I absolutely enjoyed this book so much. It has the aspects of Hocus Pocus in the labyrinth . The plot was very intriguing from the start. It was an easy read. The fmc is a normal girl just trying to enjoy college and make something of herself. Her father is constantly controlling her an keeping her locked in her room every Halloween. She decided to sneak out her bedroom window an join the town festival. She means a man that she finds very attractive an intriguing. She trusts him an he shows her fun an a pleasurable night . It turns out he is a demon king an has to return to the demon realm by midnight. He promises to return the next year on Halloween. The next year he doesn’t return because his mother is sick she finds out later. She then goes on an adventure a journey to find him in the demon realm. This was so amazing this the first time I read a book by this author i highly recommended.

Posted on goodreads as well:

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book on exchange for an honest review!

Having read one of her previous works Broken Flames, I expected something similar and I was excited to read this. This was very very different, but it felt good for spooky season.

Soleil is a character that I just did not like. She’s got some complexity to her, and her OCD is beautifully depicted. However, she is so naive at times and it was driving me a little nuts. What do you MEAN you just met this man and you trust him, he is quite literally a demon. Never trust a blonde man. Jax is a character that really ticks a lot of boxes in my booktok brain: demon, protective, sweet on her. However, he literally ticks those boxes and has no other personality. I will say him calling her “little flame” was so cute to me, and I love that it feels original. He does really overuse it though. Mr.Finkel as a familiar was my favorite, I’m a sucker for a good cat.

Going to essentially hell for a man you met once a year ago is insane behavior. Someone get this girl some therapy. For some reason, I could only picture the demon realm as the nether from Minecraft? It was not described similarly at all that’s just something wrong with my brain. Having Jax be very golden king and Vileer being dark broody enemy who she makes a bargain with to go visit leaving her with a physical moon tattoo?? Felt very Tamlin vs Rhysand but watered down. The writing is very dialogue heavy, which unfortunately is a style that my brain has a harder time focusing on with my ADHD. Again, my brain is the problem here. The plot overall felt a tad rushed, but at the same time there was a lot of filler that didn’t feel entirely necessary.

Overall, I’d give it a 3 out of 5. It was not necessarily the best writing, but I did find myself enjoying it at times.

This was awful. The FMC is locked in her room, never experiencing Halloween in her however many years, and then one night escapes. She goes to a festival or something, meets the half demon Jax and just follows him around for the night, has sex with him, and he leaves. She waits allllll year for this demon and he doesn't show up for their one time Halloween fling.
So she somehow accepts that there's a demon realm, finds a vampire, and a witch.... but doesn't know what a familiar is?! That doesn't make any sense. There's no world building. Nothing interesting happens. You can't throw out the Howl's Moving Castle and Hocus Pocus comparison and NOT deliver. Just adding "there you are, I've been looking for you," is not Howl's Moving Castle.
The FMC was stupidly obsessed with this demon she barely knew. And Jax was just cardboard. Neither had any kind of personality.

HELLO?!

This is the quintessential Halloween read -- Hocus Pocus meets Howl's Moving Castle with a little bit of the TV show Lucifer sprinkled in?

I absolutely devoured this - the fall/Halloween vibes are immaculate. It has ALL of my favorite tropes -- one (demon) horse, a ball, forbidden love. PLUS a Rhysand-esque man? I'm not kidding. This is MK Ahearn at her best.

The OCD representation is so accurate and made me feel seen. The way it's handled and woven into the storyline is STUNNING and purposeful. I genuinely have not seen OCD handled this way (and so well) and I'm so grateful to be able to see myself in a character like this.

This is the ultimate comfort read; the vibes are perfect, the stakes are low, the characters are FUN, the worlds are beautiful, the love is REAL, and BINX CODED FAMILIAR!!!

In short, this book is about overcoming your own demons while falling in love with one, stepping into your own strength, and finding family every step of the way. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.