I absolutely LOVED this paranormal fantasy middle grade debut featuring Bernadette 'Ber,' a fat blood witch with diabetes who accidentally summons demons every time she tests her blood. When she casts a spell with her sister that summons a nonbinary mystery demon, Finn, things seem to be going up because they can help Ber monitor her glucose without shedding any blood.

However darker things are going on than even Ber is aware of and she has to work with her sister and other magical friends to rescue her parents and grandmother from a group of evil witches. Fast paced and great on audio narrated by Karissa Vacker. This had excellent disability and queer rep and I can't wait for the next book in the story!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital audio voice galley copy in exchange for my honest review!

Accidental Demons offers a fresh and clever take on blood witches with such skillful world-building that it made me wonder why in the world no one has written about this before! In fact, a constant state of wonder is pretty much how I would describe my experience reading Clare Edge’s debut middle-grade. Wonder at how grounded Clare managed to make a fantasy world feel. Wonder at the fact that diabetes rep is still so lacking! Wonder at how Clare created a cast of diverse characters that captured my heart so completely from the very start! And when I thought I couldn’t love them more, Rua came on the scene (oh my heart!). Long after I devoured this book, I remain gripped by Bernadette and her story and I can’t wait to read the sequel. And yes, I’m crossing my fingers and toes that Rua will have a cameo or two 🤎🤎🤎

Just, WOW! In a world where so much seems to be a remix of the same storyline, the basic idea behind the accidental demons is so unique. Pile on top of that a great storyline, characters to connect with, antagonists you just want to help vanquish. I couldn't get enough of the story, yet wanted it to end so I knew the characters would live to reappear in a sequel. I can't wait to add the printed version to my library.

This made my witch-loving diabetic heart happy! Wonderful adventure, exciting characters, and it combines love, friendship and family in an epic tale. I loved every page.

Oh my gosh! This book was so good. Clare Edge hits all the sweet spots in the Can't Stop Listening debut novel. Every person can see part of themselves in the main character, Ber. The representation in this book feels authentic and well-written. There is enough magic to capture interest, with enough world-building to crave more!

I love that Bernadette's diabetes is responsible for her accidentally summoning demons and that some of the demons appear to be quite useful. I love how the family comes together to try and solve the accidental summoning problem. I like that this book also explains diabetes to young readers and how despite her best efforts, Bernadette isn't always able to control her diabetes.

I will definitely look for more of Clare Edge's work in the future.

Liked this so much more than I would've guessed! It's a fun, fast-paced, action-packed quick read that middle grade fantasy readers are sure to enjoy. I loved the way diabetes was integrated into the story--it is the driving force behind the plot without being the primary defining characteristic of the protagonist--and the magical world building overall was just so much fun. The thread that sees the mc starting to pick apart the bigoted world views her family, especially her grandmother, aised her with, was so well done for the middle grade level. The points that are made are clear without disrupting the flow or making the reader feel like they're being hammered over the head with lessons. The ending is the perfect level of wrapped up for a first volume--it feels like a complete enough story but leaves a clear opening for a sequel. Will definitely be recommending this one to elementary and middle school readers.