I will be honest I did not originally know that this book was the sequel to another rom com book but with titles like Not Your Average Hot Guy and The Date From Hell how could I not read the first book then this one. I am obsessed with this series that mixes romance, humor, hell, and satanic cults. While I love both books this is a review for the Date From Hell (already my top book title of 2022).

Escape room worker Callie and summoned demon Luke stopped the end of the world but what's next for our favorite paranormal couple. All Callie and Luke want is a quiet romantic weekend but when they have the opportunity to make some changes to hell they go on a fun and action packed journey. This book mixed the fun of Supernatural, Charmed, and Beach Read in the most perfect way.

These books are so unique and so fun and I definitely recommend if your looking for something a little different from your rom coms.

Thanks to St Martins and NetGalley for my early ARC for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC of Date From Hell by Gwenda Bond. Unfortunately I did not read the first book in this duology so I had a difficult time connecting with the main characters and diving into the story. So, although I give this book a 2.5, I think I might read the first book and then give this book another read.

I love books that continue right where the last book left off. I like Callie and Luke, they are literally the cutest. Callie and Luke are trying to coexist with each other in this new romance they have going on, between earth and hell, which is pretty cool how she goes from place to place. Anyway she is on to something, and she is on to something and she wants to tell Lucifer all about it to see if he will approve of it. She wants to give some of the souls in hell a second chance to redeem themselves. But you ALREADY know that Lucifer was not going to make it THAT easy for them.

I liked the adventures they shared, the things they discovered from each other, and how they learn to create a balance in their relationship. This book is not all romance, I wish they added more subcategories to describe the type of book this is. Other than that it was an enjoyable read, I was expecting more romance though. This by far my favorite book out of the 2.

Luke & Callie are back! I enjoyed their quest during this book, much more than the first I think. I loved bring introduced to the new characters! The ending was something I didn't see coming!!! I really enjoyed this book!


Thank you Netgalley for giving me this advanced copy to read in exchange for my honest review

This was a fun, quick read. The book was engaging. I enjoyed the further adventures of Callie and Luke as this is the follow-up book to Not Your Average Hit Guy and is the second in the series. I liked the twists the plot took and felt the Arthurian legend twist made for a fun story. If you like paranormal romance that have a beach read feel, you’ll enjoy this book.

This series is a fluffy hell flavored delight. A recommended purchase for collections where the first title was popular - and don't be surprised if your teen patrons are snagging it off the shelf too!

This was a fun sequel to Not Your Average Hot Guy! Callie, the main character of the story is in love with Luke, the son of Lucifer (aka the devil). This sequel takes place with Callie trying to find a way to give the souls in hell a second chance. The banter in this book is just as fun as the first book and I loved the Holy Grail twist. Great book!

"Oh, wow, Hell is not going to know what hit it."

On a date where everything goes wrong: tracking down a wayward soul, embarking on a quest for the Holy Grail, and more good vs evil shenanigans The Date from Hell has more fun in store for Callie and Luke in this new-adult romantic adventure sequel. Bonds turns up the heat with some added spice, laugh-out-loud humor, a fantastic cast of characters and some fun surprises. For me, the sequel is even better than the original!

The Date from Hell by Gwenda Bond is the second book in the paranormal romantic comedy Not Your Average Hot Guy series. The story in this one is told by changing the point of view between the two lead characters, Callie and Luke. It’s also like most fantasy series and picks up the story and continues on from the first book so it is best to read the series in order.

The first book of the series introduced readers to Callie who was a recent college graduate who found that her degree wasn’t really worth a whole lot and had found herself working in her family’s escape room business instead of in her own career. Callie’s mother had been leaving town for a few days putting Callie in charge of the business when a strange group came in and tried to steal some of the props. The next thing Callie knew she was kidnapped by the group who seemed to be a satanic cult trying to raise a demon and the summoned one happened to be a really gorgeous guy, Luke.

The Not Your Average Hot Guy series is one that actually is quite funny and takes readers on a fun adventure with the characters. However, I would again after reading this second book warn readers that while the characters are supposed to be adult age it often feels like I’m reading about some teenagers. I came back knowing that fact this time as I did enjoy the first book enough to be curious to see where it went and this one did rate slightly higher for me at three and half stars going in prepared but it would have been nice to not feel as if they were so young too.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I was so excited to get a sequel to Not Your Average Hot Guy but unfortunately it just didn't do it for me. The fun banter and Luke's charm were all there, but overall the story just did not grab me.

What I did really like was the introduction of the Arthurian legend. I thought that was a fun tie in to add a new element to the around the world chase.

Overall I just don't think the story warranted a whole book - I think this could have been a really fun novella as a bonus to revisit the characters. We needed more world building or maybe a perspective shift to one of the new characters to really nail this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the review copy!

Thank you St. Martin Press and NetGalley for the eARC! All opinions expressed are my own. This review does NOT contain any spoilers. :)

☆☆☆.5 Overall

This was okay. I think as a sequel, it holds up to the first novel, and was slightly better in my opinion because I didn’t totally vibe with the first one. I am learning that I am not the biggest fan of paranormal romance, especially ones like this that seem to have a lot going on. Because this wasn’t totally my jam (nothing wrong with the book itself, it just wasn’t for me) I’m not going to give a super in depth review because I think if this type of book is your jam, you’ll love it. It just isn’t the series for me and that’s okay. :)

This is a fun read! The sequel to Not Your Average Hot Guy, it continues the (mis)adventures of Callie and Luke, as they explore their new relationship and try to complete a task assigned to them by Luke's dad, who happens to be the devil themselves. As they seek to prove that some of those who have been sent to the underworld are capable of redemption and second chances, their relationship is tested in unexpected ways as they hope to find a more sustainable future for their unlikely union.

Callie and Luke are both great characters to spend time with, as they seek to make their relationship work all while figuring out their individual and collective futures.

Highly recommended!

This is a follow up to "Not Your Average Hot Guy" and attempts to answer the question, how do you have a happily ever after when your soul mate is Lucifer's son?" The story was fun and well paced, however I found myself, at times, out of step with the author's voice and unsure of what the author meant to convey about the characters' thoughts and motivations. Also, this is not a stand alone since the author relies heavily on the reader's knowledge of the characters and events from the first book. For example, no physical descriptions are given for any characters that appeared in the previous story. Overall, this was an enjoyable but not amazing follow up.

eARC kindly provided via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
3.5/5
The characters are amazing and the action and drama are very entertaining. I do wish I had read the first in the series beforehand.

I feel like I shouldn't have requested this book as I thought I'd have time to read the first one before having to jump into this one but I unfortunately didn't and I think my interest in this book suffered as a result. This isn't a bad book by any means I just wasn't able to fully appreciate it! I hope this review doesn't sway anyone because if you enjoyed the first one you will like this one I'm sure but it's not meant to be a standalone and that's my fault entirely!

The Date from Hell is the follow up to Not Your Average Hot Guy which follows mortal Callisto (“Callie”) and son of Lucifer, Luke Morningstar. After the events in the first novel, Callie and Luke are madly in love and navigating their life as a couple. While dating the Prince of Hell, Callie is still working for her mother’s business, The Great Escape, an escape room in Lexington, Kentucky. The story takes place shortly after the first installment with Callie able to travel back and forth between Earth and Hell where she is studying the laws of Hell. After spending time in Hell, she is now determined to find a way to give souls a second chance who were unfairly sent to Hell. Callie and Luke present this idea to Lucifer who agrees if they can prove this idea will work with a test subject of his choosing. He selects Sean, a wayward soul who proves that Callie and Luke’s mission is a lot more difficult than initially anticipated.

The story takes Callie and Luke on an adventure trying to complete their mission with Sean that includes the mystery of the Holy Grail. Sean is not interested in being redeemed unless Callie and Luke assist him on the quest to find the Grail which means a fun worldwide journey. This proves to be a time-consuming task which is not the plan both Callie and Luke had in mind as all they want to do is spend some time together to date. Luke has his insecurities that he is working through with his own identity and his fear that he is not good enough for Callie. On the other hand, Callie has secrets of her own identity that she is working through plus trying to be a good friend, sister, and daughter while assisting at the Great Escape.

While I loved the romance in this novel, it is not the prominent genre of the story as it plays out more as an adventure story with the romance weaved throughout. The Holy Grail adventure was fun as it takes the Arthurian legend that is familiar to readers and integrates well into the story. Sean was a fun addition, and I enjoyed the return of all the fun secondary characters from the first novel. The pacing of this story begins a little slow as it sets up the adventure portion, but quickly picks up with many twists and turns. Luke and Callie try to balance the adventure with their relationship, which means lots of communicating to figure things out. I do wish that this romance element was expanded on, but it was still enjoyable. Overall, this was a fun sequel and I hope that more stories are added in the future so readers can return to read more about these characters!

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, for the opportunity to read this enjoyable novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

This book was just okay for me. The Date from Hell is the sequel to Not Your Average Hot Guy and I liked the plot and the characters in this series. I also feel we had major potential to be a five star book, but, unfortunately it falls flat and there's just nothing major that excites me about it. It's a light and fun adventure with some romance. I think more romance would make it better and at times the dialgoue felt childish to me.

**Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. I am posting this review to my Goodreads account immediately and will post it to my Amazon & Instagram accounts upon publication.

This was such a cute read. The story line and characters are so unique. It's well written and it was a joy to read all the adventure and hijinks the main MC's get up to in their quest. I really enjoyed this book and recommend.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I never really know what to expect when opening one of Gwenda Bonds books. This is a great sequel to Not Your Average Hot Guy. I enjoyed the humor, the continued relationships between Luke and Callie and of course the mystery and adventure. If you want a romantic comedy with dons and angels, a deal with the devil and a search for the Holy Grail this book has all that and a cute goat and dog. I read this in a day and enjoyed being taken back into the magical and chaotic world of this series. Though at times I was annoyed at how obtuse Luke and Callie were about where they stood with each other it fit well with the overall feel of this Romantic comedy which is all about finding yourself and what you want to do, or not do. Thanks NetGalley and St Martin's Press for letting me read an ARC of this book!

I really enjoyed “Not Your Average Hot Guy”, the first book in this duology, so I was excited to pick up the sequel, “The Date From Hell”. This was a really great story mixed with hilariously funny humor and sweet moments it's definitely worth the read and will be very enjoyable. I enjoyed the humor, the continued relationships between Luke and Callie and of course the mystery and adventure. Callie and Luke are once again trying to save the world, along with the afterlife. Callie makes it her mission to try and change the universe. She wants to prove the souls in hell are worthy of redemption, so Lucifer, being as “benevolent” as he is (LOL), gives Callie and Luke three days to prove their theory with a very specific soul and hijinks hilariously ensue. We get the entire cast of characters we loved from the first book in this one as well, with the special addition of Sean, a new resident of Hell. We get to meet and discover what his story means to both Callie and Luke and their entire relationship. This book is all about figuring out what you want out of life. Both Callie and Luke are facing big decisions, and it was nice to see both of them finally acknowledge what they wanted and fight for it. The chemistry between Luke and Callie is sizzling. They are such a good couple, great at understanding each other’s needs, and I love how they balance each other. My favorite character has to be Porsoth, a demon who is just so endearing and adorable. I felt this was a great finish for Luke and Callie's story, it gave me all the things that I liked from the first book and a bit more romance, which I always appreciate. If you're looking for a light, fun action-adventure/romance story, then this is the duology for you! Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the eARC!