Mariel Spark has always been seen as a bit of a disapointment to her magical family. Born under a prophecy that she would become a powerful Witch, she never has seemed to master her magic. She only excels at plant and nature magic, but those skills are seen as not as important to the rest of the magical community. One night, while testing her skills, she accidentally summons a demon instead of a bag of flour. Ozoroth the Ruthless is a Bargaining Demon, which means he can’t leave Mariel’s presence until he makes a deal for her soul. Of course, Mariel’s obsessive and controlling Mother shows up immediately and Mariel’s solution to the random guy hanging around her house is to tell her Mother that they are dating. This leads to fun banter, spicy times, and all the shenanigans you expect in a modern romantic comedy.
This book was much more than your typical fantasy rom-com. It was cute and fun, but it also dealt with some more serious adult issues. There is a sub-plot about the corrupt local government destroying the environment to build a spa. What resonated the most with me was the theme of dealing with family. As the child of a Narcissist, I related a lot to Mariel’s struggles with her toxic Mother. While Ozoroth did frequently encourage Mariel to talk back to her family, Mariel only truly came into her own power when she stood up for herself. The book emphasizes how important found family is, and I liked that Ozoroth had issues as well. He wasn’t a perfect guy while the female main character was a mess.
CBR15 Bingo – Adulthood. This book dealt a lot with themes of living with your parent’s disaproval in your career choices, with the trauma of being declared “gifted” at a young age, and just generally dealing with a shitty family.
