This book was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and I was really disappointed to see some other early reviewers reporting they were less than satisfied. In the end, I'm glad I saw those reviews because they tempered my expectations for a novel with a ridiculously fun premise that struggles to find its footing.

NYAHG is neither YA nor New Adult, and it suffers a lot from not being able to pick a side. Either we lean into the camp or we lean into the responsibility of saving the world, and this book doesn't do either and it falls flat. Callie is less a real human being and more a vessel of knowledge. There's no discernible shift between her POV and Luke's, and the style works much better for him than for her. Additionally, the book starts off with a really... immature? unrefined? tone that has a serious shift around 15%. Like, going from AO3 fanfic written by a 14 year old to a professionally written and edited shift. I'm willing to chalk this up to ARC status but I was certainly more engaged post-shift.

Overall, I think this book is too neat, particularly in the final 15%. All their problems are wrapped up fairly easily and without any real angst. It could have been either more tightly edited and remained its current length or had another 40 pages in it and it wouldn't have suffered either way.

I'll be recommending this as a YA novel over a NA romance, particularly to fans of early seasons of Supernatural and Lucifer.

Heartfelt, funny, super steamy, and totally unique. Romance readers will be surprised by this one. Highly recommend.

A cute and fun concept but executed in a juvenile and depthless manner. The characters, while the potential was there, were flat and irritating at every turn and decision, starting with the lack of reaction of any kind at being kidnapped, to continuing to crack jokes and get themselves into bigger trouble, to a ongoing lack of any kind of seriousness that could have rounded out the story. This is a comedy, but it lacks heart. This was a rough read and hard to enjoy the way I wanted to, though I will say it was very easy to read and went by quickly, which goes to say I was never bored, but I simply wasn’t invested either.

Callie has been fascinated with the occult for years, so it was no surprise when she created an escape room called the Chamber of Black Magic. What was a surprise was the odd group that arrived to enter the room, a Satanic cult claiming the grimoire that Callie and her mother had found at an estate sale was real and they needed it to summon a demon. They abduct Callie and her friend Mag, planning to present them as gifts to a demon.

Luke, son of Lucifer, is in a bind. He hasn’t collected any souls and his father is furious. When the cult summons a major demon, Luke takes his place in an effort to collect the souls of the cult. Soon Luke and Callie are working together to save the world from an apocalypse.

Luke was so sweet, I really enjoyed him. And Callie had an expansive knowledge of the occult. I enjoyed the flirting and mixed feelings (he is the son of Satan). I really enjoyed it as a light read, liked the premise, and look forward to reading the next book, if this is a series. But expectations will be more realistic with any new book.
I received this book because I love Darynda Jones’ books and thought this would be similar. It isn’t. The main similarity is both feature the son of Satan. This is Darynda Jones light, less snark, limited hints of romance, basically a young adult book.

Thank you St, Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this ARC, and this is my honest review.

This book had me crying . Started the book. put it down had to pick it up, can't put it down. and had to go back and finish it in one sitting . Love this book

This was cute, but not laugh out loud funny. A lot of sarcasm from Callie. There was a good plot. The build up was slow to get through.

This one wasn't for me. The beginning was super exciting with the escape room set up, but after that, my struggles started. The humor was too forced, and I wasn't sold on Callie and Luke as a couple. I agree with others that it should be marketed towards a more YA crowd than just a contemporary/paranormal romance.

This is my first book from this author so I was more than excited to read her work and this story. In my opinion the story was okay. I think this book would be perfect for younger teens as I thought it had more of a YA aspect to it. I honestly was expecting a little more from this story. I liked the characters but I wish there was a more "adult" feel to it for me. The story was also a bit slow at times but I was looking for this to be a more adult type read with a little more steam to it. It wasn't a terrible read but it wasn't the read I was hoping for.

This book was sent to me because of my love for Darynda Jones books and that this would be similar. So of course, I was excited but I soon realized it has nothing in common or close to with any of her books.

I thought Callie and Luke were okay and I liked them on their own. As a couple ….. I just couldn’t connect to that. It felt off and more as a friendship than romance.

The humor was there and it had some truly funny moments but it also had moments that felt forced.

The story … the story felt jumbled, like a bunch of ideas tossed together multiple people writing it and nobody made sure it matches to the last part.

I struggled to make it to the end and the only reason I even made it through is because I skimmed through the rest, making sure it doesn’t get any better or I miss something big. I didn’t and it didn’t get much better.

So overall this book was very underwhelming for me personally but I’m sure that plenty of people will like it. Sadly, this time I was not one of them.

I rate it 2★

I received this ARC for an honest review. This was a cute paranormal story. I did enjoy it. The descriptions compared it to Darynda Jones’ Charley Davison series which I think will hurt this book. This story is nothing like Darynda’s series only thing in common is that it has demons.
I think this book should be marketed to the younger readers.

I received this book as an ARC based on being a fan of Darynda Jones. It's a fun book, but I think the comparison is going to hurt the reception and reviews. This is a sweeter, younger style. It's strange to describe a possible apocalypse story as a light paranormal RomCom, but that's exactly how I'd describe this.

Callie works at her family escape room business and is manning the shop one weekend while her mom is out of town. She has a knack for trivia and puzzles and has designed rooms there, getting items from estate sales. While monitoring a group with her friend Mag, a group tries to steal one of the props in the room. Attempting to stop the theft, Callie and Mag get pulled into a cult's plan to summon a demon. During the summoning, the demon who responds is a handsome leather jacketed Luke on a trial run at collecting souls.

This is a sweet story of young love and family dynamics as Callie and Luke are drawn together while trying to meet family expectations and save the world. Simple, right?

With it's clean romance (a couple kisses, some longing looks and the thrill of young love), struggles to figure out who you are, and references to Harry Potter, this would be a great teen/YA read.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I could not get into this sci romance. The characters are bland and the storyline is so confusing and uninspiring. Just not my cup of tea.

I read this book based on they recommendation of having loved Darynda Jones. In my opinion that comparison actually hurt this author as it is no where near similar. I went into the book thinking it would be witty R rated banter, laugh out loud moment and a visible chemistry between the main characters. What I got was a cute G rated, so-so story. I definitely think this book would be better recieved by readers marketing to youth audience.
Having said that, the book was bland. If it wasnt an ARC I would not have finished. The concept of the escape room and having to save the work using those skills was genius just executed poorly. I did not feel any connection between Callie and Luke other then the grade school actions. As far as MC's go Callie was not bad but luke was a huge let down for being the son of Luci and seems very childish. It had some moments that flowed okay but as a whole was disjointed and didnt hold my interest.
Again, I definitely think this book would be perfect for teens

Overall, this was a fun and interesting read. I think I would recommend it to people who enjoy the Charlie Davidson series, but it was not even remotely steamy. Obviously, it is a paranormal romance, so some suspension of disbelief is required, but the relationship between the two MCs tested my abilities a little bit. The pacing was also a bit off and the writing was extremly simplistic and YAish which jives with the fact that this is her first novel for adults. Premise was excellent, but the execution could have been better, but overall it was entertaining and I will likely read any others that might be in this series.

Thank you St, Martin’s Press & Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this ARC.
I received this ARC with a recommendation since I LOVE Darynda Jones books. I honestly was a little disappointed since I went in with extremely high hopes. Which I wish I hadn’t since this definitely isn’t a Darynda Jones book. It’s a interesting read but felt really juvenile especially since the main characters are in their twenties. Plus the ending with the big “reveal/trick” total let down. I don’t want to give spoilers but it wasn’t like something where I was blown away. I was happy the book ended.

Gwenda Bond’s newest novel is a giggle-snort-out-loud hysterical romance that follows Callie and Luke through cultist shenanigans. Callie is looking forward to a weekend running the escape room business she and her mom own. Mag, her bestie of epic proportions, is planning to hang out during the weekend too. But when a demonic cult decides to crash the escape room they books for a specific archaic tome in the room, Callie and Mag are kidnapped. They’re offerings for the demon the cult raises. Who just so happens to be the hot Prince of Hell, Luke Morningstar. Callie has to leave her protective bubble of comfort to travel across the world to stop the cult, Mag and Luke tagging along for the ride. This hilarious book read like a super sexy Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. I thoroughly enjoyed the hell out of it.