In the first book of the Hell Bent series, Evangeline Gregory is playing a gig when she sees the most amazing man she has ever laid eyes on. He is completely captivated by her performance, and so after her set, she goes to find him. He introduces himself as Asmodeus, or Ash for short. It turns out he plays piano, and when they play together, the music is transcendental. The chemistry between the two of them is off the charts, also. He has three brothers who also came to the club, but none of them looked as good to her as Ash did. There is only one problem.... Asmodeus, Prince of Hell, is a demon and he is supposed to be evil. But he and his brothers, who are also demons, have escaped Hell, looking for freedom on Earth. They don't want to play by the rules anymore. They want to live like everyone else. Now, it is only a matter of staying two steps ahead of the trackers who want to find them and drag them back to Hell.

This book was like if the TV show Supernatural and some steamy romance had a baby. There were angels, demons, gargoyles, and other supernatural creatures, and then the spice factor for the romance was off the charts. I laughed out loud more times than I could count, at Ash's brothers' antics, and I never thought i would be cheering on a romance with a demon, but here we are. I listened to the audiobook version of this book, and the narrator did an excellent job bringing the book o life. I highly recommend this one!

#ReadWithBTC2025 @Between The Chapters Book Club @Kensington Publishing

Thanks to Netgalley for the ALC. Ash's "brothers" will appeal to those who like background bro-banter. Recommended for fans of Dreadful, My Vampire Plus-One or That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon.

If you're looking for a fun, steamy read with a touch of the supernatural, this book is perfect. It's packed with humor, charm, and just the right amount of magic!

Thank you, NetGalley, for an ALC of My Funny Demon Valentine in exchange for her honest opinion.

I'm super sad that I think this book was not for me. When I requested the audiobook, I was super excited by the comp it provided, but I think it clouded my expectations and I felt the delivery didn't do justice to it.

Eva is a musician who meets Ash, a demon, at a club. He, usually overlooked by humans due to a curse, is noticed by her (the only one that is not affected by said curse). The catch is that she doesn't know he is a demon and he is running away from hell with his other demon brothers.

Right off the bat, I encounter a pet peeve of mine. The insta-lust in romantasies. I'm not opposed to this trope, but I like to see them struggle with this attraction a little more. There was no stopping at them, and it made the book have, in my opinion, too many sex scenes that broke the flow of the plot.

Then, as I mentioned before, there is the writing style. The call to this book mentioned Brynne Weaver, Kimberly Lemming and Jenna Levine. I loved the books from those authors, so I thought this book would be a slam dunk for me, but I didn't think it was funny at all. There were moments that I could see how she was trying to make it quirky or cutesy.. but it just went over my head.

About the plot, I thought it was quite straightforward in the sense that one could predict and see where the story was going throughout all times. Still, it would have been better, though, if we basically didn't have alternate plot chapters with smut chapters.

Lastly, I really enjoyed the narrator. She did a good job trying to bring the characters to life!

3.5*
Audio 4* - Story 3*
I do love when a narrator sounds like they've read the line ahead of time, no stilted sentences or awkward pauses in this audiobook, hell ya.
I'm usually quite harsh about narrators doing both female and male voices (so uncomfortable) but Kirsten didn't cause me any agony, so that was great!
The story was light and fluffy (as far as demon stories go), fairly predictable and on brand. I wanted more Sky and Bel action though, they could've added a lot to the story - maybe they'll get their own. Basically, you get what you signed up for with this one.

From the get go I laughter out hard! The chemistry between the brothers is top-notch and chefs kiss! The ribbing and teasing they do is just perfect. This book give you Demons, Angels, hunters and so much more. With multiple POVs added to the mix, it’s all I could hope for in the month of February!

“I noticed you from cross the club, even before I knew you could see through my curse!”

My Funny Demon Valentine by Aurora Ascher Book one of Hell Bent series is a 4.2 ⭐️ read.

This book was hella good! I did the audio version and it keep me entertained the entire time.

Ash a demon escaped hell with his three brothers and now he’s being hunted so you get action & while on earth he meets Eva someone who has been able to notice him but he’s cursed so that shouldn’t be possible.. so you get a romance out of one book!!

I picked it up thinking it was a valentines book but it wasn’t which makes it even better!
So if you’re in the mood for an action packed romance then this is for you!

4.5 star

The concept and setup were good, and the characters were likable enough, but the execution needed some polish. The pacing was inconsistent. They are pretty much instantly in lust/love/bed, but then things slow down to almost a glacier pace. I feel as though about 15-20% of the middle of the book could have been chopped to make a quick fated mates style urban paranormal romance, but with the dragged out story, I started to lose interest as the action was not well developed enough. All that being said, I would be interested in continuing the series

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/🌶️🌶️🌶️
- demon paranormal/human pairing
- musicIan’s
- cursed hero

This was the perfect Valloween read. Romance with some spooky demon lore, yes please!!

Ash is a cursed demon who fled from hell with his demons brothers. Part of his curse is that he’s invisible/not worth noticing to anyone that could be a potential partner (he was a demon of lust prior to escaping) and he can only see in black and white, no color. For years, too many to count, he’s gone unnoticed by the humans forced to live with just the company of his three demon brothers, that is until he meets Ava at a club whos mysteriously able to see him, uncursed in full profile and she plays beautiful music. They begin a romance fueled by their love of music. But the more Ash seems to be around Ava, the more his curse glitches and he slowly starts to see colors and people start to notice him. Not to mention the drama of constantly being hunted by gargoyles and angels who are more than determined to take Ash and his brothers back to hell. All in a demons daily work right? Wrong. Ava can somehow see all these other creatures and beings and is now also being targeted. Lots of secrets to be revealed, a few plot twists, and very sexy demons.

Ava and Ash’s chemistry jumped from the start but they matched each other well, especially when they played music together. The spice was just steamy enough but not over powering to the plot. This had a medium pace when it came to the action and did a great job of weaving in world building with the lore as you continued through the storyline. Did I mention he has three brother? Three super delicious, all unique, DEMON brothers. Yeah, I’m running to grab the next book in the series.

My Funny Demon Valentine, is a cute quirky fast paced spicy very spicy book. This book follows Eva and Ash. We get to see as Ash falls for the girl on the DJ stand and watch is Eva falls for the guy that no one can see.

This book I listen to as an audio and I could not put it down as one would say for it. It was a page Turner, but whatever the audio equivalent of that is. The hell series should be on track to be a fan favorite Aurora Ascher. Knows how to write spice and conflict and happily ever after.

This book does end as a happily ever after with an opening for the next book in the series. This story will have you wanting to have your own musician or demon because who wouldn’t want a demon in the bed especially if he’s a prince of hell

2.25⭐

This book had all the right ingredients to be something I would like, but they just weren't put together in a tasteful way.

The Story: This is the first book in the Hell Bent series, featuring Evangeline and Asmodeus. Asmodeus and his brothers escaped from Hell, and are on the run from the Hunter looking to bring them back. Evangeline is a musician who meets them at the club she works at, and the only person who can 'see' through Asmodeus' curse. She is immediately pulled into their chaos.
Thinking she might have imagined things the first night, Evangeline starts a relationship with Asmodeus. What happens when Evangeline finds out it wasn't quite a hallucination?

My Main Issues:
There was a lot of sexism in this book. A lot. It actually felt like it was written in '90s or early 2000s.
Most of the story was told and not shown. 'This happened, and then...and then....'
Especially in the first half, a lot of effort was put into humor and one-liners, but none of them really hit.
This last one might be a personal problem, but I cringed every time they talked about 'jamming'.

The Narration: The narration felt a little to serious for just how unserious the book was, but it was only noticeable near the beginning.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

My Funny Demon Valentine is a flirty, fun listen. When Evangeline, an aspiring musician, stumbles upon the most handsome man she's ever laid eyes upon at her gig, she couldn't be more ecstatic. Until the whole place is attacked by demons, that is. Well, she *thinks* she saw demons, but who's to say? Surely it was just a trick of the lights and her fear making her see things. Her hot new guy, Ash, and his brothers couldn't possibly be giant monstrous creatures... right?

A glimpse at what I enjoyed:
The cast of characters is colorful and full of interesting personalities, perfect for setting up a series of epic proportions if done right. The four demon brothers each capture a unique kind of hotness and brooding personality that romantasy readers seem to foam at the mouth for, and I can easily see myself enjoying a sequel or two where the other brothers find their other half. There are a good number of pop culture and music references in the story, which was interesting, and each time we get the perspective of a new character (this is a story in 3rd person), the author does a good job of elaborating on their thoughts and struggles without straying from the central story.

I do wish this story had a better balance of keeping on track with the core storyline, in particular. While this story is more character based than plot, with it being an audiobook, it was often hard to follow without the usual break or chapter title read before jumping into the next scene. That was confusing at times, especially towards the end where the major conflicts take place. I also would have liked to see, if possible, a different nickname for the brother Mephistopheles. While I understand it is hard to pronounce, each time his nickname came through on audio, it sounded like "Meth...." I don't put this on the narrator but rather the author and if there wasn't much of a choice to change that up for the sake of reader understanding.

Perhaps my biggest complaint was the way Ash's curse being broken was explained away. We're led to believe it's because of one thing for most of the book, but then at the end, it is conveniently explained by something else, making the role of music completely off course. That just felt a bit clumsy to me. I think the whole 24 hour window thing at the end wasn't built up in a way that made it feel satisfying.

Audiobook review:
I think the narrator did a great job with the material given. It isn't easy to make the names Asmodeus, Belial, Mephistopheles, Raum, and wildest of all, Mishetsumephtai,... So I cannot fault her there at all. She still did great with what she was dealt! I felt the story was easy to follow along with her narration at speeds between 1-1.75x, 2x and higher getting a bit muddy for me since some of the words were too unique. She did great with adding emotion to each character's thoughts and dialogue. Would probably recommend listening to the audiobook over physical editions for friends since I can't imagine having to figure out some of these names and terms on my own without the help.

If you love butcher and black bird you will love this book!

I am obsessed, i devoured this audio in 2 days!! I loved the funny parts, the spice part, the plot. It was a good mix of everything you want in a story!! I can't wait for the rest of the series, and I love that we don't have to wait but a year for all 5!!! Thank you so much for that.

I was able to get the arc copy of the audio to this book. I listened to it all in a day. I ate this whole book up. I loved the narration and honestly have no complaints. I truly love the authors writing style. The author grabbed my attention from the very beginning to the end. I will definitely be reading book 2. A good mix of rom com and some spice.

My Funny Demon Valentine has it all—romance, smut, and plot.

We meet four demon brothers who flee from Hell to start a new life on Earth. As soon as we meet them, I wanted to know more about them and their lives. They have such a hilarious dynamic with each other, which makes them so lovable. I especially would love to know more about Belial and his endeavor to stay celibate. 😉

Asmodeus and Evangeline are a very cute match, connected by their love of music. She is a curvy, funny, strong, and level-headed FMC, while he is unnaturally beautiful with the most gorgeous long black hair, broody, famously bad with his feelings, and absolutely obsessed with her. But even more interesting was the relationship between her parents. I don't think I've ever read a romance novel with a POV from the parents. This was so special and interesting and not at all awkward!

I’m very excited for the next book in the series, not just because of the romance, but because of the plot.

The narration of the audio book had a good flow, and the narrator was easy to listen to.

This book was a lot of fun. This was my first book by Aurora Ascher and it won’t be my last. It did take me a little while to get over the insta-love connection, but once the plot started going I had hooked. The main couple is very sweet together and thankfully they have wonderful communication. ( especially since he’s a demon.) but for me where this book really shines were the side characters. And there are a lot. Main characters, the three demon brothers, the Parents, and of course, the Hunter. All of these side characters shined in their own ways and had to distinct personalities. I really can’t wait to see where they all go and I hope they all get their own story. There were some obvious pot twist but all in all I really enjoyed the story. I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series and recommending it. The narrator and the story was very good as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for this ALC

3.25/5 ⭐️
2/5 🌶️

Thanks to Aurora, their publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ALC of this book.

I found the premise of this book intriguing. I guess I was hoping for more humor based on the title and blurb claiming to be “as funny as Brynne Weaver.” The constant changing of who is telling the story and the third person POV was a little jarring. I get that we needed “world building” but I just didn’t care for how it was done.

The narrator for the audiobook was great, but given how many characters she had to do voice for, it may have been better to at least pull in a male narrator as well.

The synopsis of the book was interesting enough. Four demon brothers- Asmodeus, Belial, Mephistopheles, and Raum have escaped Hell and are trying to live like humans. However, Asmodeus is cursed, unable to experience pleasure or sensation, and appears unattractive to others until he meets a violinist named Evangeline at a jazz club. Evangeline can see right through the curse and they don't know why. At the same time, the demon brothers are being hunted, and when a gargoyle tracks them down, Evangeline discovers their true forms.
Some problems I had with this book.

The MFC is way too chill. In her world, demons are a myth. Yet, she goes through this rather traumatic scene where a gun is going off and the person she is with gets shot and then suddenly he turns into his demon form and she doesn't really bat an eye. She just chops it up to, oh I guess I'm hallucinating. Then when she finds out she wasn't hallucinating shes still completely fine with it. I guess it's safe to say she gets it from her mom because she is the same way. The MFCs mom gave me the ick. For one, her vibe gives off a mom trying so hard to fit in with the younger crowd. Two, she is happily married for 27 years but then continues to ignore her husbands BEGS and PLEADS to get behind locked and warded doors. Instead she feels more incline to listen to the demon that she literally just met moments ago and hangs up on her husband. WHAT? Tell me in what world that would ever make sense?

Lastly, the four demon brothers are suppose to be very, very old but their banter is extremely childish.

Overall I don't think I'll be continuing the series right away if at all. It just wasn't for me. It reads almost cozy but with action however none of the characters seem to have appropriate feelings towards all the scary stuff happening around them. They're all very nonchalant except the dad but no one is listening to him. I just couldn't do it. It was interesting enough to finish though and I did love the cat and even the correlation between cats and demons. The big plot twist was very predictable it was just a matter of when it was going to happen.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Narration: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Duration: 12 hrs 15 min
Narrated by Kirsten Leigh
Publication Date: 01.21.25

"Even if the alternative meant that monsters were real, she supposed she didn't want to believe that life really was as ordinary as it appeared, and that demon men only existed in fantasy. Maybe it was because then she would have to accept that she, too, was as ordinary as she appeared... no matter what that little voice inside whispered in her ear.”

🎶 Paranormal Romance
🎶 Demon Of Lust
🎶 Forced Proximity
🎶 Laugh Out Loud Humor
🎶 Touch Her & Die
🎶 Curses
🎶 Burn The World For You
🎶 Mythical Creatures
🎶 Dual POV
🎶 Hidden Identity

“He looked at her the way she looked at chocolate cake, which had to be a good thing.”

My Funny Demon Valentine by Aurora Asher, is everything I didn’t know I needed for a funny but cute Valentine’s Day read. This is the first book in the Hell Bent series and I am hooked! I absolutely love the creativity and storytelling abilities that Aurora has. Between the world building, character development, witty banter, and her humor, it was a chefs kiss. Definitely worth listening to or reading it.

Evangeline (Eva), our FMC, is a musician. While playing gif one weekend, she meets our MMC, Asmodeus (Ash) who happens to not be what he appears. Both are lovable, sweet, funny, and relatable. I absolutely loved their chemistry. Seeing how their story unfold was whimsical. Learn how to love for Ash, was magical. I don’t want to go into more detail because of wanting to leave the read a mystery.

I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook. I absolutely loved how great the narrator did. She was really helped to bring the story alive and take it to an immersive experience. Highly recommend it!

Thank you netgalley and RBmedia for this ALC!

Tremendously disappointed. I thought, at first, that the audio book narrator was too stiff and pulling me out of the story. Nope, twas the writing. Once I got to the first sex scene, I had my answer. This book is not for me. If this was smut heavy and well written, I could forgive a lot...I just don't think it was ready for print.

The childish banter between the demon siblings was rough too. I probably should give this a one star, and maybe I will eventually but I'm giving it two right now because conceptually this could have been great.