was done waiting.»
— Chapter 28.
«How to prepare for this journey? If everything turned out the way she hoped for, she would catch up with Dagon before going too far into Hell. Maybe she didn’t have to travel longer than a day. Or not. Would she need more than one change of socks?»
— Chapter 29.
«Albert would never agree. He would tell her it was too dangerous, and it was, and she would tell him she could handle it.
She probably could.»
— Chapter 29.
«“You’re the bravest person I’ve met, and I thank all the gods for the honor of calling you my friend.”»
— Chapter 29.
«They walked through the night, and each step farther from Josephine felt heavier.»
— Chapter 29.
«Carrion and Michael’s nagging was helpful to remain focused. Focused on not knocking some teeth off their mouths, at least.»
— Chapter 29.
«Dagon picked up his pace to put some distance between him and his brother, but Erehwon wasn’t vast enough to escape his stupidity.»
— Chapter 29.
«She was crossing Hell to help him stop this war! Was he worth it?
He is. There were no doubts in her heart.»
— Chapter 30.
«but they ignored the women. Women posed no threat.»
— Chapter 32.
«and Josephine doubted anything she said would make a difference.»
— Chapter 34.
«I will not die today. He had too much to live for.»
— Chapter 35.
«Why does this have to be so f*cking hard?»
— Chapter 36.
«“We have food to spare and Roman is bringing two dozen wine bottles.”
“Oh, goodness!” Juno’s eyebrows rose. “That’s awfully generous of him. Is he dying?”»
— Chapter 40.
«“My beautiful Josephine!” Carrion wrapped her in a tight hug, loudly smooching her cheek. “I missed you so much! You’re a sight for sore eyes, darling.”
“Get your hands off her if you don’t want a sore ass.” Arms crossed, Dagon scowled a few steps behind.
“Aren’t you happy to see me, brother?” Carrion teased, not breaking apart from her.
Dagon pulled Carrion by the ear. “I was.”»
— Chapter 40.
«“Thank you for having us, Josephine. I apologize for providing an extra idiot for your gathering.”»
— Chapter 40.
«“When you have hundreds of badass demonesses clad in armor kneeling at your feet and offering to behead your enemies, you feel safe.”»
— Chapter 40.
«“I almost forgot. Aurelia asked me to say hello, and that she misses you, and like twenty other things I don’t really recall.”
“How is she?” Whenever Josephine visited Hell for her new job, Aurelia hosted her. The young demoness had become a prominent voice for change in Hell along with Lady Scriba.
“I dare say she’s doing fine.” Carrion pursed his lips. “I followed your advice and asked her for some counsel regarding administration, and not a week goes by without her visiting or sending dozens of letters to ‘educate’ me.”
“Sounds like you two are getting along,” she said. “Does this mean you made a new friend?”
Carrion’s smile brightened the entire garden. “I hate her.”»
— Chapter 40.
«Hands in his pockets, Dagon shuffled on his feet and leaned against her as if her touch could keep him safe.»
— Chapter 40.
«“Wait. Was it you who called me a horrid witch over the phone?”
“I am, madam.”
“Are you going to apologize?”
“That depends.” Dagon shrugged. “Are you going to stop being a witch?”»
— Chapter 40.
«Finally, thanks to everyone who didn’t think I was crazy whenever I mentioned I am a writer. I must correct this misconception and let you know that I am, in fact, a little crazy.»
— Acknowledgments.
