the idea is amazing and i love it but the characterss.... oh dear the CHARACTERS were... completely messy and not in a good way. I never really felt connected to any of them. 3 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

unfortunately this wasn't quite a hit for me. i was just expecting more, and a lot of things felt a lil murky and amiss to me, especially because the writing felt chunky and not very clear. that's not to say this is a bad book, however! it did have its moments - i liked the way the horror aspect was done. i didn't very much get the characters though and why they were the way they were. this was alright.

While I enjoyed many aspects of the book, I just don’t think it’s for me! I highly appreciate the chance to read this one, and may try again later!

I confess I was expecting more. The premise of the narrative seemed interesting, but I felt that the story was losing its momentum as it progressed through the pages. I liked the author's originality and the relationship between the main characters, but I felt that the harmony between the two could have been better explored. To be honest, I think Rascal is a very well-developed character, and I enjoyed seeing his side of the story... It was the only reason I got so far into the book!

If you enjoy horror and want to try something a bit different which includes a large slice of the supernaturals then 'Rascal' will undoubtedly not disappoint.

The story basically revolves around three gay characters and their relationships, humans Jay and Augie and Rascal, one of the top demons from the upper echelons of Hell. As the story enfolds it is told alternately from Jay and Rascal's perspectives mixing the storyline between events happening on Earth with those going on in Hell.
A really good engaging story for the younger fans of gay horror, but set in a very British context, so maybe it might possibly read as 'not for everyone'. Yes, thoroughly enjoyed it, and looking forward to reading more from this highly talented young author who manages to successfully challenge the boundaries, whilst quite obviously delivering the goods. Excellent.

This one was hard for me to get into and I ended up DNF’ing it 30% of the way through. I wanted to like it, the description was really intriguing but this one just wasn’t for me

This book resembles a poorly written self-insert fanfiction. I understand the vision and based off of the description, I was intrigued, but the execution is not done well.

The quality of the writing itself is not good and barely a page into reading, I could tell that this might not be for me. I continued on and was able to confirm that this book was not meant for me. I might have liked it when I was thirteen, but so many aspects of it were almost cartoon-ish. "Mr. Nuke Breath" and "The Baboons" were cringey from the start and the repeated use made it worse.

The depiction of Hell and Demons was so corny and it was hard to take seriously. "No one wants to be besties with the son of the reigining Devil" and "Evil Supplies Store" made me want to close out of the kindle app forever.

If the only point-of-view was Jay's, it would have been easier to read because the attempts at "world building" Hell didn't work out well. If all we knew was that Rascal was the son of the Devil who was trying to keep power, that would've worked better than all the details regarding his brother and just all that shit.

The romance part of the story relied so heavily on sex and sexual attraction, so much so that it was gross to read. The scenes with Jay, Rascal, and Augie were uncomfortable to read.

I don't mind the "bad" ending because not everyone deserves a happy ending or will get one, it's just that the plot sucked.

And the last thing I'll mention is a bit spoiler-ish, so just giving that warning. How are you going to be bullied for being gay, but your best friend doesn't know you're gay? Were they bullying him for being gay without knowing it was actually true or what? I don't really get it and I thought the way it was handled was stupid.

I tried to be positive when reading this, especially after seeing that it was sort of based off of the authors personal experiences with being bullied, being a gay black teenager, and his journey with witchcraft, but it was poorly done.

I'm conflicted.

I liked the horror, the darkenss and the gore. I enjoyed Jay's road to corruption, and how things crash and burn. You can't stop reading to discover what will go wrong next.

But... there's something that doens't work.

The relationship between the characters, mostly, I felt disconected to them most of the time. And everything between Rascal, Augie and Jay started good and could have been epic but was kind of a miss for me. So much potential, though.

Jess's final surprise was what I enjoyed the most. I think we all felt like Jay was a bit self-centered since the beginning, and Jess pointing it and acting on it was perfection.

I dont' know, I guess I liked the idea and the overall vibes of the story, but then everything else felt a bit flat and plain for my liking.

I recieved a copy from NetGalley to give my honest opinion.

This was a gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to keep an eye out for more from this author.

"Rascal" is a literary rollercoaster that plunges readers into a realm where the lines between the earthly and the infernal blur, leaving behind a trail of divided opinions and fervent debates. Much like its titular character, this novel defies easy categorization, straddling the realms of horror, supernatural fantasy, and LGBTQ+ romance with audacious abandon.

For some, "Rascal" is a breath of fresh air, a daring exploration of dark themes and unconventional love. From the murky depths of a British seaside town to the fiery pits of Hell itself, the narrative unfolds with a dual perspective, alternating between the human struggles of Jay and the demonic machinations of Rascal. It's a dizzying dance between worlds, where teenage angst and infernal power struggles collide in a whirlwind of emotion and intrigue.

The novel's strength lies in its willingness to challenge genre conventions, weaving together elements of YA fiction, horror, and romance into a tapestry that is as unsettling as it is enthralling. Readers are invited to grapple with themes of power, control, vengeance, and desire, all set against a backdrop of supernatural chaos.

Yet, for others, "Rascal" proves to be a divisive read, with its unconventional narrative style and dark subject matter leaving some feeling unsettled and disconnected. The blend of British slang and occult lore may alienate those not familiar with either, while the abrupt shifts in tone and pacing can leave even the most seasoned reader feeling adrift.

At its core, "Rascal" is a story of contrasts: light and dark, love and hate, humanity and monstrosity. It challenges readers to confront their own preconceptions and biases, while offering a tantalizing glimpse into a world where the boundaries between good and evil are anything but clear-cut.

This book was very intriguing and well-written and would recommend it to anyone into queer types of books. I loved the way this one was laid out and it went into detail about the characters and their lives. I read this book several times more if I had another copy and I would share it with all my friends who love to read this type of book.

This is the 2nd book I have read by this author and again I was drawn into the story. This story follow Jay a teenager growing up in a small coastal town. I live in a UK small coastal town and I know there is never enough for teenagers to do, so they have to make their own entertainment.
Jay was being bullied at school and was always thinking that magic could some how protect them from those terrible times in the school corridors or hanging round town. The gang of boys were horrible as bullies are and whilst Jay had their small gang to buffer some of it, in stepped Rascal.
Rascal a high level demon. who at the start had everything they ever wanted but then as it fell apart, they were summoned to help Jay. To add to that Jay also got a boyfriend and for a boyfriend Augie was likeable .
Written from Jay and Rascal's POV. Jay's set on earth and the majority of Rascal's set in Hell, we follow them as they try and get what they want. I noticed in the other book that is author can write a teenage POV very good and there is no denying that the MCs are teenagers.
I liked the blend of reality and fantasy, watching Jay grow as a person and whilst some of the adult context was well in the fantasy side it merged really well. The vengeance was graphic, giving it a horror feel.
Overall this was a great read and I cannot wait to see what the author gives us next

Thank you Netgalley, Jay H.D. And Blue Shore books for this e-arc. In exchange, this is my honest review.

I previously recieved and read ‘cream’ by the same author and absolutely loved it! It was my first experience with horror. When I saw this ARC available, I requested it ASAP. I also really liked this one!

This book felt like watching a car crash happen: The car crash is so cruel and gruesome, but you just can’t look away. You have to know what happens. This book did that really well. There were some parts that made me feel physically sick because of how ‘horror’ they were. The descriptions of hell for example.

*spoiler* I liked what Jess revealed at the very end.

I also liked thzt Jay, the mc, did things you cannot excuse. He is a complicated character, but I could see why he did all that.

After reading Cream, I was super excited to pick up this second Jay H.D. novel, and it didn't disappoint. As horror novels go, I found this story to be original and very entertaining, and since horror is my favorite genre, it's so refreshing when I find one with gay characters and themes that are relatable and current. I think that there's a specific audience for Jay's novels, and I'm definitely a part of that group.

In Rascal, a familiar tale of being-gay-and-bullied-in-school takes a fantastical and Hellish turn, when our protagonist meets a demon and enlists him to help in his pursuits of love and of revenge. I loved the parallels in this novel with my own experiences with being picked on in school, and of the appeal to turn to something like witchcraft in order to harness (well, at first,) protection from the cruelty of our peers. The dual-perspectives of both the boy and his demon pulled me in from the beginning, and left me wanting more for the entire read. I loved the little twists, and the spicy bits were sparce, but hot. I found this story wildly entertaining. There were a few times I was confused about what decade we were in, with mentioning of things like AOL, but it didn't take away from the story or distract me from it.

In the vein of "My Best Friend's Exorcism" and "Psycho Teenage Bloodbath", Rascal is, well, just FUN. If you like twisted little occult stories like these, unabashed 80s-and-90s-syle horror, and gay sex, then you might really enjoy Rascal by Jay H.D. I'm going to give this 4.5 stars, and Jay: I can't wait for your next book!

DNF at 3%

The description and so repetitive writing style fell do flat I stopped right away. The synopsis is amazing, and the idea was great, but the execution didn't work for me at all.

I am sorry, but I decided to DNF this book at 58%. I, like Jay, was bullied too, for years, and I get wanting to take revenge, but this was going too far, and I draw the line at animal cruelty. I tried to push through, even though I didn't enjoy the book from the beginning, at first it was too slow, then it got too cruel, but I was waiting for it to get better. It didn't, and all those joints and alcohol and whatnot were too much for me as well. The idea was great, but the synopsis is misleading, and this book, the story, and all its characters are horribly toxic, so much so that I can't bring myself to care about how the story ends for any of them. I am sorry, but this was a big disappointment for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing / Blue Shore Books for providing me with a free copy of this books in exchange for an honest review!

I have a lot of conflicting feelings over this book.

For the majority of this book, I had a pretty fun time! It’s not a book you should take too seriously, and the book itself is quite self aware of how campy it is. I enjoyed the time spent on earth with Jay more than Hell; I think there were absolutely some funny world building elements, but I didn’t connect with the world much since our only exposure to this world was through Rascal. None of the other characters in hell were really built up, like Zorolam, Paimon or the Devil, so there was quite a disconnect between how invested I felt in Rascal’s story outside of earth.

I did really like the character of Jay, and the dialogue was more realistic than I expected. The author claimed to have drawn from his own experience, and it was very evident. The characters were still kind of shallow, but very much less so than can be said for hell, and there were some interesting characters like Jess, Enya, Augie and even Mouse to some extent, but it felt quite surface-level. <spoiler>i did actually like Jess’ reveal towards the end. Jay was definitely pretty self-absorbed throughout the book, especially as she explains things, and Jess calling him out on that and taking him out was kind of satisfying.</spoiler>

My main gripe with this book was the ending. The story had been built up decently and I was interested in seeing how things would end up for jay, but the ending felt incredibly rushed, and Jay himself lost all agency in those last few chapters. There was definitely a disconnect between the final scene between Jay and Rascal and the epilogue, and it felt like wasted potential when the whole book had basically built up to Jay’s corruption, <spoiler>changed its mind, changed its mind again, and then killed him off, almost killed him off again, made him despise Rascal, and then suddenly everything was fine between them?</spoiler> It really felt like the book was struggling to commit one way or another, and the final showdown felt disconnected from the rest of the book.

I would say overall I did enjoy myself despite this! As I said, it’s a fun, campy ride, but it was just the ending that fell a little flat.

Was so excited about receiving this one (thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free copy) but it unfortunately disappointed. The blurb and the cover were what attracted me first but the plot fell flat, the majority of the book left me confused and that ending what even was that.

I liked that this had queer representation and the story premise sounded promising.

However I didn't relate to the writing style.
This was a soft Dnf for me.
may pick this up later